Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/06/13
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hey there D.T., In regards to shooting in Europe with the Leica M, and using chrome, I have a few observations I'll share with you, for what they're worth. I just spent a year in the U.K., fell in love with the place, and if I wasn't such a dyed in the wool American, I'd move there to live a while. Its a beautiful country filled with wonderful people and some fantastic photographic opportunities. Paris wasn't so bad either!! In fact, I may go back to the U.K. to live there for a few years yet. I think I fell in love, and would like to spend more time photographing the place with both my Leica and with my 4x5. I shot a mixture of Chrome and Negative films, both color and B&W while there. The M6 metering is more than adequate to do the job, but like any camera, its no smarter than you are. Use it, trust it, and feel free to bracket and override its recommendation any time you have the slightest doubt. My film choices ranged from Velvia, Astia, and Ektachrome(s), through Kodak Royal gold 100 & Fuji 800, the new Kodak 160 speed films (the Higher Contrast version), Delta 100, and both Ilford and Kodak C-41 B&W films. After shooting several hundred rolls over a year, I can say that the films, when selected appropriately, all performed well and only failed when I did. Sunny day outside shots called for Velvia, or 100 asa print, gray days called for 100 speed at least, and interiors demanded the Fuji 800, since I carry only a small flash for occasional interior help! Having a small folding pocket size tripod was rarely useful, usually the walls, the pillars, the pews, or some other rigid structural device was more stable, and easier to carry around! B/T/W, the flash I use is the canon speedlight that they sold back when they were selling the canonet cameras, a little thing about the size of a box of regular cigs, and guide number of about 40 or so. It gives me a guaranteed f:4 at 10 feet, measured and proven! Great for the occasional interior shot that needs just a touch of fill light to help! The slide films are fantastic, as expected, and the print films gave me 5x7's to show others more conveniently, while still allowing for the making of 8x10's and 11x14's of great quality. Using Leica glass makes all the difference in the world! For a long time I used the 28mm/50mm/90mm combo, finally switching the 28 for a new 24mm. The difference in the coverage and the image quality between the 28 and the 24 is astounding, but I have no complaints against the 28, its still a dang fine lens. The jump in coverage between the 50 and the 24 is too much though, and now it leaves me wishing for a new 35mm lens. Both interiors and exteriors require the extreme coverage, given the desire to both include the subject (castle or abbey, etc.) and get close enough to eliminate too much of the foreground. Likewise, so many places are squished together compared to the spaces we're used to here in the U.S., so backing up is usually not possible! A lot of interiors can be handled with the 24mm of course, but the 35mm is also just right for this; people shots such as in a pub, or a subway come to mind. The ninety got to be a burden, heavy and large in the pocket, so it ended up in the trunk 95% of the time, unless I was carrying the complete kit in the camera bag. Dang though, when you use it, it does what it does fantastically! Too many choices, too much confusion!! The lenses you listed make me want to opt for the 21, 35, and 50 as the travelling set; I found I used my 90 only when making deliberate portrait shots of friends, under very specific circumstances, and the 50 did the job as well, most times. The problem for me was always one of balancing the amount of wide angle coverage I needed, so I opted for the 24, since it was more than enough. If I didn't have the 90 with me I didn't think about how I could use it, to justify carrying it. I just worked with the 24 and 50 and never looked back. The 24mm is a big beast, compared to the 50 or 35, so its awkward to just drop into a pocket, (that dang shade is WIDE!), but if left on the camera the 50 then snuggled in to a pocket comfortably. Carrying the Alice bag meant I had everything I wanted with me in the car, or while walking around, but most often I'd just grab the M6 w/24 on it, drop the 50 and three extra rolls in my pocket, and stroll. My alternate carry bag is the small Tamrac bag, name forgotten, that measures about 6 x 5 x 4 or so. Two pockets, a main that fits the M6 with any lens I own, and a front that fits either the 50 and 90 side by side, or the 50 and three to four rolls of film. The top cover has a small pouch that fits a micro fibre cloth, a polarizer or two, and a spare battery (never needed in 1.5 years, 150+ rolls of film). The bag has a shoulder strap, and a back strap for belt use. Costs about $20 or so, maybe a bit more. I got to where I left all the filters behind and only maybe occasionally carried a (B+W) polarizer and a grad ND (2stop) for some scenics, since the sky really needs balancing against the darker ground and buildings. I think these are a real must have for outside shots; inside there were probably no places that ever made me think I needed a filter. B&W work is different, and there one uses the filters as they are called for, since the film itself is the problem, and must be helped to get the results one wants. Ignore the opinions, and bring whatever high quality filters you might have, then use them as needed. After a while you may find that they're excess baggage, and opt to leave them in the hotel room, or the trunk. Better to have them and not need them then to need them and not have them. In all, one can't go wrong with an M6, lots of quality films, and perhaps just the few lenses. Its a very convenient and very capable tool set, and perfect for the job. Particularly if you just want to unobtrusively blend into the environment and make quality pictures of a most wonderful place. Enjoy it, make lots of pictures, but be assured that no matter what lens and film combos you use, after you're done, there will still be more pictures that you will want to go back and make. Isn't it wonderful!! Enjoy yourself, and take care. Norm Aubin ***************** From: InfinityDT@aol.com Subject: [Leica] Leica M advice wanted I'm planning to spend a (too-)short time in Europe soon, all the time in cities, on foot and on busses, trams, trains etc. I want to take my Leica M outfit because it is more compact than my reflex outfit and I can carry it in <SNIP> Also, another quandary I'm in is: I want to take no more than 4 lenses, perhaps even 3. I'm a long-time 50mm kind of guy, so that's in the bag for sure. Question is, for European urban-type photography, which 2 or 3 other M lenses would you consider "essential" choosing from 21 ASPH, 28, 35 Summicron ASPH, 90 Elmarit and 135 APO-Telyt. Thanks for any help. D.T. (which is what everyone calls me)