W/NW - Pic-O'-The-Week #4

Its Friday peeps, time to Post. Don't be shy, don't hold back, reach down and pull out a fave pic o- the week. I'll start with a photo from Newport Beach, CA. Let's see what you got!

 

Many mail boxes here in Waimanalo get the "Hawaiian Style" . makeover". Zorki-4 / Jupiter-8, Kentmere400, OA & V600 scan. Aloha Bill

Not a Leica but a very cool camera if you enjoy film.

A couple of shots that were part of my testing the recent acquisition of an elmar 9cm f4. Regards, Arthur (apiarist1)

 

And the second. Taken with some fill flash. An Oz version of halloween. Regards, Arthur (apiarist1)

M4, Wide-angle TriElmar, Portra160, Unicolor C-41, Steamboat Springs, CO.

Leica M-P 240, 35mm f/1.4 Distagon @ ~f/8

Central AZ, May 2017

Here's another one. ...

 

Leica M-P 240, 21mm Asph. Elmarit-M

Same location, same day in central AZ

Great shots billblackwellphotography, the vehicle in particular. Really good composition to my eye. I've been toying with the idea of getting a monochrom m - there are two on eprey at the moment. I think a bit overpriced, but I don't know the going rate. Thanks for those shots. Did you use a filter? The sky on the vehicle shot is great. Regards, Arthur (apiarist1)

Great shots billblackwellphotography, the vehicle in particular. Really good composition to my eye. I've been toying with the idea of getting a monochrom m - there are two on eprey at the moment. I think a bit overpriced, but I don't know the going rate. Thanks for those shots. Did you use a filter? The sky on the vehicle shot is great. Regards, Arthur (apiarist1)

Thanks, Arthur. I actually like the B&W conversions from the M-P 240 in Photoshop better than those produced by the Monochrom (I owned one for about a year). The above shots were unfiltered (only a UVa filter was used for lens protection). The B&W conversions were done via Nik software (Silver Efex Pro 2) in Photoshop CS5 with Kodak Panatomic-X film simulation. That's it - except I cloned out a cell tower on the left.

 

I very much enjoyed the Monochrom, but I like the M-P 240 much better; you often have to bracket in daylight shooting situations, but it's a very flexible camera. I also have an M6, but IMHO this digital alternative produces better results overall compared to drum scanning. The only real issue is dealing with sensor dust - if you look closely on the B&W truck image I missed a few spots on the right hand-side. Keeping the sensor cleaned is a real PITA, but I think it's worth it.

 

Here's the original truck image (only a little contrast was added and converted from DNG Raw to JPG):

Edited January 20, 2018 by Bill Blackwell Images

Wow, that's a bit of cloning.

 

If I may, the M240 being better than an M6 with film in it may depend on your preferences. They definitely are different from each other.

Billblackwellphotography, this is off track, but how did the monochrom and M240 compare with low light performance. One of the apparent attractions of the monochrom is its alleged low light performance. That's what attracts me. The M240 seems to sell for less than the monochrom and may be an alternative, Regards, Arthur (apiarist1)

Billblackwellphotography, this is off track, but how did the monochrom and M240 compare with low light performance. One of the apparent attractions of the monochrom is its alleged low light performance. That's what attracts me. The M240 seems to sell for less than the monochrom and may be an alternative, Regards, Arthur (apiarist1)

I never had an issue with either the Monochrom or M-P 240 (I rarely find myself shooting in low light), but it is my understanding the M10 has the advantage over either in this case.

 

And FWIW, I had the original M9-based Monochrom.

Arthur,

There is definitely a difference in high ISO performance between the M9 and M240, with the M240 handling ISO 3200 quite nicely. I've had both, and from my understanding the Monochrom versions of those two cameras mimic each of them respectively. If you want a Monochrom with the better high ISO go for the M246.

 

Sean Reid has excellent extensive reviews on all these cameras, but if you don't want to pay for a subscription, there is plenty of pertinent information elsewhere on the web. One important thing he does offer an opinion on- if you want a Monochrom and you want to print, it makes sense to get a high end monitor to view your files on.

 

FWIW, there seems to be almost a cult following of the M9. I've never understood it; in my opinion the M240 is a far superior camera, more flexible with live view, able to add an evf to the hot shoe, much more accurate framing with the optical finder, with a host of other functional improvements. That said, there's no doubt excellent pictures can be made from either camera.

Edited January 20, 2018 by ray .

Hello everyone. Ray you should practice using your editing software's pixel cloning, healing wand or whatever it calls it's ability to "remove stuff". Now and then a pesky power line, cell tower or potential picture wrecking element can be removed. Power lines I love to attack !! Aloha, Bill

The frozen Potomac

 

M8, 35mm f/2.5 Color-Skopar PII

Egret corner, with the Leica Digital M and 35mm f1.4 Summilux FLE.

 

Ray and billblackwellphotography, thanks for the advice re monochrom m. Well, I bought it, still negotiating the wash up, but it has brought to me the problem of over-sharpness. It may sometimes be best to let spherical aberration, coma, veiling flare, etc do its good work. Regards, Arthur (apiarist1)

 

Congratulations on the Monochrome. I’ve been looking longingly at used M246’s for a while now, but the pull of eventually wanting an M10 to pair with my M262 has held me back.

A half-fineshed bicycle frame by Erik Noren of Peacock Groove

MP, 50 mm 'cron, Pro 400H