Some images

Below, you will find some images taken with the M6 and the 50/2.0 Summicron. I am rather satisfied with the Leica.

I took slides (Fuji Sensia) that were scanned with a Minolta 5400 scanner and converted to b&w in Photoshop.

From the same shooting:

The image taken with a Canon 5D MkII and a EF 70-200/4.0 L zoom lens does not look bad, but somewhat flat in comparison:

Where does this special look of the Leica images come from, this "charme"? I have no explanation so far.

What I like about the Leica at this stage:

1. the rangefinder covers a larger area than the image recorded on film: this helps a lot with framing.
   (Note that the rangefinder has framelines that adapt to the lens that is mounted on the camera; for my purposes, the framelines in the 0.85 finder for 50 and 90mm lenses are very convenient.)
2. the handling of the Leica and its quiet shutter: unobtrusive photography
3. the compact unit of  the camera+lens combination: less weight to carry around
4. the concentration on the essentials of taking images that comes with this camer: simplicity

I have to say that the Leica M6 has already made me a better photographer. I care more about framing and exposure, get closer to the action, think more before pressing the release button and think more after the image was taken.

My summary at this point: the M6 appears to be a very fine, unobtrusive tool for taking images of people and for travelling. I appreciate this low-paced style of photography and I really like the images I get. In other words, if you like b&w, get a used Leica M6 or M7.

In one of the next posts, I will provide a short list of steps necessary to go back to film, together with recommendations and links. In a further post, I will also write about my experiences with a Leica M9, during a long weekend at the Leica Academy (the latter is highly recommended!).

Leica Gallery - getting infected with the virus

Many years ago I thought about buying a Leica film camera. Even at this time, Leica was prohibitively expensive for me and, most important, I felt more comfortable with an SLR, the Nikon F2S. Film loading, interchangeable focusing screens, macro capabilities, and the extensive range of lenses were the decisive arguments for me, in addition to the price.

After several visits to the local Leica gallery (see:  Leica galleries worldwide) I had the chance to attend the vernissage (opening) of  an exhibition of b&w images by Craig Semetko. Craig gave a convincing explanation why he uses a Leica for his work. My interest was roused.

Purely by chance, a few days later I passed by Andrej Borodin's shop Fotokor in Salzburg, Austria. He had a used Elmarit M 90/2.8 lens at a very reasonable price. I bought this lens. Andrej also showed me a beautiful Leica M6 TTL, also in near mint condition. After a surprisingly sleepless night, I bought this camera too.

Concerning the haptic, I did not regret this decision for a second. I enjoyed toying around with the camera, learning to focus and to operate its controls. I liked the haptic of my old Nikons (F, F2S, F3; all sold now), but the Leica was definitely a class above them. A beautiful tool. Something special.

Concerning loading film into the Leica and, most important, concerning the first images I took with this camera, I was rather upset. Bad images they were: out of focus and sometimes blurred. Further, I did not want to bother with a darkroom, so I had my b&w films developed and printed by a local store, at stupid prices and with meaningless, flat prints.

But, there were a few images that gave me some hope.

Then I took a decision.
The Leica would serve me to produce b&w portraits. No landscape, no color. I would scan the images from b&w negative film or from slides, and make the b&w conversion in Photoshop.

This decision had consequences. I bought a film scanner, a Minolta 5400, over eBay. Nikon Coolscans are  were too expensive. And I fould the tutorial Black & White 35mm Scanning with Vuescan by Tim Gray, which was most helpful.

And then I took some images, with a Canon 5D Mk2, which performed flawlessly, was a pleasure to work with and produced nice results. And all this was accompagnied by some images with my M6, taken with a used Summicron 50/2. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the Leica more than the highly efficient, highly practical and instantaneous Canon. Strange, isn't it?

More about this in one of the next posts.

The image below was taken with the Leica M6TTL 0.85, Summicron 50/2, on Fuji Sensia slide film, then scanned with the Minolta 5400 MkI, and converted to b&w in Photoshop.

The following image is from the same shooting, Canon 5DMk2, EF 100/2.0.

My M6

The Leica M6 is a rangefinder camera for 35mm film (TriX, and so on ...). I recommend that you follow the link to luminous landscape for further information.

The M6TTL is an M6 with TTL flash metering.  0.85 refers to the rangefinder magnification. 0.72 is standard on Leica M cameras. 0.85 denotes a higher magnification than 0.72, hence framing and focusing with a 50mm or 90mm lens is easier. If you are wearing glasses, you will have difficulties to see all the frames for a 35mm lens in a 0.85 finder.

Important notice.
All text and images in this blog are copyrighted.