Joe's Photography

M9 First Impression

2010-01-26T02:14:00.006-04:00

After a long wait (well, not really compared to others who ordered long before me and are still waiting) the Leica M9 finally arrived last week, together with the 18mm Super-Elmar ASPH, 50mm Summilux ASPH and the 90mm Summicron APO ASPH.

This is how combos look like:

90 cron

18 SE

50 lux

First Impression

There have been so many reviews out there which almost made me feel so familiar with it even before purchasing it. But there are a few things worth mentioning.

Physics: The M9 and the M lenses constitute the most compact 35mm format full frame digital camera system on the market. I can practically put all the lenses in my coat pockets! It is amazing that Leica could design the lenses so small yet with large aperture and high image quality across the whole sensor area. Although being small (compared to DSLR) the M9 has a hefty full metal body though. I have never handled a Leica camera before and it feels a bit heavier than it looks to me. The 90 cron is not as big as I expected and it actually balances very well on the M9. On the other hand the 50 lux is slightly longer than I would like and is blocking a little bit of the viewfinder. But overall I'm extremely satisfied.

Build quality: The build quality of the M9 and all the lenses is just superb - everything feels solid and fits tightly with high precision. Typical Leica standard as expected.

Ergonomics: I initially had a hard time figuring out what's the best way to hold it. It is definitely not practical to hold it with one hand - the weight plus the lack of contour on the body will make your hand feel tired quickly. Coming from the SLR world I also had a tendency to try to grasp it with my fingers, which is in fact not needed when holding with both hands as all the weight of the camera is better supported by the palms. After a bit of getting use to it now feels very comfortable and I don't think I'll ever need the Leica accessory grip or the Thumbs-Up attachment.

Focusing: It's a joy to focus with a rangefinder. Compared to split-prism focusing screen on SLR which I'm familiar with, the rangefinder focusing patch is even easier to read and more precise. If the calibration is accurate (which is the case for my copies of M9 and lenses) it is the best manual focusing system I have ever used.

Software Menu: Being a long time user of Sigma digital cameras (which have rather primitive in-camera software) I have a rather low bar. I'm a minimalist anyway so fancy camera features don't really matter to me at all. The M9 menu system is also quite primitive. But it provides everything I need and is straight forward and quick to operate. For me that is good software usability.

Other comments

I really love the built-in metal lens hoods on all three lenses. The 50 and 90 have a slide-out one while the 18 has a fixed rectangular one. They all beat the clip-on bayonet ones I have for my SLR lenses. The design makes it very convenient to put lens cap on and off the lens, while keeping the lens compact.

I have also got the Giottos SP 8250 Schott Glass protector. It fits the LCD screen perfectly but one has to be careful with the alignment as it seems almost impossible to adjust/re-apply the protector. A misaligned protector will cause the images to appear skewed when in fact they are not. One thing I find aesthetically annoying is the extra labeling on the protector. But functionally it is very well built and resistant to reflection (thanks to its multi-coating) and scratches.

Which eye do you use?

2010-01-17T22:24:00.011-04:00

I'm switching from my left eye to right eye...

Recently I realized that I have always been using my left eye for photography. In the past I just did it without noticing it. I think it traces back to the use of telescope with my left eye during childhood. I naturally used the same eye when I picked up my first SLR.

What caused me to realize that was my planned entry into the world of rangefinder camera. I was reading up about viewfinder magnification and learned that a magnification of close to 1.0x allows both eyes to be open when taking pictures. I found it a very interesting idea because:

as I spend longer time framing a shot with one eye I feel physically/mentally uncomfortable. It's more natural for the brain to process binocular vision than to make up for missing information from one eye, let alone the physical strain from having to forcibly keep one eye closed
more importantly, having the other eye opened enables eye-contact with the subject. The photographer and the subject are more directly 'connected'

It is definitely something I wanted to try with my upcoming Leica M9 (which requires a 1.4x viewfinder magnifier to achieve a 0.98x effective magnification). But I wouldn't be able to do that if I keep looking through the viewfinder with my left eye, as my right would be blocked by the camera. I started reading about left eye vs right eye shooting and the topic of ocular dominance. It turns out that I am actually right-eyed but due to many years of using my left eye the dominance, while exists for sure, isn't as pronounced. What I do find though is that my right eye has slightly better 'resolution'.

So I decided to try changing my habit and start using my right eye for photography. Yesterday's session at the Cooper's Island Nature Reserve was the first practice. Initially it felt rather awkward and I had to fight against my tendency to lift the camera to my left eye. But I'm sure I can overcome that with more practice.

Cooper's Island Nature Reserve

2010-01-16T12:00:00.004-04:00

Due to the poor weather in the last couple of weeks I haven't been out taking photos. Today the weather turned great so I decided to go out for a stroll.

