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04/26/2013 11:01:26 AM · #1
I have just become the very proud owner of the Leica MM and today I took it out on the street to see if I could grab a good street shot. They say the MM is so discrete that people don't really notice it... Hmmmm I had 2 people ask me if it was a Leica so that puts that theory to touch. Anyway, Street is not my thing at all, never really shot that kind of Photography simply because I do not have the eye for it but I think today I got quite a good one.



Pretty much straight from camera with a crop/resize
Leica MM with Voigtlander 50mm f1.1
04/26/2013 11:03:02 AM · #2
Oh, you DOG! I'd die for that camera...
04/26/2013 11:07:28 AM · #3
Originally posted by Bear_Music:

Oh, you DOG! I'd die for that camera...


Robert, I got very lucky, My friend is shifting ALL of his Leica stuff and went Nikon D800e I happened to have 2 lenses he wanted and I sold my Leica R8 DMR to cover the rest ... Sad but Happy, if you know what I mean.
04/26/2013 11:18:30 AM · #4
Same as Robert, I've been eyeing that for a while.

Sooo fricken jealous.
04/26/2013 11:18:35 AM · #5
Beautiful camera! You're a street photographer now. Must feel great in your hand.
04/26/2013 11:20:26 AM · #6
Double congrats on being the first DPC owner.

Seriously... Look at that dynamic range. You can see clouds and deep shadows. Holy hell, I hate you MAK. ;)

Message edited by author 2013-04-26 11:25:12.
04/26/2013 05:03:54 PM · #7
Originally posted by Cory:

Double congrats on being the first DPC owner.

Seriously... Look at that dynamic range. You can see clouds and deep shadows. Holy hell, I hate you MAK. ;)


I hate myself mate but I do love this camera.
04/26/2013 05:11:55 PM · #8
I'll apologize upfront for my naivete, but why would somebody get a camera with a black and white only sensor? What is the benefit of this over a color sensor followed by B&W processing?
04/26/2013 05:27:38 PM · #9
Originally posted by Garry:

I'll apologize upfront for my naivete, but why would somebody get a camera with a black and white only sensor? What is the benefit of this over a color sensor followed by B&W processing?


The sensor works in a different way, the resulting grain is very filmic usable high ISO, No need to apologise, I asked the very same question and then studied about the camera and decided I had to get one somehow and the dynamic range and tonality far betters the M9 converted or any other I have seen. I am sure someone can give you a better answer than me but in the real world of using it I have to say it is very much like having a digital film B&W camera with instant results
04/26/2013 06:06:05 PM · #10
Originally posted by Garry:

I'll apologize upfront for my naivete, but why would somebody get a camera with a black and white only sensor? What is the benefit of this over a color sensor followed by B&W processing?


Garry you can read more about here at B&H's site. You can have one too today for only $8k

Message edited by author 2013-04-26 18:06:21.
04/26/2013 06:19:41 PM · #11
Originally posted by Garry:

I'll apologize upfront for my naivete, but why would somebody get a camera with a black and white only sensor? What is the benefit of this over a color sensor followed by B&W processing?

Basically, a color sensor involves using filters to split the light into 3 components (RGB) before capture. Each photo-receptor-site on the sensor has 3 little components, to capture each wavelength of the split. They're not in perfect alignments, so various forms of correction have to applied to create the RAW image.

The B/W-only sensor of the Leica bypasses all that, with startlingly beautiful results. There's nothing else like it.
04/26/2013 06:21:36 PM · #12


taken tonight at the launch of the new Jaguar F type, a snip at £90,000 on the road.
04/26/2013 06:33:25 PM · #13
Wow, MAK, I was thinking of adding the MM to my Leica gear too. But can't find any where in the states. I stay up on all the Leica gear, and I am thinking of getting the new M. Lots of new features and the reviews say it is almost as good at producing B&W images as the MM. The new M uses the same processor that is in the S model. The MM still uses the older version, but it has way less data to crunch and process.

I used the MM for about 4 hours last summer at a Leica weekend event in Vail Colorado. It really does produce some very great images. Looking forward to seeing what you post here with it!
04/26/2013 06:43:27 PM · #14
Originally posted by Dennisheckman:

Wow, MAK, I was thinking of adding the MM to my Leica gear too. But can't find any where in the states. I stay up on all the Leica gear, and I am thinking of getting the new M. Lots of new features and the reviews say it is almost as good at producing B&W images as the MM. The new M uses the same processor that is in the S model. The MM still uses the older version, but it has way less data to crunch and process.

I used the MM for about 4 hours last summer at a Leica weekend event in Vail Colorado. It really does produce some very great images. Looking forward to seeing what you post here with it!


As I said to Bear, I got very lucky and knew it was 1 chance in my life to own such a camera like this, I LOVE B&W with a passion, (even shot that film in B&W). The feeling it gives when using it and seeing the results makes me as happy as I was when I had a dark room.

That new M is supposed to be amazing and well priced too. I did have a good long think about getting an M for my R lenses but when the MM came up I just had to bite.... no choice, I sold out my R gear, I will surely miss it but the MM has more than filled the hole already and I've only had it a day or two...
04/26/2013 06:48:36 PM · #15
Originally posted by Bear_Music:

Originally posted by Garry:

I'll apologize upfront for my naivete, but why would somebody get a camera with a black and white only sensor? What is the benefit of this over a color sensor followed by B&W processing?

Basically, a color sensor involves using filters to split the light into 3 components (RGB) before capture. Each photo-receptor-site on the sensor has 3 little components, to capture each wavelength of the split. They're not in perfect alignments, so various forms of correction have to applied to create the RAW image.

The B/W-only sensor of the Leica bypasses all that, with startlingly beautiful results. There's nothing else like it.


Right Robert, there are color filters on regular sensors, RGB, but with the MM, they simply replace the color filters with clear filters so the sensor is picking up all wavelenghts of light. The native ISO of the sensor is 320 instead of 160. There is vertualy no noise all the way up to 10,000 ISO.

About a month ago, I bought the Leica M-Notcilux 50mm ASPH lens. OMG what a lens! I wasn't planning on buying it, but the local camera store here ordered one two years ago, and after it arrived they were calling around to find out who might be interested in it. I thought about it for a few days, and then decided to get it. You only live once, I figure. I will post more shot from it here soon.
04/26/2013 06:52:15 PM · #16
Originally posted by MAK:

I will surely miss it but the MM has more than filled the hole already and I've only had it a day or two...


That's so awesome! So happy for you MAK!
04/26/2013 08:02:06 PM · #17
Dennis...... THAT is a serious lens collection you have for your M9 my friend.
I have the poor man's Noktilux, The Voigtlander 50mm f1.1 not quite up with the Leica but it sure did give me some nice images today
04/26/2013 09:03:57 PM · #18
Another vastly naive question...what makes Leica camera's so great? I know nothing of these small form factor cameras, but I know the Leica's are very well respected. What makes them so good?
04/26/2013 09:36:25 PM · #19
Originally posted by Garry:

Another vastly naive question...what makes Leica camera's so great? I know nothing of these small form factor cameras, but I know the Leica's are very well respected. What makes them so good?


That's a great question Garry. I have owned Leica gear for about 3 years. To me, it is the glass that makes Leica special. The Rangefinder body is very special too, but Leica lenses are what make the images what they are. All of the APO and ASPH lenses take about a year and a half to make. Each element is hand made, nothing is pressed like a lot of other lens elements. Every process to make the higher end lenses is by hand. The M bodies have a well known history going back to the early 1900's. They last forever, I have never had any issue whatsoever with any of my Leica gear. Most Leica lenses will make you money when it comes time to sell them. The M9 is an easy camera to use once you stop thinking like you are using an SLR. It's not for everyone though, it has taken me some time to learn how to use it, I am still learning. There are plenty of arguments to why would you spend so much money on it, but once you shoot with it, you understand.
04/26/2013 10:57:49 PM · #20
Originally posted by Garry:

Another vastly naive question...what makes Leica camera's so great? I know nothing of these small form factor cameras, but I know the Leica's are very well respected. What makes them so good?

To add to what Dennis said, in some ways appreciating a Leica is akin to appreciating a Rolls Royce or a Bentley. They are just so incredibly and solidly hand made that there's nothing else quite like them. Dennis has pointed out how fantastic the glass is, and that's absolutely true, but you CAN fit the glass on other cameras, and that doesn't magically make them Leicas. It's the way it all comes together. Not the highest-performance cameras in the world, pretty much devoid of most of the modern bells & whistles, but oh BOY, they are a joy to use and when you've learned them inside out the images you come up with just have that little extra "something".

I'm sure I'll never again own a Leica, and that's my loss...
04/27/2013 12:59:14 AM · #21
Originally posted by Bear_Music:

I'm sure I'll never again own a Leica, and that's my loss...


When I win the lottery tomorrow Bear I'll by us both one ok :)

Message edited by author 2013-04-27 00:59:37.
04/27/2013 11:59:53 AM · #22
Originally posted by Bear_Music:

I'm sure I'll never again own a Leica, and that's my loss...

I have a P&S film camera with a Leica lens in it ... just have to decide if I want to spend $20 on a battery and go back to scanning ... :-(
04/27/2013 12:12:12 PM · #23
Originally posted by Dennisheckman:


About a month ago, I bought the Leica M-Notcilux 50mm ASPH lens. OMG what a lens!


WOW! After watching the digitalrev.com review of that lens I have had inappropriate dreams about it! Nice! I really envy you, the shots they got at night with that .09 aperture were to die for!
04/27/2013 01:04:15 PM · #24
Originally posted by smardaz:

... the shots they got at night with that .09 aperture were to die for!

OK, time for a technical question: what is it about making a larger aperture that makes it so much more expensive to make a lens?

I notice than lens prices rise as one moves in both directions from about the "standard" 50mm focal length, but also almost universally as the aperture increases regardless of focal length.
04/27/2013 01:16:52 PM · #25
i thinks its recovery costs from all the R&D dollars spent testing and making different glass to remove AC and vignetting. My guess anyhow
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