[Leica] BIG new Leica

Mark Rabiner mark at rabinergroup.com
Sat Oct 24 13:57:14 PDT 2015 

Yes the advantage of a light tripod is that its light and the advantage of a
heavy tripod is that its heavy.
But I think what makes or breaks tripod use other than you didn't get a
stoop over to use super cheapo is the interface. And that is your tripod
head which are head over heals the two lever compo's we used before the
80's. So tripod don't slow you down much any more like they used to and
don't make you loose and spontaneity when you are actually shooting. You
line of a shot quite fast.

I will so in the opposite category that I did a stint doing retail fashion
and they had a gear head on the big tripod stand thingie and I swore I'd get
one for myself. Bogen makes one now which is a bit compact and not too
pricey. Its great to line up your shot perfectly with no aftershift.


On 10/24/15 4:39 PM, "Frank Filippone" <red735i at verizon.net> wrote:

> Mark.. several of us do not want to spend the money for a M240.
> Thus all the talk about the Sony A7..... and its variants.  Or why several
> of use still use M9's.
> 
> And the Leica anything (M8,M9,M240, and the Mono versions) are not ISO speed
> demons.  They are still WAY under the competitive power curve, DSLR or not.
> I consider my M9 no good above ISO 640. YMMV
> 
> I still use a tripod...   Read Puts on getting the BEST out of your glass,
> it is one of the techniques you must use.  Remember, the operative word is
> BEST.
> 
> Flimsy tripods are just that, flimsy.  Most tripods are up to the job of a
> few pound camera.  Others are pure junk.  You know this stuff.
> 
> Frank Filippone
> Red735i at verizon.net
> 
> 
> It sounds like you are juggling a truckload of glass adding up to serious
> money which will not make up for the fact that you are using an M9 Leicas
> CCD first out full frame digital M and not a current CMOS M.
> Speed considerations (and people do use tripods) are a thing of the past in
> digital photography nowadays with a normal cruising speed of 64,000 two
> stops over 16,000 and that's just getting warmed up.
> Unless you happen to be shooting a technical anomaly like an M9.
> The plus side Leica is still in business and its finally got it right
> digitally with the current CMOS M. (240) which lets you use the  iso' s the
> rest of the serious photog world are using on their DSLR's........
> 
> 
> And as I said with digital speed is was more so no longer an issue but
> especially with landscape shooting where tripods are the default.
> Tripod use now is not the tripod use of days gone by.
> They are resin coated light and friendly and the heads are ball head
> variations which leave your hands on the camera its the interface between
> your camera and tripod and makes all the difference. Tripod use is much less
> clunky than it was before.  Its not all all clunky now. Get a nice little
> tripod case with strap to sling over your back like Robin Hood you won't
> even know its there. And wear green! And steal from the rich and give to the
> poor.
> 
> 
> On 10/24/15 3:23 PM, "Paul Roark" <roark.paul at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> I added the SUPER ELMAR-M 1:3,4/21mm ASPH to the comparison stack, below:
>> 
>> http://www.paulroark.com/Loxia-v-Leica-21-f28-SEM.tif
>> 
>> No doubt the SEM is the sharpest and smallest modern 21.  I have the
>> ELMAR-M
>> 24 mm f/3.8 ASPH, which I use as my "reference" wide angle on an M9.
>> The Loxia, at f/2.8, however is faster and has a good 3/4 stop less
>> vignetting/light falloff.
>> 
>> I used the Biogon C 21mm on the M9 -- for B&W.  (It is not appropriate
>> for color shooting due to bad magenta color at the edges.)  It's
>> sharp, but the vignetting was significant -- about like the SEM 21.  I
>> found heavily "red filtered" (in Photoshop) blue skies got noticeably
>> more grainy at the edges with the M9.  So, that light falloff issue is
>> a relevant factor in the calculus.
>> 
>> The WATE is my only good superwide that will fit on the Sony.  More
>> speed and better wide open performance is what I'm interested in with
>> the Loxia 21.  We'll see.  If it's a turkey, it'll be returned.  It
>> will not be shipped until December.
>> 
>> Paul
>> www.PaulRoark.com
>> 
>> On Sat, Oct 24, 2015 at 11:58 AM, Frank Filippone
>> <red735i at verizon.net>
>> wrote:
>> 
>>> In my use of the lenses, the 50 ASPH Lux is the best. Period.  I can
>>> see the difference.
>>> The 21 and 24 SEM are VERY close to each other.
>>> The WATE is about as good as the 21, side by side, and offers the
>>> ability to have wider if you want/need.  Great for stitched
>>> Panoramas.
>>> 
>>> Then again, YMMV, and this is all on a M9 body.
>>> 
>>> I do not use a 28.. too close to the 35 in angle of view for me.  So
>>> no comment on the 28's, ASPH or not.
>>> The 28 Cron was wonderful on the M8.... but that body is gone too.
>>> 
>>> I had a 35 ASPH Cron and did not cotton to the lens.  I have friends
>>> who love it..
>>> 
>>> The 21 and 24 ASPH Elmarits are all to big physically (BIG front
>>> elements) for travel purposes, given the choice of the SEMs.
>>> Faster, yes, but you need to make it all fit in a small camera bag....
>>> 
>>> If someone is in the mood to buy a 24 ASPH Elmarit, please contact me....
>>> 
>>> Frank Filippone
>>> Red735i at verizon.net
>>> 
>>> 
>>> I think the Leica 21mm Super-Elmar-M f/ 3.4 ASPH Lens is better!
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On 10/23/15 5:44 PM, "Frank Filippone" <red735i at verizon.net> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> The 21 and 24 SEM are similar to the 50 ASPH Lux (and the WATE!).  I
>>>> can pick out images from those lenses from others in my stable....
>>>> 
>>>> It may be that the optical characteristics of the most modern lenses
>>>> are similar.... design tools?  Intentional design compromises?
>>>> Purely
>>> chance?
>>>> 
>>>> Frank Filippone
>>>> Red735i at verizon.net
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: LUG [mailto:lug-bounces+red735i=verizon.net at leica-users.org]
>>>> On Behalf Of John McMaster
>>>> Sent: Friday, October 23, 2015 2:40 PM
>>>> To: 'Leica Users Group'
>>>> Subject: Re: [Leica] BIG new Leica
>>>> 
>>>> The 21mm SEM beats the Elmarit asph in all areas IMO. I would say
>>>> that the S range is Leica's still lens showcase range ;-)
>>>> 
>>>> john
>>>> 
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> 
>>>> ?Yes, everything is a whole set of compromises.  I assume Leica and
>>>> Zeiss will both continue to make optics that also cater to those who
>>>> value
>>> compactness.
>>>> The M line is Leica's current showcase of what it can do.  It may be
>>>> that the Loxia line for the Sony is representative of what Zeiss can
>>>> do for that platform.
>>>> 
>>>> Since wide angle optics are the main area of my concern regarding
>>>> the Sony line, I was curious just how much of a penalty that
>>>> platform will pay.  To show this, I made a Tiff file with a cutout of
> the Leica v.
>>>> Zeiss Loxia 21mm
>>>> f/2.8 entries into this competition shown on different layers.  The
>>>> images are adjusted to equalize size and distance from the sensor/film.
>>>> Some might find looking at the two similar optics interesting.
>>>> Download the Tiff from
>>>> http://www.paulroark.com/Loxia-v-Leica-21-f28.tif
>>>> 
>>>> As to relative sharpness, all we have are MTF curves that are not
>>>> necessarily comparable.  If they are to be believed, the Zeiss wins
>>>> by a hair.  My experience is that Leica is more conservative in
>>>> these, and
>>> in
>>>> the real world Leica might well win by a hair.   The main and more
>>>> objective measure of performance that could be important is that,
>>>> consistent with the performances we see in other wide angle lenses,
>>>> the more retrofocus optic has less vignetting. Zeiss is claiming
>>>> light falloff at f/2.8 that is equal to the Leica at f/8.
>>>> 
>>>> Paul
>>>> www.PaulRoark.com
>>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Leica Users Group.
>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>>> 
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Leica Users Group.
>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>>> 
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> Leica Users Group.
>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
> 
> 
> 
> 
> --
> Mark William Rabiner
> Photographer
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lugalrabs/
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information




-- 
Mark William Rabiner
Photographer
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lugalrabs/

More information about the LUG mailing list