I drove to the east end of the island as I just realized there's a nature reserve opened in 2008. The area used to be a NASA tracking station. It was shut down back in 2001 and developed into a nature reserve. For more history this is a great site: http://www.nasabermuda.com/

This map show the route from my place to the reserve:

My original plan was to look for birds so I lugged with me the heavy 300/2.8. However today the reserve was less populated with wildlife then I was expecting (maybe I just didn't look hard enough). Anyway I managed to get a picture of something similar:

(The building that the jetBlue plane is flying past is the St. David's Lighthouse)

Without the crowd beaches in Bermuda offer a different atmosphere in the winter. For my mind the calmness and peacefulness was really refreshing. At one point I wished I didn't have my camera equipments so I could lay down and enjoy the sound of nature.

After strolling around the reserve area I stopped by the race track nearby. I was there once before but this time I had my 300mm and I also managed to go deep inside the area and found a spot with good lighting (the sun was low and right behind me).

On the side of the track I saw a bunch of kids learning/practice on their bikes. I was amaze how young some of them are:

There is another road track nearby so I walked in and tried to practice my panning skill. My equipments are not known for their AF speed but I managed to capture a few shots. I have to say handholding&panning the 300mm isn't an easy task :)

After lugging around the 300mm for the whole afternoon my entire body was so sore I had to call it a day :)

Here are the flickr sets of today's pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlamkw/sets/72157623224616352/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlamkw/sets/72157623100169203/

EVIL

2010-01-07T00:13:00.001-04:00

In a previous post I proposed the name 'DXL' for the new crop of mirrorless DSLRs. I just discovered that some people have already come up with a punchier name: EVIL (electronic viewfinder interchangeable lens). Clearly they are not that thrilled by this new emerging technology :)

M9 arrived! Hooray!

2010-01-06T23:37:00.003-04:00

Well not quite :)

Unboxing a newly purchased equipment is always an exciting experience, especially when it's something so exquisite like the M9. However, due to some logistical reasons mine has to be delivered to and unboxed by someone far away from me, and it will be another week before I can re-unbox it. Anyway it's a bit of relief to know that I'm one step closer to having it in my hand. For now I'll just have to live with these pics taken on the opposite side of the earth:

Ah that's the legendary 50mm Summilux attached! Physically a little longer than I expected but I'm not complaining :)

That's it for now. Back to patience...

ISO 128,000,000,000...

2010-01-05T02:27:00.004-04:00

While doing my research on the Leica M9 I also spent some time looking at what the current state of art is in the DSLR market and one of the topics is sensor noise. I've been hearing all the talks about amazingly high ISO settings offered by the current crop of DSLRs, something that originated from the high end full-frame models and now trickled down to the mid and entry-level models.

Although I'm sure that there are always fundamental improvements being made in sensor technology that increases the signal-to-noise ratio, but on the other hand I think camera makers are to some degrees exaggerating the high ISO performance claims (for marketing purpose?).
For example:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonyalphadslra550/page23.asp

At ISO800, despite seemingly noisier the Pentax K7 image is more contrasty and retains the detailed texture better. But when pushed further it becomes obvious that it's fundamentally noisier than the others as can be seen from the ISO1600 shots, which show similar levels of details yet the K7 image has visibly more noise. From ISO1600 onwards, the so called high ISO performance is simply a matter of in-camera post-processing (either by the firmware or on-sensor) algorithms that blur the images more and more to average out the noise. The images are definitely usable for web or smaller prints but it's clear that the extra ISO settings come at the expense of resolution. For people who used to do their own RAW processing I think similar results can be achieved by pushing underexposed, lower ISO shots and applying noise-reduction in software (in which one can have a lot of flexibility in terms of algorithms and parameters).

The wider range of high ISO settings is certainly a convenience for JPG shooters. But realistically the increase of max selectable ISO from say 1600 to 12800 (3 stops) doesn't really correspond to a true 3 stops improvement of fundamental noise performance in the sensor. What's really happening is a smaller fundamental improvement (of say up to 1 stop) coupled with in-camera post-processing that stretches the max. selectable ISO with a trade-off in resolution.

The race of mega-pixels is over and the new race of high ISOs has begun. Canon has even backed off a bit in the MP race with the G11 and shifted some focus to high ISO, which indeed does make some sense because of the tiny sensors in the Gs. Nikon is also doing something similar in their D700 and D3 models (which have relatively lower resolutions but max ISOs so high that I've lost count). Sensor resolution has fallen behind the Moore's law and light sensitivity is getting more difficult to boost as we get closer to limitations and complexity at the quantum level. Camera makers have to play a tougher and tougher game of balancing resolution and noise.

As always, interesting time ahead.

Will mirror-box and optical viewfinder become obsolete?

2010-01-04T00:05:00.004-04:00

The fundamentals of SLR is being challenged...first was the m4/3 system, and now Samsung has taken another bold step:
NX10

All these mirror-less new camera systems really should be given a new name instead of DSLR, as the 'R' no longer applies. How about DXL (digital exchangeable lens) cameras?

After years of collaboration with Pentax, Samsung has finally developed their own proprietary system which shares similar concepts as the m4/3:
- no mirror box
- electronic viewfinder
- contrast detection AF system
- slim and lightweight body

The main difference is that it's proprietary and uses a bigger, APS-C format sensor. This will be a very interesting development as this system has the best of both world: compactness and larger pixel pitch (which should translate into better noise performance than m4/3). However, unless Pentax is also following, Samsung will be on their own designing and engineering a whole new set of lenses (their lenses for the initial launch ain't really that exciting). Therefore it's not surprising that they've planned for a Pentax K-mount lens adapter. I suppose part of the electronic protocol is compatible with Pentax system so that during the early stage when they don't have a good lens line up, they can rely on the abundance of existing Pentax lenses.

