Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2010/03/27
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I fully agree with Frank. I use the maximum aperture of all my lenses a lot, and I rarely go beyond f4. But of course, I am shooting with those inferior cropped format M8 and GF-1 cameras. However, when I was shooting film with my M6 and M7 I behaved in pretty much the same way. Nathan Nathan Wajsman Alicante, Spain http://www.frozenlight.eu http://www.greatpix.eu http://www.nathanfoto.com Books: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/search?search=wajsman&x=0&y=0 PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws Blog: http://www.fotocycle.dk/blog On Mar 27, 2010, at 11:26 AM, Frank Dernie wrote: > Sorry Mark, > I am not trying to question your, or others expertise, nor to question the > fact that most photographs are taken stopped down. > Probably everybody here knows that, including me, a poor amateur of 40 > years. > The point I was making was that, if one -almost never- shoots wide open, a > Leica lens is an unnecessary and expensive luxury for which one is getting > only rare benefit. > That was all. > cheers, > Frank > > On 27 Mar, 2010, at 09:47, Mark Rabiner wrote: > >>> If you are shooting at f5.6 Leica lenses are a bit of a waste of money. >>> My >>> Leica 50mm f1.4 is noticeable better that my Nikon 50mm f1.4 -at- f1.4, >>> but at >>> f5.6 i see very little difference. The price differential is almost 10:1. >>> That is my experience in general, sure all lenses get better stopped >>> down, >>> very particularly the cheap ones. What makes Leica worth the money (if >>> you >>> have it) is it loses so little quality as you open up, compared to >>> others. >>> IME. >>> Frank >> >> >> Its good to be able to shoot wide open when you need to. >> The idea that you'd almost never NOT need to is pretty amazing to me as a >> commercial photographer for 33 years. Wide open shooting was luxury my >> work >> in any area could seldom afford. Even in the photojournalism I did I shot >> it >> at f 8 or f11 and used a flash. Certainly not the landscape work I did and >> fine art stuff I did for a show which I did about once a year in some >> gallery even if it was a coffee shop. >> Half my stuff was on the white seamless backdrop I shot it at f11. >> >> When shooting commercially I fot the distant from the front of the object >> I >> needed in focus to the back. Then I calculated which f stop I need to get >> the whole thing front to back in focus. It was never wide open. Sometimes >> it >> was on a tripod and it was f22. >> >> I got my M6 with the idea of only using it for my fine art street shooting >> but soon used it on the backdrop and shot a variety of jobs with it. About >> none of it wide open. >> >> Wide open shooting seems to be a thing photojournist have done in the past >> ten years or so this super selected razor thing area of what's in focus it >> hardly is done for the bulk of photography. And its a style which I think >> has come to an end. In the beginning of digital when everyone was shooting >> cropped format it was certainly given up then. With the smaller format I >> was near impossible to get the limited in focus are look. You got >> everything in focus even it 2.8 with a wide zoom. >> >> Ok I just image Googled "best photojournalism photo" and I can't find one >> shot which appears to be shot wide open. Try it. Deep depth of field >> seems >> to be back. >> >> "best photojournalism photo" >> >> >> [Rabs] >> Mark William Rabiner >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 >