Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2012/01/18
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]What do you mean "tweak" the ISOs? You have the Menu button which brings up the executive functions of the menu, then you have the Set button which is where the ISO settings lay. In the Set function you can also find things like image compression mode (DNG vs JPG) and white balance. Moving from an SLR to a rangefinder has a definite learning curve. Basically, you've just got: ISO, shutter speed, aperture and focus. I think that's why most of us love the Leica digitals. They are the only cameras out there which are that simple in control. The difference between the Leica M8 or M9 and any SLR is that the Leica allows you to forget the menu and forget the LCD exists and concentrate on shooting. Regarding focusing, I wear glasses and I keep them on when shooting. And the Leica M8 photos are the most crisp I've ever seen from a digital ever. The files are sharper than the M9 but only if you pixel peep. One thing you'll want to do is get a second battery if you don't already have one. Don't use the LCD much and set the camera timeout to maybe 5 minutes. It depends on you of course. Keep the spare battery in your pocket. In this cold you'll need it. There are a few places in the city that may have a spare OEM battery available for you. If those are a bit too rich (they are for me since they are basically a $9 battery with some label and an internal tweak that doesn't matter in the end) you can get inexpensive aftermarket batteries from Adorama if they have them in stock. Good luck and good photos by the way. Phil Forrest On Wed, 18 Jan 2012 23:40:56 -0500 Ryan Scott Bardsley <rbardsley at gmail.com> wrote: > > Well, I made it out there. My train got into Penn Station at 8PM. > Once I got settled into my hotel and had some dinner, I set out to > try my new (used) M8. Wow, what a difference from my Canon DSLR. I > love the sound of the shutter. I feel like I am making something > substantial with each click. Like there is work involved, lots of > hard work, and then someone blows the whistle. > > My biggest problem seems to be with getting my eyes to focus in the > viewfinder. I normally wear glasses, so those had to come off. The > LED numbers seem blurry in there. And oftentimes, I found that the > focusing screen just never seemed to be crisp. What do you guys do? > Wear contacts? Get a corrective attachment? > > So, I tried shooting everything. It was dark, very dark. And it was > cold, verrrrrrry cold. So, my enthusiasm wasn?t at 100%. Anything > that was moving? ended up being blurry. I fiddled with the ISO > settings, etc. But it was just dark. Plain ole lack-o-light. Now that > I have to focus on (err) focusing, I have been trying to gestimate > which focal setting to put the lens at before aiming. I was > practicing getting faster at getting my subject in focus. To no > avail? Most times, when I would bring the camera to my eye, I was > hunting back and forth trying to find the right direction to rotate > the focus ring at all. I was always headed in the wrong direction. > So, that will take some practice. Static objects seemed to work a bit > better. > > Of the 45 pictures I managed, only these 3 seemed to be acceptable > enough to share: > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/rsbardsley/sets/72157628934782221/show/ > > I?ll try again in the daylight. Hopefully some light will help me > learn what I am doing wrong. > > All in all, I am very happy with my new, and first, M8. Anyone got > any tips on how to get the damn thing into ?Picture? mode so I can > tweak the ISO settings? I don?t understand the menu well enough to do > it consistently. It feels like I need to click my heels, face > NorthNortheast, pray, and then the Menu button will bring it up. I > don?t get it. > > Click. Click. Smile. > > Ryan > Boston, MA > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information