The Phoblographer

Though I’ve reviewed the Leica M9 and M9-P before, I only recently had the pleasure of trying the Leica 50mm f1.4 Summilux and Leica 35mm f1.4 Summilux on the new digital bodies in real world use and street photography (I’ve used the former with a film body before). As readers of this site may know, I like the cameras; but have a major problem with their metering methods. Additionally, I tend to liken the images from the camera to chrome film in that one needs to nail the exposure perfectly and there isn’t a tremendous amount of versatility in the post-production process, though there is some.

So with all that aside, how do the lenses perform on the camera body?

Read the rest of this entry »

Though the differences from its predecessor are extremely minor, something compelled me to review the Leica M9-P(or M9P, M-9P as the interwebs call it). Perhaps it’s the recent reawakened love of street photography from inspirations like Eric Kim or my co-worker Brian who runs La Pura Vida. Either way though, the timeless classic ended up in my hands. I’ve previously reviewed the Leica M9 and the Leica M7: both of which I felt were excellent image capturing devices. However, I’m a slightly older, much more experienced photographer than I was before. Is the M9-P a work of art or is it just an expensive doorstop?

Read the rest of this entry »

Ever wonder how a rangefinder camera focuses? I found a video on YouTube that shows exactly how that happens. As you’ll see, certain areas line up with one another. When they’re all perfectly lined up, you know you’re in focus. We reviewed the Leica M9 and Leica M7 cameras here a while back: both are rangefinders. When I say that rangefinder focusing really helps when you’re visually impaired the way I am, I’m not joking. Try focusing with a rangefinder, and then try it with a DSLR: without your glasses. See which one will be more accurate. Yes, there is autofocus, but sometimes it isn’t reliable.

This posting is dedicated to all the rangefinder lovers, those curious about Leica, and to our very own Educational Director Sander-Martijn; who like me is experiencing vision problems. I talked to him about rangefinder focusing the other night.

Recently, myself and Geek.com editor Sal Cangeloso were invited to the Leica Boutique opening at Willoughbee’s in NYC. There I got to have hands-on time with the S2, but this time with a flash and a 75mm lens attached to it. Additionally, the new 35mm F1.4 lens was fondled on the M9.

Read the rest of this entry »

Remember that event I shot with the Leica M9 and 35mm F2.5 Summarit and then how I stated that it was easiest for me to just convert the files to black and white because of the high ISO? Well I was bored one night and felt like editing some photos in Lightroom 3 Beta to hone my editing skills. The files from that event were chosen and edited. Originally, I had stated that the M9 files are not as versatile as the Canon 5D Mk II‘s. While that statement still stands, the files are versatile enough to the point where some editing was able to save them to be published in color. The gallery and findings are after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

The review of the Leica M9 and 35mm F2.5 Summarit are now complete. Overall, this camera is recommended and is really quite good. Leica’s years of working with the M series have really boiled down to what is essentially a near-perfect rangefinder. More after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »