Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/07/16
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Me: >> Sometimes with available light pictures, we have a choice of using an >> f/2-ish lens and fast film, or a very fast lens and slow film. >> Ted--and anybody else--how do you deal with these trade-offs? <<< Ted: > Hi Peter, I don't think about them and never have. If I'm shooting in > near darkness and very low light situation I use the film that will > fill the bill of the assignment and if that means pushing 3200 to 6400 > or a stop higher I just do it. Or if I've thought I might use a slower > film if I happened to have some in the bag, the chances of that are > usually very slim. I'd give it a try. Ah, OK. The way you praised Steve's use of slow film with the Noct, I thought perhaps this was something you yourself did regularly. > Sometimes with available light pictures, we have a choice of using an > f/2-ish lens and fast film, or a very fast lens and slow film. > Ted--and anybody else--how do you deal with these trade-offs? <<< > When I got the Noctilux I never considered any others after, no matter > how many wiggilies per mm they cut. I don't take pictures to consider > the wigglies per mm, I take pictures to make a living and get more > assignments or photo projects Actually, I'm not all that concerned with wigglies per mm either. In Steve's picture, the girl in the center looks like her eyes are about to pop out. It's the combination of her expression and the way the eye is rendered on the film. And the general texture of that shot is lovely. I thought to myself, "Wow, I'd like to be able to get that effect in an available light shot." So I just wanted to explore whether it was the lens or the film that was most responsible. Also, for those of us who have ordinary incomes and are not professional photographers, Leica equipment is very expensive. I buy used, and I've got a couple of lenses that are about my age. They work, but I could do better. The question is whether a Noct is worth it for me, or whether a 50 Summilux would be sufficiently higher quality than my Nikkor to justify the price. Actually, once I get shooting, my methods are pretty straightforward. It's 1/60 or even 1/125 at whatever f/number exposes right until we get down to f/2.8. Then I open the lens wide, and then go with whatever shutter speed works. > http://www.2alpha.com/~pklein/currentpics/charlie_xmas.htm > http://www.2alpha.com/~pklein/currentpics/paula_harpo.htm > My immediate and first impression of Charlie is.... his eyes and face > are out of focus as I see it on my screen. It appears you focused not > on his eyes but somewhere on the lapel of his jacket. By the way that > may not be the case in a real life print. > Paula is better from a focus point of where it should be and I like > the shot.. Why? Hell I just like it as it's neat! I tried to focus on Charlie's eyes, but I may have missed slightly. That's easy to do in that light with f/1.4. I've got the Leica 1.25x magnifier on order for just this situation--turning my .72x M4-P into a .9x will make focusing more sure. I do like the Paula shot, too. I guess that with all the sharpness freaks around the LUG, I'm getting paranoid that if you can't see eyebrow hairs, it ain't sharp enough. > Pete look at the picture, who the hell cares about the out of focus > bokeh thingies as it's a damn fine photo, Paula and dog! That's the > content and that's what 999.99999% of people look at.. the content! > And does it give them a nice twitch in the gut because they see you're > a very talented photographer at capturing nice human moments? Of > course that's what they see. And that's what counts in the end. That's what it's all about for me, too--capturing human moments and expressions. That's why available light B&W is my first love in photography. Now, you want to see my favorite shot from that evening? It isn't the sharpest either, but I love the way little Claire was clowning with me, and how the reflections make you wonder who is where for a moment. I can even straighten out the window edge if that will improve things. http://www.2alpha.com/~pklein/currentpics/claire_surreal.htm Thanks again for the comments, Ted. - --Peter Klein Seattle, WA - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html