Setting up an M9 for street shooting

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nightfly

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Just got a new (to me), used M9.

Any tips for configuring for street shooting. Already discovered the advance noise is louder than I'd like but I guess in discreet mode you can keep your finger on trigger till you want it to advance or cock the shutter or whatever it's doing.

Coming off an M-4p and basically want it to work like the digital version of that with a minimum of futzing with settings while shooting.

Super excited.
 
I use mine like my m6.
Image review off.
Choose an Iso, probably under 1000.
Shoot raw.
Meter as you would (the meter can get confused on auto.)
The advance noise is a pain, but not prohibitive after a while.
Get a thumbie grip thing so you can hold it like a film M.
Always going to feel that little bit bigger than the perfect harmonious balance of the film M's, in my opinion but still.
Can't think of anything else.
Go for it!
 
nightfly said:
Just got a new (to me), used M9.

Any tips for configuring for street shooting. Already discovered the advance noise is louder than I'd like but I guess in discreet mode you can keep your finger on trigger till you want it to advance or cock the shutter or whatever it's doing.

Coming off an M-4p and basically want it to work like the digital version of that with a minimum of futzing with settings while shooting.

Super excited.
Click to expand...

Fit 28, 35, or 50mm lens, depending on caprice of the moment.
Set to appropriate ISO (320 or 640 for me).
Turn off auto review.
Meter manually.

I don't find the Discreet mode all that important. I use the Soft mode for the shutter release, as it reduces the amount of pressure and distance needed to release the shutter. The shutter cocking sound is barely audible to anyone but the photographer using the camera, unless you're in a concert hall or similar very quiet situation.

I found that the A&A half case gave me exactly the grip and feel I preferred. One of the things I like is that the film wind on the M4-2 is often in my way, and it's not there on the M9. :)

Set up that way, it's very much like using my M6TTL (in the past, because of the metering) or M4-2 (still have it) other than that it re-cocks the shutter for me. The only real difference in feel is that it's a thicker and somewhat heavier camera, but once you get used to that it will feel transparently like your M4-P with a built-in meter.

Oh yeah, and the viewfinder's .68x magnification is better with my 35mm lens, but makes it a little harder to see the focus patch clearly compared to the M4-2. I use an auxiliary finder with the 28mm lens because I simply cannot see the framelines with my glasses on. I use a focusing system magnifier with 50/90/135 mm lenses so I can see the focusing patch more clearly. This is a minor niggle, but the M4 and early series M4-2 viewfinder have always been the best match for my eyesight (simpler, the right magnification, the right brightness and weight to the framing lines).

Go out and enjoy it. Within a short bit it will be just the same as the M4-P ... another nice camera that you use, and don't think twice about.

G
 
I always shoot RAW with an ISO of 1000 mostly, sometimes 1250. I set up my 28mm at f11 with hyperfocal focus, and go from there. I do change the distance setting often if I am working close, as well as the aperture. My M9 is in discreet mode as well and I use the Leica grip with the neck strap wrapped around my hand. I dislike the Thumbs Up.
 
nightfly said:
Just got a new (to me), used M9.

Any tips for configuring for street shooting. Already discovered the advance noise is louder than I'd like but I guess in discreet mode you can keep your finger on trigger till you want it to advance or cock the shutter or whatever it's doing.

Coming off an M-4p and basically want it to work like the digital version of that with a minimum of futzing with settings while shooting.

Super excited.
Click to expand...

I don't find the shutter is that loud. It's not like the streets are generally super quiet. People are going to know you're taking a photo anyway.
 
I've been experimenting with auto ISO on my M-E. I manually select both my DOF with my aperture setting, and my safe speed (I've been using 1/180sec), concentrate on fine tuning my focus after narrowing the distance to a predetermined desired range, then letting the camera select the ISO. I do set a maximum ISO of 800/1000. The biggest challenge I think is choosing the correct place to meter.

We'll see if this approach works out.

The sound level of the M-E in discrete is pretty muted, certainly much quieter than my DSLRs, although not remotely as quiet as my MP.
 
The most imortant thing for me as well is to use manual exposure, and sometimes I meter off the palm of my hand if the light is the same as falling on the subject. Usually I shoot at ISO 640 because I like the grain-like noise of the M9 at this speed — and also that this is the speed that I use for low-light night photography, as explained in this thread on the Shoot at ISO 640 and Push in LR5 Technique. (The suggested steps in shooting and processing are listed in post #31 on page 2 of this thread.)

Mostly I use a 28 mm lens and often a 21 mm. With these wide-angle lenses I often shoot close up to the subject, 1-2 meters, sometimes not looking through the viewfinder but holding the camera at chest height. For this, it's necessary to pre-focius, and it's worthwhile to practice focusing at, 1.0, 1.2, 1.5 and 2 meters.

MITCH ALLAND/Potomac, MD
Download links for book project pdf files
Chiang Tung Days
Tristes Tropiques
Bangkok Hysteria
Paris au rythme de Basquiat and Other Poems
 
There is a lot of noise in those shadows Mitch, as well as magenta casts on the edges and in the shadows too. 1/4 to 1/3 stop push, seems better.
 
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