Leica M-D: Pure for the sake of . . . purity?

[Godfrey]

From last week's visit to New York ...

A Gray Day to Fly
Westchester County Airport 2017
—
Leica M-D + Summilux-M 35 v2
ISO 400 @ f/8​

This photo is a nine frame panorama composite, captured hand-held through the Observation Lounge window. The full resolution image is available on Flickr (with suitable permissions), it's 68 MPixel and runs about 7 megabytes or so.

The M-D is my favorite Leica M of all. 😀

enjoy! G

 

[Vince Lupo]

Nicely done Godfrey.

 

[Vince Lupo]

Riley at Wolfe Lake by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

 

[Godfrey]

Very nice! 🙂

G

 

[Vince Lupo]

Flight over Wolfe Lake by Vince Lupo, on Flickr


Riley at the Cottage by Vince Lupo, on Flickr


Wolfe Lake Meadow by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

 

[capitalK]

 

[capitalK]

The preceding images were from an afternoon I spent with the M-D last spring.

My experience with it that day (and the 35mm Summilux ASPH and Elmar-M 24mm I borrowed from the Leica reps) is probably the single greatest contributing factor to my buying back in to the Leica system.

Recently, I purchased an M3 and collapsible 50 Summicron on impulse at a camera show and then I logged into this site for the first time since 2013 (?!?). Glad I remembered my password 😉

 

[Vince Lupo]

The preceding images were from an afternoon I spent with the M-D last spring.

My experience with it that day (and the 35mm Summilux ASPH and Elmar-M 24mm I borrowed from the Leica reps) is probably the single greatest contributing factor to my buying back in to the Leica system.

Recently, I purchased an M3 and collapsible 50 Summicron on impulse at a camera show and then I logged into this site for the first time since 2013 (?!?). Glad I remembered my password 😉

They look Torontoish 🙂

Who is repping Leica there now? Vistek?

 

[Vince Lupo]

One from yesterday morning, 35/1.4 Summilux.


Lee by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

 

[Vince Lupo]

Still loving my 5cm/1.4 Nikkor 🙂

And I'm pretty convinced that the UV/IR cut filter makes a difference in the colour rendering. This photo has had very little done to it out of the camera -- I'm very pleased with these colours.


Early Morning Cromwell Valley by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

 

[Ronald M]

I hate the whole "purity" meme. It's just marketing BS.

You work with an M-D the same way you work with an M7. Necessary functions like setting time/date, checking battery, checking storage, performing updates, etc all happen with the FN button and the viewfinder. You can check your exposures at any time by using a smartphone or tablet with an SD card reader ... just take the SD card out of the camera, and view its contents on your device (presumably with an app that knows how to process DNG files like PhotoRAW on iOS).

If you have needs for an LCD/EVF in your shooting workflow, this is not the correct model M for you. Leica makes several others...

Plug a card into another device to chimp. Ridiculous.
Screen on back is the best thing offered on cameras to date.

 

[Vince Lupo]

Plug a card into another device to chimp. Ridiculous.

You’re right - this camera is completely ridiculous. And that’s why I personally like it 🙂

 

[Godfrey]

You’re right - this camera is completely ridiculous. And that’s why I personally like it 🙂

I agree. 😀

While driving back from Houston, I took an hour to stop and see Meteor Crater in Arizona. While there, I saw a guy who had a nice Nikon camera and looked like he knew what he was doing with it. So I set up my M-D for focus and exposure and asked him to snap my picture.

Godfrey On Travel - Meteor Crater 2017
Leica M-D + Summicron-M 50mm f/2
ISO 200 @ f/11 @ f/90​

I love this ridiculous camera. 🙂

Enjoy!

 

[rhl-oregon]

I recently remarried after a spell of widowhood and celebrated by buying an M-D, which came on my October honeymoon to Florence.

And yes, a good deal of the pleasure is purely shooting, like it’s an M7, and moving on without the small-screen fussiness. Then coming home and opening the DNGs on a big monitor—and finding little more needs to be done (at least on a normal lens) before the image is finished.

Particularly in museum/church settings, where the last thing anyone wants to hear is the ka-Ching! of a shutter, it allowed me time to compose and focus on private moments wthout spoiling anyone’s reverie.

I took a ZM 50/2 and a CV 15/4.5. The CV showed purple cringing and vignetting, which was sort of immaterial since I convert to BW, though next time I’ll take the ZM 21/2.8 and do less cropping and perspective correction.

I also took an X100s for chimp-gratification, a lighter carry, and for checking iffy exposures. My wife Linn brought her RX100m3, and I pried it out of her hands occasionally, but overall the M-D took care of everything that mattered except really low light evening/night images.

 

[airfrogusmc]

Robert congrats on the wedding and the M-D. Images look great.

 

[rhl-oregon]

Thanks, Monochrom Man. Happiness seems to be good for my photography, among (all) other things.

Here are a few more with the ZM 50/2.

 

[airfrogusmc]

These are terrific Robert.

MM is at Leica. Probably until Jan sometime. My M-E should be back this week. I have to admit I am really loving the new M 10.

 

[Vince Lupo]

Robert, glad to have you in the M-D fold 🙂

 

[Godfrey]

Lovely photos, Robert! Keep enjoying your M-D! 🙂

G

 

[rhl-oregon]

Thank you, gents and inspirers and rational thinkers.