Leica M Type 240

Laugh.

Inspiration, Leica 35mm Summilux ASPH FLE f/1.4, Leica M Type 240, Portrait, Q&A, Teaching point

I say the silliest things to her…

On another note, the artificial and mixed back-lighting, and the reflections off the red walls, in this scene are very challenging.  Yet, with the proper pre-processing (a term I believe I coined) and post-processing, the technical issues are mostly overcome.

I know that there will be a few individuals who will insist that I should have used flash, but I vehemently disagree:  the spontaneity and ambiance would have been lost.

I’d feel differently if I was trying to produce a formal portrait — but I wasn’t.

—Peter.

Laugh

M240 gone. Again.

Inspiration, Leica M Type 240, Q&A, Teaching point

I have always shared my gear choices/changes freely, assuming it may help some of you considering camera A vs. camera B, or lens A vs lens B, etc. So, along that vein, and at the risk of inviting harsh commentary, I will disclose this:

I have parted, again, with the Leica M240.

Before the M240 was released, I made some predictions about its image quality.  Specifically, I was concerned about base ISO performance vs. its predecessor, the M9.  My concerns were borne out when I viewed the initial JPG images, and then again when I examined sample RAW files.

I posted both my predictions and subsequent analysis on this site.

Of course, some photographers shared my view, and some didn’t.  Those who didn’t were critical of the fact that I hadn’t owned the camera and yet I was judging it.  My rebuttal was that you don’t have to own a camera to judge its image quality.

Well, now I’ve owned it.  Twice.

My honest opinion:  I should have listened to myself.

I tried —I really tried — to make it work (those of you who follow this blog on a regular basis know this), because I really enjoyed the ergonomic improvements.

But I just couldn’t coax the look I wanted out of it.

—Peter.