Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/02/19
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I wrote: >See my next post for an experience where only a Leica would do. OK, here goes. Sunday afternoon, I attended a chamber music concert given by an all-female ensemble consisting of piano, clarinet, and bassoon. The guest artist was a cellist who is a dear friend. They played some delightful 20th-Century wind music, plus an over-the-top Tango for Cello and piano, and the Brahms Clarinet Trio. I decided to see if I could get any decent shots of the performance. Equipment: M4-P, Luna Pro Digital, 35/2 Summicron (pre-ASPH), and "Blunt Instrument," my 85/1.9 Cannon, er, Canon (no, it's not a Summicron but it cost 1/4 as much!). Lens hoods for both. One fanny pack to sneak said gear into the hall. The stage lights were on before the perforemers entered, so I stuck my meter into the illuminated area and took a couple of incident readings. Then I sat down, listened, and did my thing. I shot half a roll of HP-5. The Leica's shutter was perfect for the occasion. I only shot during mezzo-forte passages or louder, and nobody noticed a thing but my wife and maybe the guy behind me. I think I got a few good shots. A person taking tickets later saw my camera and asked if I was taking pictures. She hadn't heard a thing, and couldn't believe that I could do it without flash. One major challenge: Often the best expressions and suspension of motion happen on upbeats, which are often quiet, so I wouldn't shoot then. I did not know beforehand where the performers would be sitting, so I couldn't choose a seat that would minimize the obstacles of a microphone and music stands. I tried to turn this to an advantage in one shot, where all you can see is the cellist's eyes and bow protruding from behind the music stand. I hope that one comes out well. My biggest frustration, though, was the blasted rangefinder flare. There were a couple of floor lamps on stage to light the music, and they flared out the RF. I know I missed several good shots because I wasn't sure of the focus with all that flare, and hesitated too long. I did a lot of stage photography with my dearly departed M2 back in the 70s, and I never had this problem. Back home, I played around with black tape and masking tape on the frameline illumination window, and couldn't find any perfect solution. The only way to eliminate the flare was to cover the window completely with black tape, and then there are no framelines. I'm not giving up--perhaps a colored gel will help enough, or a polarizing material, or that stick-on thing from the guy in Switzerland. The flare had me longing for a Bessa R viewfinder. Just the viewfinder. Not the camera, which would have been far to noisy, and couldn't focus an 85/1.9 accurately enough. But it's amazing to me that Leica, the supposed king of quality, would for nearly 20 years produce a $2000 camera with such a glaring (literally!) flaw. Especially since Cosina managed to outdo them in a camera costing 1/3 the price! Especially since Leicas are often used for existing light, where light sources are often in or near the frame. Still, only a Leica would do. The Bessa or the Hexar RF would be too noisy. The old leaf-shutter Hexar doesn't have an 85 or 90mm f/2. Even a quiet SLR like my Olympus OM-2 would have been too noisy. Next time, I think I'll take my IIIf to a concert and see if the lack of flare and more magnified RF makes up for the separate viewfinder issue. The film is at the lab. I'll try to post something in the near future. At this point all I can do is scan the 4x6 prints, as I have no access to a film scanner. Can anyone recommend a simple Web Page editor (preferably free or cheap) that just does simple HTML and picture embedding and doesn't throw tons of garbage on one's hard drive? Peter (Phantom of the Kammermusik) Klein Seattle, WA