paul hart

Nr Haydock Racecourse, UK.<p><center><a href="

254384381/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/

82/254384381_88a820ccb6.jpg" width="500" height="313" alt="Misty Sunrise" /></a></

center>

Are you selling or buying? :-)

Here in the UK, I'd expect a fair bit more than Stephen said.

Yes, I like this global warming business. I hope our water authorities have been saving the

drops over the winter or we'll have a 'W/NW: Standpipes' thread before long. Shot this in my

garden this morning, M8+135 Elmar-M (it works well on the M8 and is very very

cheap).<p><center><a href="

title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/

236/458898439_d38caa77b5.jpg" width="500" height="336" alt="Springtime" /></a></

center>

I've had mine since launch. Honeymoon ended long ago. Still delighted with it. Never used

any M nearly so much. Marvellous being able to put my Leica glass to frequent use.

Some things on my wish list will be met via firmware upgrades, I expect. I wish the body were

as slim as film models, and that the shutter had the same buttery feel and quiet 'snick' as my

M4, but can't have everything.

Gary: they have started to ship. There's a FAQ document that can be viewed via the Leica

website, and from memory it sets out the shipping schedule - I think the most popular sizes

were being sent first. Mine arrived 2 - 3 weeks ago.

M8 and 24 Elmarit-M ASPH<p><center><a href="

378510659/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/

137/378510659_f9eb06b68e.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="Maritime City" /></a></

center>

I think Frederick is right, and the problem is that any fast 24mm would inevitably be

compared with the current 24/2,8 M ASPH, which is an astonishing performer.

<center><a href=" title="Photo

Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/97/282203516_781f534562.jpg"

width="393" height="500" alt="The one that didn't get away" /></a></center>

Well, there I was posting a cheery spring photo that took all of 30 seconds to take, download,

crop and upload (and yes, I'm sure some of you can tell that's all it took). Some spotted the

irony of tone and treated it in the spirit it was intended. As for others, oh well...I'm sure

you're the life and soul of the party really.

Rob: tongue in cheek stuff, I'm afraid.

Maritime Scientist: I don't claim it proves anything. One interesting option with photographs

is just to enjoy them.

M8+90/4 Macro-Elmar-M+macro adapter, handheld at 1/350, f11, ISO 320<p><center><a

href=" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://

farm1.static.flickr.com/196/450687867_b59e16a0e9_b.jpg" width="400" height="400" alt="Spring

Daisy" /></a></center>

Harry: I have to grab shots of my wife, too - she has a pathological aversion to having a lens

pointed in her direction.

I tend to shoot in RAW then convert to B&W in Lightroom. LR has a 'preview' pane to show you

what the converted file will look like. It then has sophisticated (but simple to use) tools for

tonal adjustment of the B&W image. Specifically, it has sliders for each colour so that you can

adjust the grayscale tone that represents the original colour, which I think is very clever and

useful.

Steve: to get a better idea of how crisp it is, click on the image to take you to the Flickr page

- then click on 'all sizes' just above the image - then click on 'original'. The resolution of the

24 Elmarit-M ASPH is astonishing.

M8+24/2,8 Elmarit-M ASPH<p><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_hart/

449769104/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/

168/449769104_f8c97d6231.jpg" width="400" height="500" alt="Weird Tree" /></a></center>

Interesting article on the filters, but in the admittedly brief time I've been using them my

general impression is that they do improve colour rendition in respect of more than the

magenta issue.

I'm not sure I'm going to be taking them off and on as he recommends, either!

I discovered yesterday that the retail price for a new Noctilux in the UK is now 3080 UKP. Yes,

folk

- that really is $6000 for the rest of the world. I suppose that's bound to have some effect on

the price of secondhand stuff. I certainly hope so...;-)

The forum has been a bit quiet lately, IMHO. It's time to get the Noctilux out and snap spring at f1. Here's

a grabbed shot from today. Let other Noctilux users get out there and strut their springtime

stuff...<p><center><a href=" title="Photo

Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/231/447617711_010d767036_b.jpg" width="1024"

height="689" alt="Spring by Noctilux" /></a></center>

The Noctilux has its own unique characteristics at f1 - some like it, some don't. I do. Putz has

described it as having a 'painterly quality' and that's a fair description. I have no other lens

that is anything like it wide open.<p>Stop it down to f2 and beyond, and to my eye it gives

the Elmar/Summicrons a run for their money, and I have both so have been able to compare

them.<p>Having said that, I use it at f1 most of the time and Steve is right - it's a good idea

to have something smaller for when you don't need/want to lug the big Noctilux round.