Ordering Leica MP - Page 3

I wouldn't shoot without a light meter in camera... most aren't as accurate as a handheld meter, but it's way quicker to get an image that way.

Richard's isn't bad in terms of cost. A roll of medium format film to scan and process (and email high-res files) is $19. I think 35mm is around $15 a roll. That's not bad considering when you get it back, you have absolutely no processing to do...

i tried to learn how to estimate exposure a couple times, three and five years ago. a few specific, familiar, consistent situations are easy, but everything else is variable and difficult to judge by eye. how far down is the sun? is it cloudy? where is the sun and which way are you pointing the camera? how bright is that light source and how far away is it? how much light is bouncing back into the shadows?

exposure can be off by a stop or two and you'll still get usable results, but they won't be as good and you'll spend more (or a lot more) time in the darkroom if you do your own printing.

this is the back of the mp classic. it would be nicer if they recreated the film reminder dial and painted it black. if only i was a camera dealer and could put in the minimum 500 unit order for a special edition...

If it's bright and sunny, the sunny 16 rules works great. Be sure to practice your conversions between f/stops and shutter speed, so you can go from an f/16 shutter speed to, say, an f/2.8 shutter speed very quickly. You will quickly get a feel for this if you practice. Indoors is very tricky due to varying conditions, but if you always take in the same light, you will also get a feel for it. Use a wide latitude film, and err on underexposure, and you'll mostly be OK as you can recover it during processing and printing. Most B&W films are pretty wide latitude with 2-4 extra stops available especially if you push process.

Having said all of that, I know you are in love with the whole Leica thing, but the camera is only a tool, and your skill will hold you back for a very long time before you even realize a tiny fraction of a Leica's potential (or for most people, their cellphone's camera). I think if you're not willing to put the kind of practice you need into it, the Leica will be pretty much a shiny poseur bauble, not that there's anything wrong with that since we indulge in many different forms of baubles in SF.

--Andre

Another thought on light meters. If you don't want to use one, just don't put a battery in, unless the battery cover offends you. There are lots of very good mechanical cameras that continue to function without their light meters. Having said that, I also wouldn't want to shoot without some kind of meter. It doesn't have to be accurate, but it must be consistent. After a while, you learn what the meter is like, and you compensate for it intuitively. Its biggest value is as a consistent yardstick against which you can measure your own perception, because we're pretty easy to fool.

--Andre

No. I was saying the opposite. Yes, you can send it out (and by out, there are three separate things: film development, prints, digitizing), but there is a great process of control and experimentation possible when utilizing manual wet wear processes when compared to standardized lab processes.

If I were in your shoes: I would develop my negatives at home, print at home, and send film out to be digitized.

I mention in passing that the Nikon scanner is of course excellent, but there are far better scanners out there (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/463800-REG/Hasselblad_70380301_Flextight_X5_Scanner.html)... but do you really need it? No. It's cheaper and better to have a good lab digitize your film.


My SLR is a Nikon FM100, Nikons least expensive film camera, it was designed for the 3rd world market.... but I promise you that if I went up to some random tourist on 5th Ave, sporting a D700 or a D3X, 98/100 times I would take better pics with my camera than they could with theirs, and it's mostly based on years of practice and experience... someone who is a professional photographer (career) will be far better than I.... the photographer makes the camera, the camera does not make the photographer.

The only thing that I find a bit disconcerting, is that foo seems to be more worried about which engraving to get compared to which lenses, hoods, filters, etc... to get. Or which enlarger for his lab.

If you are willing to put the time into learning everything that goes with home chemistry-based photography then go for it... IDK why anyone is telling you not to. Regarding engraving: it's whatever you like... I rather have less than more (sleek modern German design philosophy); the engraving does not matter, what matters is how well your photographs will come out.

The choice of the viewfinder is entirely dependent on which lenses you will use.

Other posters have addressed this already (I too would keep the meter, definitely).

One other important pro regarding the meter is that if you plan on using filters, the TTL meter will definitely be necessary, or at least far more convenient.

Also, what aizan wrote regarding the built-in reflective meter is correct.

Again, others have already addressed this point well. Sunny f/16 is extremely generic and effective only in certain conditions. Shooting at dawn, dusk, night, in the fog, on snow, indoors, etc? Sunny f/16 is pretty useless there. Shooting wide-open only doesn't make it any simpler at all, and is also an unrealistic limitation.

What AY wrote above is correct, but I think he would agree that there is a contradiction in buying a camera at this level and then not only not using its full capabilities, but also resorting to lots of guesstimation, rather than information, in exposing. Why buy an MP for that?

Sure, W. Eugene Smith could pull miracle prints off of bad negatives...after spending days in the darkroom and then having to photograph the print itself, since the original negatives were so trashed. He was forced to do that by circumstance, and even with his vast experience I'm sure it was a complete pita.

I find the ISO wheel useful, especially if pushing or pulling a roll, or shooting one roll over several days. Easier than sticking the film box end into the tabs like in the old days....If you plan on only using one film type, all the time, then I guess it could be removed. But again, why?

Unfounded? I think your question is simply an entirely personal and subjective one, like your asking what engraving to put on your Hermes wallet or someone asking what color car one should buy. There simply is no correct answer, only subjective and different opinions. aizan simply posted the options, which can be seen on the a la carte menu or in discussion with a dealer. The decision in the end is yours...which you seem to have answered already: Ask them. Alternatively, if they insist on engraving certain elements (I suspect they will), ask if the ones you would like to subdue can be engraved but painted black. That could look quite minimal and elegant.

You insist that this point re: the engraving is somehow an aesthetic discussion. I suppose it is but there are degrees, no? So, I find this discussion to be at the "how should I engrave my wallet" or "should I opt for the raised or engraved logo on the the buckle of my new watch band" end of the aesthetic discussion spectrum. Personal to you and pretty inconsequential to others.

Agree and agree.

This was going to be my comment. Mafoo do you really think you'll devote all of the time and effort needed to realize this "dream?" It's going to be VERY time consuming, and I imagine you have many interests and commitments vying for your time. It may be a notion that's more romantic than anything else.

I have no thoughts on the engraving, and I didn't even know that could be customized. To be blunt, many of the questions you're asking indicate that you are a beginning photographer, or at least one who is not familiar with many basic photographic principles: worrying about things like forgoing a light meter, sunny 16, etc. These are not either-or binary kinds of choices. You use what is given to you as it is appropriate for the situation. I don't want to discourage you from asking more questions, but formulating your shooting style before you even have your tool is putting the cart before the horse, and indicates newbieness and possible poseurship, and an unawareness of what is important in photography. Sorry.

I bet if you delayed buying the MP for 1 year, and perhaps the engraving will do that for you, and used your cellphone camera every day, taking at least 100 shots/week, and thoughtfully edit and study them at the end of each week, you will be a much, much better photographer when you finally do get your MP, and have a better idea of how to use it to suit your artistic vision.

--Andre

i would pick the full classic engraving only if they can make the back of the top plate completely blank. second choice would be the standard mp engraving.

since the mp classic doesn't have a push-and-rotate film reminder dial like the m3/m2/m4, i'd see if they could install a regular mp iso dial so you'd always know what speed film was loaded. the plaque on the mp classic just sits there and doesn't tell you anything, as it did on the m4-2 and m4-p.

Really? That's silly, knowing what speed film you have in the camera, especially if you shoot 1/2 the roll and then don't use the camera for a month, and forget what speed film you were using.