[Leica] IMGs: Beauty of M9 colors at night (Bangkok portfolio)

Wed Oct 8 05:08:56 PDT 2014

It would be problematical for me to have my iso' s 4000, 5000 be
problematical.  I've been shooting just about every night in Manhattan at
6400 which is where my auto iso tops off. Most of my shots are at that top
6400 setting. Its my cruising speed. I think nothing of it. The files it
makes are eminently workable and viewable.
See http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lugalrabs/ below.
I notice that when I am actually around a shop window or street light and
have some light my settings will go down to a smooth silky creamy 3200. Just
a stop And its quite luxurious. But I can live with out it. At that point id
just as soon stop down a stop so I'm not shooting wide open.
My camera is not new. Quite old in digital years its the D700 Nikon which
you can't buy new any more and the D750 is just out this week I'm sure the
sensor is quite improved. I'm guessing shooting with one would give me a
couple more stops of iso which might be nice.
No idea how Nikon modern sensors might compete with a Leica M240 but I have
very little interest how it might compete with an old CCD on an M9. As it
would be an apples vs. oranges blow out.
For my Leica shooting if I continue with it as I still have my glass I'd
certainly be getting the M 240 which has famously better low light
performance than an M9. The M9 being a relatively successful camera with its
one only glaring fault being its low light performance. But the new M 240
has erased that issue and presents itself as a camera which can go up
against any Canon or Nikon and be used by a lot of serious Pros and amateurs
on a level way higher than the M9 was never embraced.
To base my low light based work on that body famous for poor low light
performance seems a bit odd to me. And then put it though some odd jumps in
post processing. Though your work is impressive anyone can see.
 I'd trade in my used Chevy for a new cutting edge CMOS M. I think this
cherishing of the CCD over CMOS look is baloney. I've shot plenty with CCD's
though cropped and deal with the files every day. The so called purity of
color just isn't there.

On 10/8/14 1:40 AM, "mitcha at mac.com" <mitcha at mac.com> wrote:

> Tina - the ³Shoot at ISO 640 and push in LR4/5² technique can also be used
> with the M-Monochrom, except that it becomes ³Shoot at ISO 1250 and push in
> LR4/5.² While the in-camera high-iSO capability of the M-Monochrom is better
> than that of the M9 underexposing and then pushing in post has an advantage
> with the M-Monochrom: while I have no problems shooting at ISO 3200 with the
> M-Monochrom, by the time you shoot at ISOs as high as 4,000 or 5,000 the
> dynamics range gets much narrower than at ISO 3200 or 1250 and getting the
> exposure spot-on becomes important. However, when shooting at night, usually
> in high-contrast lighting, getting the exposure can be difficult particularly
> with 21mm and 28mm wide-angle lenses. For this reason, even with the
> M-Monochrom, I find it better to use the technique under discussion.
> 
> I haven¹t tried the M240, but you may want to look at Jim Kasson¹s blog, to
> which there is a link in the following long thread:
> 
> http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m9-forum/292708-m9-colors-nigh
> t-best-way-shoot.html
> 
> I linked this thread in an earlier reply to Richard Man. Jim has done a lot of
> testing in confirming the validity of the M9 "³Shoot at ISO 640 and push in
> LR4/5² technique.² Also, at the time of the above thread, Jim acquired an M240
> and did the same testing for the ³Shoot at ISO 1250 and push in LR4/5²
> technique for the M240. As i recall, he found some initial problems in the
> color reaction to this technique, but, as I don¹t have an M240, I haven¹t
> followed this issue, so I don¹t know whether he found a solution and what it
> might be.
> 
> - - Mitch
> 
> 
> 
>> Subject: [Leica] IMGs: Beauty of M9 colors at night (Bangkok portfolio)
>> From: tmanley at gmail.com (Tina Manley)
>> Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2014 18:31:08 -0400
>> References: <54EB6482-CDDC-4F8B-852F-18D151AE3B4E at mac.com>
>> Very nice!  I do about the same with the M240. The higher ISOs are better
>> but I'd still rather underexpose night shots and use a lower ISO.  Here is
>> one from Hanoi:
>> 
>> http://www.pbase.com/tinamanley/image/156817904
>> 
>> Tina
>> 
>> On Tue, Oct 7, 2014 at 5:39 PM, <mitcha at mac.com> wrote:
>> 
>>> I have always liked the colors that one can get with the M9, and the ones
>>> at night can be particularly beautiful as long as one processes the files
>>> to look like night. One that I like particularly is this Bangkok picture:
>>> 
>>> https://www.flickr.com/photos/malland/9139937872/in/photostream/lightbox/
>>> 
>>> The above pictures was shot at ISO 800 with the Summilux-50 pre-APH lens
>>> (f/2.8 at 1/60 sec). If you want to see more you can download the following
>>> 8MB PDF file with 16 Bangkok night shots:
>>> 
>>> http://bit.ly/1i93new
>>> 
>>>  Most of these were shot using the technique of ?shooting at ISO 640 and
>>> pushing in Lightroom 5;? some have been pushed as much as 4 stops. Shooting
>>> in this way actually makes the M9 a good camera for low light night
>>> photography, considering the results that are possible even in street
>>> photography.
>>> 
>>> Most of these pictures were made on very dark nights, often without any
>>> street lights: the light mostly was from fluorescent tubes from shop
>>> windows or food carts. Conditioned by the bright, flat light in shopping
>>> centers, we tend to think of fluorescent lighting as ugly; actually
>>> fluorescent tubes can produce beautiful colors. Indeed, there is a range of
>>> fluorescent cine lights called "Kino Flo.?
>>> 
>>> C&C welcomed. Also, please post your color night shots.
>>> 
>>> - - Mitch
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Leica Users Group.
>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>>> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
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-- 
Mark William Rabiner
Photographer
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lugalrabs/