Here is a Panorama taken using a Gigapan robotic tripod head and a Canon G11 at the Australian Open Women’s Final.
and here is a Panorama taken at the Boxing Day test at the melbourne Cricket Ground with the same setup.
I have been taking photos for a living for over a quarter of a century. I have used or tested just about every camera under the Sun, and they all do roughly the same thing. I had thought that what sets them apart in the digital age is the technology that has been applied to each particular model; the size of the chip, the speed of autofocus, and the frame rate, for instance. For the last week I have been playing with the new Leica M9, and it has changed the way I valuate cameras.
Shooting with the M9 has been such a joy, that it has reminded me why I got into photography in the first place. There is something about the lack of technology in the Leica that brings homage to the phrase, less is more.
This camera is not an SLR, so rather than viewing the scene through the lens, you are seeing it through a rangefinder. Unlike an SLR, the whole scene looks sharp and you have to use a split image plane to manually focus. This gives the impression that you are a part of the scene rather than detached from it, and it somehow makes you feel closer to what you are capturing. An added bonus is that you can see things coming into the frame, so you can decide whether to wait and include them, or fire before they get there.
For years I have been listening to Leica shooters telling me how they take better pictures with this make of camera. I had always put their comments in the same category as taking pictures with a beret and a cravat, but after my little sojourn with this camera, I get it.
The lack of autofocus or blazingly fast frame rate, means that you are forced to think more about what you are doing. You tend to compose your pictures better, and time things just right to get the frame with a single shot, rather that a burst.
This may sound like a step backwards, but sometimes to go forwards you must first go back.
Okay, now that I’ve got the romantic stuff out of the way, let’s look at the Leica’s drawbacks. There is only one; the $15,350 you’ll fork out for a M9 and a 35mm f2 Summicron lens (like I had to test). Some might say that for so much money it should have autofocus, and all the bells and whistles that go with it, but I disagree.
Enough said, lets get back to the good stuff.
With the M9 comes a brand new full frame 18 megapixel CCD chip. In keeping with the purists, Leica have not gone the way of almost all other manufacturers by using a CMOS chip to record the image. While CMOS chips have undoubtedly better lower light characteristics and use a lot less power, resulting in superior battery life, they cannot compare with the Dynamic Range of the CCD sensor as long as the ISO is at the lower end of the scale. And let’s face it, most Leica users won’t be pushing their ISO settings to the limit.
The most important thing about any camera system is the glass that it looks through. Leica make, arguably the best lenses you can get. They are razor sharp and incredibly fast. The 50mm Noctilux is f0.95, and the 21mm, 24mm, and 35mm come in an f1.4. Of course, most of us will settle for f2 or f2.5 versions, but it’s nice to have the really fast options.
In your hands the camera feels surprisingly heavy for it’s size, a testament to the build quality. It looks and feels like a camera should. Not too obtrusive, in fact most people wouldn’t even be aware that you are taking photos (the reason why the Leica has always been an instrument of choice among the World’s most famous street photographers). To make this camera even sneakier, in discreet mode, the shutter is only recocked when your finger releases the shutter button (when you’ve put the camera under your jacket for instance).
Technically, it has a 24 x 36mm CCD chip, that has an ISO range from 80 – 2500. In the M9 there is a built in infrared suppression filter (external on the M8), and on the back of the camera is a bright 2.5 inch LCD monitor. The body comes in either black or steel grey. Images are stored on an SD card that in a quirky Leica sort of way, can only be accessed by removing the plate on the foot of the camera.
This camera is an absolute pleasure to shoot with. The specs on paper cannot do justice to how this camera feels in your hands, and how it really does make you take better pictures. The very first thing I’m going to do when I win Tattslotto is to buy two M9 bodies and a handful of f1.4 lenses….and then I’ll seriously think about a beret!
3200 ISO at 7.30am
Front page of The Australian
6400 ISO at 5.30am
12800 ISO at 5.45am
The Leica M8.2 is as much a piece of art as the images it captures. This hand built and lovingly crafted example of German precision is in a league of it’s own. In a world of digital cameras that are made to be replaced more often than your motorcar, the M8.2 is the Rolls Royce.
To continue the motorcar analogy, the best Japanese digitals would be like SS V8 Commodores. While the cheaper version will out perform the exclusive model every time, there is no way that a Rolls driver would be seen dead in the Holden. Sometimes there is more to a product than what the specifications suggest.
The Leica just feels right. The heaviness of the camera gives it a solid and steady feel that no other camera of it’s size can match. And, as any Leica shooter will tell you, the glass is simply the best in the business.
This camera is the update to the Marque’s 1st streetwise digital, the M8. It has a new “snapshot” mode, a sapphire crystal cover on the LCD screen, a quieter shutter with a special discreet mode, and an improved rangefinder that tells no lies about what you are shooting. And a new vulcanized finish that improves your grip and looks really cool.
Snapshot mode is sort of like a program mode. It chooses the exposure (aperture priority), the ISO and the white balance, you just have to be there and focus. This is actually a very handy mode, aimed at the Johnny-on-the-spot street photographer who finds himself in the middle of the action and cannot sacrifice pictures for decision making.
The quieter shutter has a new “discreet” mode, that stops the shutter from being cocked until the button is released after the picture has been taken. In any situation where you don’t want the people knowing that pictures are being taken, you can almost silently take the picture, then hide the camera under your coat before releasing the button.
The sapphire crystal cover on the screen will require a diamond to scratch it, and I wish that it was standard issue on all cameras.
The rangefinder has been improved following complaints that the previous model’s rangefinder was not accurate enough. It is the rangefinder that gives the Leica it’s unique feel. It somehow makes you feel closer to the subject, and less detached from the scene.
It has been said that owning a Leica will improve your photography and that you will actually take better pictures. At first, this sounds like a bit of spin, but I can see how this would be true. The lack of an autofocus system with zoom lenses and numerous other automated features, means that to take pictures with the Leica, you actually have to think about what you are doing. Rather than being lazy and zooming in, you tend to pay more attention to composition. The fact that you don’t have a pop up flash means that you will spend more time looking at how the light hits your subject. And the discreet nature of the camera allows you to take pictures of people passing by without them looking at you, wondering what you are up to.
The only thing letting down this camera is the CCD. While the 10.2 megapixel image is large enough (particularly when combined with the exceptional quality of the lenses), it’s a pity that it isn’t full frame (it has an extension factor of 1.33). It is rated from 160 – 2500 ISO, and although at low ISO it is flawless, you don’t really want to push it far beyond 640.
Still, for the purists who will buy this camera, that really isn’t an issue. For many Leica owners, it is all about setting the ISO to it’s lowest, and the lens to it’s widest.
Like the Rolls Royce that we mentioned earlier, this exclusivity doesn’t come cheap. The M8.2 is $8390 for the body and the 28mm Summicron f2 that I used is a tidy $6800 (prices from Ted’s Photography). If you are really keen on splurging, the M8.2 also comes in a limited edition Safari model (green) for about $15,000 with a 28mm Elmarit f2.8, or a Special Edition White M8 (the older model) with a silver anodised 28mm Elmarit f2.8 lens for $14,750.
In today’s world of digital cameras that are being produced on masse in a way to keep the price down, it is refreshing to see such a quality camera still being made by hand. Everything about the Leica smacks of quality and style. And I am sure that if Ansell Adams was still around and had to shoot digital, this would be his camera of choice. And let’s face it, what else would you want around your neck if you where wandering around Yosemite National Park?
Here are some of the photos taken with the Leica M8 (this is a current model before the upgrade).
Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite
