Couple of questions bout m6 and 'cron DR

[luke_neher]

Got my leica recently and it rocks, but just a couple of questions. I was caught in the rain today, and i

figured, it's a leica it will take it, but also my heart said, 'no! protect it like a child'. Logically the leica

should be able to take it, but i was wondering what your experiences with rain were.

Also, about slow shutters, I was wondering how far most of you can shoot until. I find im reliable at 1/

8th, and can do 1/4 but not count on it.

Thanks, really just a question out of interest.

[Troll]

There's no particular water sealing on the M Leicas, just extremely tight fits which will keep most moisture out, but you were right in protecting it. If you do happen to get it wet, do the silicon gel bit.

<P>1/8 sec is about right for you youngsters. Believe me, in another 50 years you'll be lucky to get sharp negatives at 1/125.

[hughes]

Luke,

 

a good rule of thumb on shutter speeds is to use a speed corrosponding to the focal length as the lowest ie a 50mm at 1/60th or a 28mm at 1/30th or a 135mm at 1/125th with a rangefinder you can half those speeds. I'm not sure most people can handhold at 1/8th even with a Leica. BTW it'll take a lot of rain to drown your Leica

 

good luck

Steve

[ronald_moravec1]

Find a Nikonos for rain. The M`s will take some wetting, but don`t push your luck.

 

Shutter speeds depend upon how well you can hold the camera, not age. I am 64. Shoot it like a rifle and squeese the shutter slowly, keep the strap tight across your back, elbows down and braced, feet 18" apart, and the camera tight against your head. In effect the rifle marksman standing position. Also helps if you lean on something that does not move.

 

Wave it around and hold it in the air, you won`t get a sharp shot at all.

 

pushed against you head, elbows down, 1/60 sec with 50 mm. The rifle thing is good for 1/4 sec at least sometimes. I have done it in a pinch.

[mark_amos]

Luke, I find the slowest shutter I can use varies a lot based on every aspect of the situation. As stated, even 1/8 is tricky unless you really concentrate on your stance, but I find that another nice thing about the rangefinder is that if you watch your frame line while you squeeze off the shutter, you will often have a good idea of whether you moved too much or not. You may not be able to determine if you were totally motioness, but for some shots in very low light, critical sharpenss may not be the highest priority to me if I can achieve good sharpness and capture the atmospheric feeling of the low light. Particularly when viewing slides, an atmospheric shot can be very pleasing and memorable without perfect sharpness.

 

However, I regularly get usable results down to 1 second and even a few times on guestimated bulb exposures by being creative in finding things to brace yourself and the camera. If you are sitting at a table or have a way to rest both elbows on something, you can shoot 1/2 second. As stated, if something is available to lean on, use it even if you don't think you need it. You can easily blow a 1/15th shot if you get sloppy.

[stephen_w.]

Silica gel, not slicon gel...big difference.

[charles_stobbs3]

I think slowest shutter speed depends on how large the final image. For projecting slides to 20x30 or larger I found 1/250 was minimum for consistent results.

[35mmdelux]

1/30 is about the slowest I want to go. Anything slower is a Hail Mary shot.

 

Rain? of course I'll take my M6 or M7 into the rain. I'll just make sure its under my coat or with some kind of protection when not shooting. I'm more concerned about humidity.

 

The M6 isn't a "child." Its built to incredible industrial standards to withstand a fair amount of abuse. Just don't get it soaked. My Submariner yes, my Leica No. Enjoy.