Sunday, May 24, 2026

REALISTIC, REAL WORLD LEICA LENS PERFORMANCE




Reggi Anderson, Artist
Leica M6, 135mm f/2.8 Elmarit, Agfapan APX 25

I rarely, if ever, do use a tripod, on location as well as in studio.  I feel it eliminates some of the advantages of the Leica by adding considerable bulk.  It slows you down and eliminates the spontaneity the camera offers.

Subsequently some of the examples in this article are not of an ultimate quality in terms of sharpness and detail, but they are examples of what one can reasonably expect under real world shooting conditions.  I should also mention that not all of the shots are necessarily focused with utmost accuracy.  Especially when shooting on location, I mostly use hyperfocal settings on my lenses.  It allows the fastest possible shooting, without the time necessary for rangefinder focusing or, if it were available, automatic focusing.


Melanie
Leica M6, 90mm f/2.8 Elmarit, Ilford XP-2 Super @ ISO 100

Especially in situations where speed is of the essence, we are not always able to frame a photograph to its best advantage.  Later cropping is often necessary to obtain the best possible result.  This is where Leica lenses offer substantial advantages.  Even severely cropped images often show a wealth of detail.  This has from time to time allowed me to create different photos from one and the same initial image; to some extend this it could be considered a substitute for a zoom lens.  Of course this extra performance also offers the possibility to make rather big enlargements, often with results that rival those from medium format cameras.


Statue at Chamberlain, South Dakota
Leica M8, 28mm f/2.8 Elmarit

There are a lot of good cameras and lenses on the market.  Shooting with Leica equipment definitely does away with the worry if another camera possibly might have given better results.  The old adage still applies; you get what you pay for.


Veronika
Leica M3, 50mm f/2 Dual Range Summicron, Agfapan APX 25
There is some fine detail in this enlargement which is not visible in the full frame example


Cindy
Leica M6, 50mm f/2 Summicron, Agfapan APX 25


Lou Bellami, Founder and Director "Penumbra Theater" St. Paul, Minnesota
Leica M6, 135mm f/2.8 Elmarit, Ilford XP-2 Super @ ISO 800, Stage Lighting


Harbor of Duluth, Minnesota
Leica M8, 28mm f/2.8 Elmarit


Bavaria, Germany
Leica M240, 28mm f/2.8 Elmarit


Franklfurt, Germany
Leica M240, 28mm f/2.8 Elmarit


European Parliament, Strasbourg, France
Leica M 240, 28mm f/2.8 Elmarit


Strasbourg Cathedral
Leica M 240, 28mm f/2.8, 1/90 sec, ISO 3200


Vilsheim, Germany
Leica M240, 50mm f/2 Summicron

Leica M240, Novoflex 200mm f/3.8, ISO 800, 1/350 sec, f/8, handheld


Cropped detail of the same file

For more on this go here


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_______________________________________________________________________

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Thursday, May 21, 2026

CREATING A NEW PHOTOGRAPH


                                      


By Heinz Richter

I am a firm believer that photographs straight out of the camera are just a beginning. Ansel Adams is still perfectly correct, even in the digital age, when he said, "the negative (digital file) is just the score, the final print is the performance."

Several years ago, before the digital age, I photographed a model in an outdoor scene. It was not a bad effort, and I kept it to this day. A few years later I used my first Leica M, an M8, to photograph several sculpture in an outdoor sculpture garden. Later yet, after moving up to my current M 240, I photographed an outdoor scene which never recived much atention from me, but it is still in my files.

Andrea
Leica M6, 50mm f/2 Summicron, Agfapan APX 100

Caponi Art Park, Eagan, Minnesaota
Leica M8, 50mm f/2.8 Elmar

Forest in Weilburg, Germany
Leica M240, 28mm f/2.8 Elmarit

Why do I mention such an odd variety of photopgraphs?

A little while ago I was wondering what could be done to improve each one of those shots, to try to come up with something with more impact. Why not combine two photographs to create a new one?

I used the photograph of the sclupture and combined it in Photoshop with the one of the model. The result was quite interesting and, in my opinion, ended up a worthwhile shot all on its own.

But why stop there?

The unexciting outdoor scene offered a worthwhile background for the combination photograph of the model and the sculpture. I combined it with the unexciting outdoor shot and ended up with, what I think, is one of my better efforts.

In order to match the lighting, I reversed the right and left side 
of the background. In addition, the front of the left foot was only partially
visible in the other exmples, I added that from another photograph. 

For the final version I made one more modification by bending the left arm to a more upright position, to have an additional choice that does not violate the overly puritanical rules of Facebook.

Final image

I know that some people are under the impression that only photographs as they come directly out of a camera are considered photographs. I beg to differ. It is virtually impossible for the final image to have come right out of a camera.



 For other articles on this blog please click on Blog Archive in the column to the right

To comment or to read comments please scroll past the ads below.

All ads present items of interest to Leica owners.

_______________________________________________________________________

EDDYCAM - the first and only ergonomic elk-skin camera strap     
 www.eddycam.com        

      



Buy vintage Leica cameras from 
America's premier Leica specialist 
www.tamarkin.com

 http://www.tamarkin.com/leicagallery/upcoming-show


Click on image to enlarge
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography

Click on image to enlarge
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography

Click on image to enlarge
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography



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