Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/04/19
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]>Derek Zeanah wrote: >I'm a wedding photographer. I had convinced myself that I wanted a Leica M >after handling a number of cameras at the local rental shop. Reasons are all >of the common ones: quiet, easy-to-focus, fast lenses. > >Any wedding photogs in here that use Leicas on the job? ...Derek's note goes on to describe how the R8 might be his choice based on his experience at a recent wedding. Hi Leica-friends, I'll delurk on this one. I'm not a wedding photographer, however I got married last month and you can be sure that I was keenly interested in what gear the photog of choice would use. My local Leica guru in Melbourne recommended a colleague, Stuart Handley, who uses only Leicas for weddings and strives for a more "documentary" approach (he, like Derek, also uses 'blads for formal shots). Helen and I both use R5's, so we listened intently to Stuart's explanation of how the M is the better choice for weddings-- lighter, less obtrusive (both in respect to size and noise) and an ability to get clearer images handheld at slow shutter speeds than an R at equivalent settings. (I'm still not sure on that last one, but the results speak for themselves). Stuart used an M4-2 with a 35mm Summilux (non-ASPH) and an M6 with a mid-50's vintage 50/1.5 Summarit. Film, primarily b&w, was all 400 speed. He used a relatively primitive flash with a homemade paper diffuser on the M6 for a just puff of fill-in flash. He also occasionally used a Leicaflex with an aged 90/2.8, but not during the ceremony. The R spent most of its time in the bag. Given the recent fashion for minimalism in this group, Stuart's outfit definitely qualifies as no-nonsense. Ultimately, it's not the gear but the results that count, and Stuart's were superb. Out of the 12 rolls he shot, I thought that only about six shots were duds. He was in the right place at the right time, and when he was there he was unobtrusive. Our wedding had to move indoors to our living room (due to the unpredictablity of our weather), and if Stuart had been using an R in there it would have drawn attention to itself. And to think-- some photogs use motordrives! So I'm a convert. Based on his advice, I'm playing with an M4-2 and my dad's old IIIf with its early 50's vintage lenses. The R's definitely have a place in our lives, but there are some places where the M excels, as most of you already know. (I was amazed at the quality you can get out of that old Summarit!) I now see that-- at least in the documentary approach-- that capturing the mood of a wedding and getting the expressions of people when they don't know they are being photographed is far more important than the last technical detail. Mark Viehman Melbourne, Australia viehman.mark.ms@bhp.com.au