WHY I CHOOSE THE LEICA M9 OVER THE NIKON D4S

By J. Cassario

When it comes to choosing the gear I shoot, the name or logo that’s on it usually doesn’t factor in all that much. The gear that I choose to actually own, is the gear that I feel does the best job of creating the images that I want to create. I am very selective and careful about what I spend my money on and the gear I choose to own. If there is something I need for a particular shoot that I don’t already own, I simply rent it. Along with renting what I need, I also rent anything that I am interested in trying. Anything that strikes my interest, whether it be newly released gear or older film gear, I will rent first.

 

Recently the Leica M9 started to tickle my interest. I’ve been interested in shooting a rangefinder for a while now, and knowing other photographers that love their Leica systems they shoot with, I thought it was time. I rented an M9 from Lumoid.com along with a Voigtlander 35mm f/1.4 lens for a wedding and fell in love. A couple weeks later, I rented it again. This time it was more of a trial run to see if it was something I wanted to spend the money on purchasing. It never went back, and not only did I get it for a great price, but a percentage of the money I spent on renting it went towards the purchase.

 

Rather than writing a review, I wanted to instead share my experience as a wedding photographer with the M9 and explain a little about why I ultimately chose to not send the rental back. What made my decision even more interesting is that I had a D4S in my possession for reviewing, a camera I had initially thought I would really like. A rangefinder is a completely different beast than a DSLR, and choosing between the Leica M9 and the Nikon D4S was actually not a difficult decision to make once I got to spend a good amount of time shooting both of them. Let me explain why.

 

Growing tired of my heavy DSLR bodies, shooting with the Nikon DF really made me start to think about smaller and lighter options for my digital work. While the Df is still a DSLR, it is lighter and smaller than my other pro bodies. But it’s not just about the size and weight, it’s about the shooting experience. I simply enjoy shooting the Df better than my other DSLR bodies, both Canon and Nikon. Not only do I enjoy shooting it, but my clients feel a different experience, and are more intrigued by the Df than my other DSLRs, including the Nikon D4S. All of them create a digital image, but it’s about the process of getting there. Not once did I have a client show interest in the $6500 D4S, but bring the Nikon DF out and they almost always become more engaged and interested in what the images look like. The Leica is a similar experience.

 

Leica is known for being extremely high priced, and along with the history and “mystique,” as some would call it, it is a system that is either loved or hated. It’s also been considered the Rolex watch of cameras, a more expensive way of simply telling time, and a camera priced more for its name than its actual performance. Leica is expensive, but I can tell you this, there is more to a Leica than just its name. As an artist, the Leica M9 was refreshing to shoot with. Just like my medium format film cameras, it made me slow down. A unique shooting experience that is much different that of a DSLR. It inspires me and ultimately makes me a better photographer.

The rangefinder is different from the moment you pick it up and put it to your eye, no longer seeing through the lens like you do with an SLR. But for me, it’s not just about the experience, for me it’s also about the images that the M9 produce. The images have a unique look to them that I personally have fallen in love with and so far, my clients have too. The M9 has a full frame sensor, which packs an 18 megapixel CCD sensor made by Kodak, which also lacks an AA-filter like that of the Nikon D800 line-up. The images are crisp and have a lot of character along with pleasing and beautiful colors, providing a look that I find authentic and similar to film. With that being said, it’s these same qualities that leave a lot of photographers scratching their heads and wondering why so many love it.

The M9 does a horrible job in low-light, and the auto-focus is…well, there is none. The sensor doesn’t excel at high ISO and sucks in dynamic range. It has flaws when compared to cameras of newer technology, but Leica makes no attempts to hide from them. It’s part of the whole experience, and for those that understand what character is, the M9 has it. In good light, the image quality shines, but the graininess that comes along with bumping the ISO up resembles that more similar to film from what I’ve noticed, especially when converted to black and white. The Leica M-lenses also have a big part in the unique look and while the prices of the lenses alone are pretty shocking, there are less expensive options.

 

The thing that is special about the M9 is that Leica stayed true to its older technology from its early days, and while it is in fact all manual, it is very simple to use. The focusing system is the same as it was with their film cameras of old, which is much different than that of an SLR, and takes a little getting used to. There is no top LCD screen to see your settings, and the aperture settings are done on the lenses. The digital features are extremely simple and options are minimal to say the least. There aren’t any menu banks with tons of options to choose from, just one menu. Once set up, it’s a camera that you simply pick up and shoot. It does its job without getting in its own way. It lets the photographer do something that is often lost with all the newer technology, and that’s using their vision, imagination, and ideas to create an image without having technology interfere.

 

As an artist, I loved being able to use different mediums to push my creativity. Whether it be pencil drawing, oil painting, clay work, charcoal, or watercolor, each requiring unique skills and creating its own experience. Using different mediums in art not only helped make me a better artist, but enhanced my creativity. Photography is no different, and while classical artists may have disagreed for many years, it’s a medium. As a photographer now, pushing my creativity is no different and the gear that I use is not only about the images being created, but the experience that goes into it. Whether it be film or digital, as a photographer, we have never had such a wide selection of equipment to use as we do today. Choosing which to use as a creative tool can be challenging sometimes, especially when the cost of technology isn’t cheap. Leica is one of the most expensive names in the game, with both its cameras and lenses, but the price of them used can make them more affordable to those that don’t want to sell a kidney.

 

In the end, I chose to keep the M9 and not the D4S because of what it offered my wedding business, a fresh new look along with a whole new shooting experience. It can’t shoot at extremely high ISOs and may not be able to capture every moment as it plays out in front of you, but that’s not what I bought it for. I bought it to use as a tool, a new medium, to help bring a vision or idea to life. The M9 is more about the experience and creating unique images to me. It forces me to slow down. It gives me a chance to see things, feel things, and more importantly be creative in the process. I’m extremely happy with my decision to not only finally try the Leica, but purchasing it has made me truly enjoy photography again. If you’re interested in trying something new, and expanding your creative mind, I highly recommend giving the Leica M9 a try. Here is the exact kit that I rented and ultimately purchased from Lumoid – LEICA M9 + 35mm Voigtlander Nokton Classic

A few more images taken with the Leica M9:

About J. Cassario

Jay Cassario is a photographer from South Jersey, and owner of the wedding, engagement, and portrait photography studio Cass Imaging. His true passion is his portrait work, but his love for landscape and star photography has earned him publications by National Geographic.

WEBSITE: http://jaycassariophoto.com/

This article was published with permission from the author.  It was originally published by SLR Lounge.   www.slrlounge.com

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

All ads present items of interest to Leica owners.

www.eddycam.com
http://www.eddycam.com/en/home/#&panel1-3

Inventive Camera Bags for All of Your Gear

 Trifecta Backpacks

Customise your rolling camera bags

For more information on KOMARU and for orders go to: www.taos-photographic.com

For more information and pre orders go to: www.lenstab.com

http://www.tamarkin.com/

Next Friday - Cumberland: Island of Conflict and Change by Jeff Kauck

Upcoming shows in Tamarkin's Rangefinder Gallery

Click on image to enlarge

Order: info@gmpphoto.com

Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography

Click on image to enlarge

Order: info@gmpphoto.com

Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography

Click on image to enlarge

Order: info@gmpphoto.com

Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography

VIEW CAMERA CONTROLS WITH LEICA CAMERAS

It used to be the case that view cameras were an essential part among the equipment of professional photographers.  They offer advantages that other cameras simply don’t have.  Digital image manipulation software like Photoshop or Lightroom have enabled photographers to compensate for the shortcomings of not using a view camera in post production.

However, post production is time consuming and not to the liking of everyone.  Even though most image manipulation software is relatively easy to do, it still has a considerable learning curve, especially when it comes to more complicated operations like correcting for not using a view camera.

View cameras are capable of a variety of things that otherwise are difficult to overcome.  For instance, they allow adjustments to eliminate converging or diverging lines in a photograph.  For instance, tall buildings will never be correctly shown in a photograph taken with a conventional camera.  The sides of the building will be converging toward the top.  The view camera adjustments do allow correcting for that.

     

    

Converging lines                                               View Camera corrected

Anyone who is interested in close up work will quickly become aware that enough depth of field is hard to come by.  Sure, we can stop down our lenses to increase depth of field, but that inevitably will cause shutter speeds to be slowed down.  While this is not a problem with inanimate subjects, close up photography out doors will quickly show how limited stopping down a lens can be, especially on windy days.  Here too the adjustments of a view camera can solve the problem easily,

Let’s take a closer look.  In order to photograph a tall building, it is necessary to tilt the camera upwards.  This the very reason for the converging lines.  The only time this will not be the case is when the film or sensor plane is parallel to the subject.  But that would cut off the top of the building.  Instead of tilting the camera, a view camera will allow to keep the film plane parallel to the building and still get the upward view by raising the lens.

To correct for lack of depth of field is a little bit more complicated.  Let’s look at a simply product photograph.  Since the film plane is not parallel to the subject plane, the lens must be stopped down considerably to gain enough depth of field.  A view camera, on the other hand, allows the application of the Scheimpflug principle.  It is named after Austrian army Captain Theodor Scheimpflug.  He found that by changing the position of the film or sensor plane (the focal plane) and that of the lens, a large number of problems could easily be solved.

     

In this example, depth of field is a definite problem.  Using a very small aperture is not necessarily the answer.  We must remember that camera lenses do not perform evenly at all apertures.  Especially stopping down beyond a certain f/stop will be accompanied by a deterioration of the image.  Applying the Scheimpflug principle will allow to use the aperture range at which the lens performs best.  This entails to tilt the lens, the focal plane or both in such a manner that the lens plane, the subject plane and the focal plane all intersect at the same point.  When that is the case, we will have virtually unlimited depth of field, or so it appears.  Effectively what happens is that by using these movements, we actually tilt the plane of focus to be the same as the subject plane.

 

Tilting the lens such that its plane intersects with the intersection point of the subject

plane and the focal plane will render seemingly unlimited depth of field.

 

 

In these two photograph by Ansel Adams the same principle was applied to gain sufficient depth of field. As explained by Ansel Adams, in the color photograph stopping down the lens was not an option because it would have caused too slow a shutter speed to freeze the motion of the waves.

The same applies with close up photography in nature.  Here too all we need to do is determine the subject place and adjust the lens and focal plane accordingly.  Stopping down the lens will then gain enough depth of field for any subject matter that is not within the subject plane.

Of course this brings up the question of how this applies to Leica equipment.  Any of the Leica SLR and full frame DSLR cameras and any of the Leica M-series cameras with live view can easily be converted to a small view camera with the Novoflex bellows BALPRO T/S or CASTBAL T/S.  Both will convert a camera into a small view camera.  Both offer adapters for a large variety of cameras as well as lenses.  In addition Novoflex offers a lens, specially designed for use with the view camera movements.  This is the SCHNEIDER KREUZNACH Apo DIGITAR 4,5/90mm.  It is optimized for digital cameras. The focusing range allows photography from infinity to 1.2x magnification with 35mm or full frame cameras and up to 1.8x magnification with APS-C cameras.

      

Novoflex Balpro T/S                                                      Novoflex Castbal T/S

 

Schneider Apo-Digitar 90mm f/4.5

The lens is supplied with the mounting adapters and a lens shade

The Schneider Balpro T/S in action

For complete information of the Balpro T/S and the Schneider Digitar go here

For complete information of the Castbal T/S go here.

The capabilities of a view camera go far beyond these few examples, but this article was not meant to be an instruction manual for their use.  Instead it is just an instruction to show some of the capabilities of these cameras, all of which allow photographs to be corrected prior to pressing the shutter release and thus eliminating any time consuming post production work.  For myself, I rather take photographs than sitting at a computer making up for problems that could easily have been taken care of prior to shooting.

As far as full frame digital cameras have progressed, many professional photographers look for even higher performance levels to meet the needs of their clients.  This inevitably means larger sensors with higher resolution, medium format DSLR cameras.  Here too Leica has an answer with the Leica S system.

The purchase of Sinar by Leica Camera AG has resulted in new, formerly unavailable possibilities for high-end professional photography for Leica S medium format cameras.

The Sinar p MF-L was developed especially for photographers who wish to usethe unique quality characteristics of a Sinar view camera while using their Leica S high-end medium format camera body. Exact control of perspective and selective sharpness, the most important creative tools in photography, are set and evaluated precisely on a view camera – all these advantages are now available for Leica S users. In addition, this solution offers the benefit of a distinct increase in quality by using high-resolution Sinaron lenses designed specifically for digital imaging.

In combination with the Sinar p system the Leica S users gain access to professional high-end photography. A wide range of the accessories from the modular Sinar System can be used for the professional work in the studio or outdoor applications. The Sinar p-MF-L solution corresponds to the Sinar philosophy to provide modular systems that always accommodate with the latest trends of the market.

This new adapter has the following advantages:

>Exact control of perspective, converging and diverging lines and selective focus

>Allows the use of the high resolution Sinaron lenses

>Quick change from horizontal to vertical image layout

All functions of the Leica S can be controlled from a computer via software called CaptureFlow Leica.

The adapter is available for 1590 euros.

For more information go here

________________________________

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

All ads present items of interest to Leica owners.

www.eddycam.com
http://www.eddycam.com/en/home/#&panel1-3

Inventive Camera Bags for All of Your Gear

 Trifecta Backpacks

Customise your rolling camera bags

www.classiccases.co.uk

For more information on KOMARU and for orders go to: www.taos-photographic.com

For more information and pre orders go to: www.lenstab.com

http://www.tamarkin.com/

Next Friday - Cumberland: Island of Conflict and Change by Jeff Kauck

Upcoming shows in Tamarkin's Rangefinder Gallery

Click on image to enlarge

Order: info@gmpphoto.com

Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography

Click on image to enlarge

Order: info@gmpphoto.com

Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography

Click on image to enlarge

Order: info@gmpphoto.com

Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography

ELSIE KÜHN-LEITZ HONORED IN WETZLAR

Elsie Kühn-Leitz, daughter of Ernst Leitz II received a special honor from the city of Wetzlar.  In Rasselberg, a new development of the city, a street was named after the former honorary citizen of city.

Her son, Dr. Knut Kühn-Leitz as well as other family members were present when Wetzlar Mayor Wolfram Dette revealed the new street sign.  An attached plaque gives a brief explanation: "1903 - 1985. Honorary Citizen of Avignon and Wetzlar. She promoted culture and international understanding."

One of the great accomplishments of Elsie Kühn-Leitz were her efforts to help Jewish citizens to escape to other countries during the second world war (see: The Leica FreedomTrain ).  Dr. Elsie Kühn-Leitz was imprisoned by the Gestapo after she was caught at the border, helping Jewish women cross into Switzerland. She eventually was freed, but endured rough treatment.

Immediately after the end of the war, she promoted education and culture as the Wetzlar city councilor for Education and Culture among other things.  In 1945 she was co-founder of the Wetzlar cultural community, of which she was chairman for many years.  In the culture they saw a way to bring normalcy in the post-war life.

In 1954, following a request from Konrad Adenauer, Germany’s first chancellor after WWII, she began her decades of commitment to the Franco-German friendship. This included the establishment of the Franco-German Society in Wetzlar, whose President she was. She also initiated for Wetzlar to become a sister city with Avignon in 1960. Both Avignon and Wetzlar thanked her with an honorary citizenship.  With remarkable assertiveness, she managed to overcome prejudices and made a significant contribution to international understanding. This commitment has been recognized with the highest honors that could be given by the town of Wetzlar, as well as the Federal Republic of Germany. 

________________________________

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

All ads present items of interest to Leica owners.

www.eddycam.com
http://www.eddycam.com/en/home/#&panel1-3

Inventive Camera Bags for All of Your Gear

 Trifecta Backpacks

Customise your rolling camera bags

www.classiccases.co.uk

For more information on KOMARU and for orders go to: www.taos-photographic.com

For more information and pre orders go to: www.lenstab.com

http://www.tamarkin.com/

Next Friday - Cumberland: Island of Conflict and Change by Jeff Kauck

Upcoming shows in Tamarkin's Rangefinder Gallery

Click on image to enlarge

Order: info@gmpphoto.com

Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography

Click on image to enlarge

Order: info@gmpphoto.com

Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography

Click on image to enlarge

Order: info@gmpphoto.com

Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography