who uses their Leica M in the studio?

jaimiepeeters said:
have you experienced anything different from digital while shooting film?
Click to expand...

I shoot only film... but... there is no chimping... different rhythm with roll changes... longer wait for shots to be ready... selection of spectral response of the film... no worries about battery life... and I just like shooting film...

and of course models just love film... :)
 
Darn it! I didn't know the M4 has a flash sync of max 1/50!!
I shot everything at 125 and 250.

How do you shoot a moving model at 1/50 and get her tack sharp??
 
I use mine and love it.
http://flic.kr/p/boSbQf
boSbQf
 
The "pop" of the strobe (at 1/1000- 1/5000 sec) is what freezes the action. 1/50 shutter speed syncs the strobe so that that the shutter is fully open when the strobe "pops".
 
I shoot a lot in my home studio (three strobes), with 35, 50 and 90. Never found the synch a problem, flash duration is like 1/2000 anyway.
 
contax g1 in the studio possibly nsfw

contax g1 in the studio possibly nsfw

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=105527
^^ contax g1 in the studio I'm using 28, 45 + 90

Ok its not a leica but its not a slr either..

On film in the studio I prefer my g1 lenses over my nikon gear. I shoot paid fashion work with the g1. (though primarily digital + MF) The stocking series in the thread link was a studio work job.
For hair or beauty closeups its not the right tool.
 
I dont get it.

I just tested the following:

Leica M4-2 set to 1/50 and ZM 50mm f2 set to F8.
This was the exact reading of the Sekonic meter.

I also tested it with my X100 just to be sure.. it all looked well.

But when I developed the film* every frame is overexposed!

developed in Amaloco 1+19 , 8 minutes, Fuji Acros 100

I also noticed overexposure with another roll (same brand) used with daylight..
also metered with both the Sekonic and the X100...

It's not the first time I've noticed this overexposure on film.. when I used a Hexar AF with studio flash, it was also overexposed.

Can somebody help me out here?
 
If you are getting overexposure with daylight -and- strobe, perhaps you are overdeveloping the film? Try cutting back on the development time and see what happens.
 
I will try that .. but if that's the case than I dont understand why because I'm following instructions by the letter (I believe).

Just opened a overexosed scan in PS and tried to completely lower the highlights and I see that all the information is in the image.. meaning, the image appears completely.
 
If you've over developed the film the on neg film branding should lose some crispness. I think I'm right in saying that.
 
Hey Jaimie, the answer might be your scanner/software. I've had some rolls of tri x come out this way from the lab. I believe film scanner settings are probably optimized for color film and tend to have a tough time with true bw film (i noticed this on the noritsu/fuji frontiers ive used in the past). In order to really blow out highlight detail, where you cant pull it out...you have to really really overexpose the image. I typically overexpose all my print film by +1 or 2 stops to achieve more shadow detail because of the extreme highlight latitude in print film. All the info is still there in the neg so you should be fine. :cool:
 
Yeah, I don't think the film is overexposed at all--I think you just need to tweak your scanner settings. They generally never produce, without some help, a perfect scan straight away.

I think if the film were really that overexposed, you wouldn't be getting any detail at all in the skin (especially in the chest area) and in the wallpaper to the left of the model. It *is* a bit contrasty, but as someone mentioned above, you can control that in development either by reducing the time a bit, or cutting back on how aggressively you agitate during development. And, really, if you rescanned it and adjusted the settings, you'd probably be able to get a perfectly exposed file.

Have you shot and developed much black & white film? With a bit of practice, you'll be able to look at your negatives and tell if they've been properly exposed. Trust your judgment--you're much more intelligent than your scanner. It's quite capable...but not very bright.
 
Oh, and by the way--I occasionally use my M3 and M6 in the studio. The M3 and my ancient 90/2.8 Elmarit and much more recent 50 Summicron are a great combination in there, despite its wonky flash socket. You can't get 100% accurate framing, especially when you're very close, but it's normally good enough.

Ms really are nice for studio shoots, because your face isn't hidden behind some huge mass of camera. With the M3 and its enormous finder, you can even keep both eyes open while shooting and communicate with the sitter much more intimately. Whenever I'm working with someone I find really interesting, I usually try to bring my Leica gear along as well and run some nice 100/125 speed black & white film through it. The results are almost always very pleasing!
 
I always boost the analog intensity by 50% when scanning BW film. My film is very often over-developed by the local lab. The scans always come out good.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom