Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1996/05/22

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To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: longer exposures
From: Mark_Bishop_at_IPC-KRT-SPEC1@ccgate.ipc.co.uk (Mark Bishop)
Date: Wed, 22 May 1996 09:44:07 +0100
 
Several people have been discussing advice on lightweight tripods for longer
exposures. I have to admit that I am coming at this problem from a different
angle. Wherever possible I like to use my Leica handheld, often at wide
apertures, because this gives a more 'naturalistic' style than a tripod-mounted
f/16 shot ever can. I find that given a static subject I can handhold my M6 down
to 1/30 and (chancing it a little) 1/15sec without noticeable ill effect. Using
the 35mm f/1.4 Summilux-M Aspheric and ISO 100 Fujichrome or Ektachrome, pushed
if necessary one stop, I find that there are very few subjects I cannot cover.

A few years ago, when I was more interested in the static/pictorial school of
photography than I am now, I used a Mamiya C330 (actually, a very good camera
for what I wanted to do with it), mounted on a Benbo no. 1 (the smallest,
lightest tripod I could trust with a 1sec exposure), shooting almost exclusively
on Kodak Technical Pan film with contrast-enhancing filtration. Looking back on
those photos, they are stereotypically early 1980s in their feel.