M9 shutter release: standard or soft?

[EdwardKaraa]

Marc, good point about the shutter stop, and that is the reason why I use soft option. However, the way to avoid camera shake in standard mode is to lock exposure first for a short moment, then release the shutter which behaves like in soft mode since you are past the problematic stop already. Not an ideal solution for fast shooting though.

As for minimum shutter speed, I find film in general to be more forgiving. I always shoot at least 2 stops higher than what I was used to with film.

 

[Marc G.]

but the harder the stops get the easier you get camera shake. even if you lock the exposure first it's still a huge difference between the soft film shutter button and the 3 stop digital one. this is why I find the soft mode the only alternative for relaxed shooting for me. without that mode I wouldnt save up for a M-E now

 

[kbg32]

Standard and discreet as well.

 

[jaapv]

Soft. I like the hair trigger effect. Exposure? Much easier on manual than with AE lock. My minimum consistently acceptable shutter speed with a 50 mm lens is 1/8th sec.

 

[Marc G.]

Soft. I like the hair trigger effect. Exposure? Much easier on manual than with AE lock. My minimum consistently acceptable shutter speed with a 50 mm lens is 1/8th sec.

how long and how did you train that? 🙂 I only get 1/15th minimum...

 

[jaapv]

Since 1976...🙁
How?
http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica.../130720-leica-m8-m8-2-m9-m9p.html#post1548925

Actually I can handhold at rather slower shutterspeeds and get a reasonable success rate, but it is not consistent then.

 

[Monochrom]

Hi, recently got a rigid shutter release....what a nightmare 😀 the camera shts when she wants to.....got rid of it right away....although i have it in a box...it´s still a pretty piee of cjromed brass....🙄

 

[Godfrey]

how long and how did you train that? 🙂 I only get 1/15th minimum...

I've always been pretty steady. Exhale as you roll your finger on the shutter release. Hold the camera firmly but without tension to minimize muscular vibration.

This on was at 1second with the X2:

​

G

 

[Marc G.]

my best hit was 1/2 second on my film M. on the digital one the minimum shutter speed I need is 1/8th with a 28mm lens. no success at slower speeds. I blame the shutter material 😀

 

[xdayv]

Using discreet as standard. Note it can be switched super easily to normal by setting the frame mode from S to C. Best of both worlds for me.

+1. Though the Monochrom has a bug on discreet mode S, it hangs up once in a while, so i'm on C most of the time unless i need to be discreet.

 

[Monochrom]

Hi i used a standard SR...horrible experience just couldn´t get used to it...also very dangerous to the shutter itself since any lateral hit on the SR may fault the real shutter button...

 

[kshapero]

I love the soft shutter release option on the M9. It feels more responsive and ready to shoot. Who else uses soft?

PS: For those who use discreet mode, you can vote standard, or vote soft if you use discreet & soft.

Why did you not make this a 3 choice question? Kind of absurd otherwise.

 

[ramosa]

I use standard if I'm shooting in A mode, but soft if I'm shooting in M mode. Why? The soft won't permit locking exposure in A mode.

 

[Richard G]

The metering area is the same size relative to the frame, no matter which lens you use, so I'm not sure that's it.

Maggie is right, of course: the metering area increases in size in inverse proportion to the focal length. This was even made explicit in the M5 instructions in the early '70s. With a 28 and especially a 21, a significant proportion of the frame is sky, and the grey shutter blades reflect more of that light than with a 50 and the calculation of exposure leads to underexposure. Pointing the 21 or 28 downwards first and locking exposure, or shooting manual, are best for good exposure of shadow detail. I have switched to Soft mode with the M9 and shoot manual more often.

Indeed, the M6 manual states that the metering field is a circle with a diameter 2/3 of the short side of the appropriate frame line for that lens. For a 90 this is very small, and for a 21 it is most of the Leica's viewfinder field.

 

[Joe AC]

Soft in manual mode and standard in aperture priority.

Joe

 

[raid]

Interesting. Why is exposure lock especially important with a 28mm lens?

The exposure for an image taken with a wide angle lens can be more challenging to estimate than for images taken with a ess wide lens. "More" happens in a wide angle image. I use a spotmeter.

 

[adespen]

I voted soft but I use the discrete on my M-E