UPS

2010-01-03T19:53:00.000-04:00

My M9 is being shipped by UPS from US to Hong Kong...it took a few days going from New York to Alaska (hope the cold didn't break the camera), and then one day to the other side of the world. It should be delivered to my Hong Kong address any time in the next few days.

CHEK LAP KOK, HK	03/01/2010	18:36	DESTINATION SCAN
	03/01/2010	18:36	IMPORT SCAN
	03/01/2010	15:45	ARRIVAL SCAN
ANCHORAGE, AK, US	02/01/2010	11:08	DEPARTURE SCAN
	02/01/2010	7:38	ARRIVAL SCAN
LOUISVILLE, KY, US	02/01/2010	4:42	DEPARTURE SCAN
LOUISVILLE, KY, US	31/12/2009	11:31	ARRIVAL SCAN
JAMAICA, NY, US	31/12/2009	8:40	DEPARTURE SCAN
	31/12/2009	5:20	ARRIVAL SCAN
SECAUCUS, NJ, US	31/12/2009	4:05	DEPARTURE SCAN
FARMINGDALE, NY, US	30/12/2009	19:55	ORIGIN SCAN
US	30/12/2009	18:19	BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED

Leica M

2010-01-02T21:44:00.008-04:00

My attention to digital rangefinders started a few years ago when the Epson R-D1 and subsequently the Leica M8 was released. I have always been looking for a camera that is minimalistic in design but yet able to capture high quality digital images.

However, the price of a digital rangefinder was way beyond my affordable range and the design weaknesses of the M8 (e.g. cropped sensor, IR sensitivity issue) were disappointing. Therefore I didn't consider them seriously.

The recently introduced M9 aroused my interest again but there's still a big question mark in my head: why are Leica products so expensive and is the high price justifiable? Other than the price are there really any things special?

To satisfy my curiosity I spent most of my spare time over a month researching the Leica M system. More specifically my focus was on the design and optical performance of M lenses. Since then I've gained a lot of knowledge about the challenges in optical design and lens manufacturing and appreciate the value of Leica lenses. Long story short my conclusion is that Leica lenses are expensive because they are all designed and produced to a very high standard. However, whether the extra quality (be it optical or mechanical) you get from Leica lenses is worth the extra money is a very subjective issue.

I've finally made the decision to acquire a Leica M system for myself which initially includes:
- M9
- 18mm f3.8 Super-Elmar ASPH
- 50mm f1.4 Summilux ASPH
- 90mm f2.0 Summicron ASPH APO

The main reasons I decided to invest/buy into the digital M system are:
- full-frame sensor
- compactness/stealthiness
- operational simplicity
- great manual focusing system
- top notch optical and mechanical engineering

Price is certainly a big issue for me but as I said it's a subjective valuation. I can only say my enthusiasm in this hobby has outweighed my economical sense :)

Due to strong demand the M9 is on back-order everywhere in the world. I was lucky to find a retailer in the US who happened to have one in stock that is also in the same color I wanted (steel gray). It will take a while before all these new equipments arrive. I'll write about my experience with them later.

My intention is to make the Leica M system the 'default' for my general photographic needs and keep my Sigma DSLR system for specific purposes such as macro, infra-red and long telephotos (e.g. sports, nature). My DP1 will complement the M line up as my standard wide-angle landscape camera. I imagine that when I travel I'll mostly be hanging the M9+50mm on my neck, DP1 in a easily accessible waist pouch, and the 18mm and 90mm in my bag. For a total weight of only about 2kg I get:
- good coverage of focal lengths from ultra-wide to mid-tele
- top notch (in terms of optics and build quality) lenses that I can confidently use wide-open (the only reason to stop down will be for greater depth of field)
- large aperture and shallow depth of field where needed (street and portrait)
- convenience of two bodies (so I don't have to change lenses very often)

Once my M system arrives I'll start posting my experience with it.

Current equipments

2010-01-02T18:44:00.003-04:00

This is a summary of major equipments I'm using:

Cameras:
- Sigma SD10
- Sigma SD14
- Sigma DP1
- Panasonic DMC-TS1
- Canon EOS 300D/Rebel 2000 (film based, not digital)

Lenses:
- Sigma SA-mount: 10-20/4-5.6, 18-50 kit lens, 30/1.4, 70/2.8, 300/2.8
- M42 mount: Carl Zeiss Jenna Flektogon 35/2.4, Voigtlander 125/2.5 APO, Mamiya 200/4
- Canon EF-mount: Tamron 19-35/3.5-4.5

Accessories:
Tripod/head: Velbon El Carmagne540, QHD-61Q

Light meter: Gossen Digiflash

Flash: Sigma EF-500 DG Super, Canon 550EX, Metz 20 C-2
Bags: Lowepro Toploader 75AW, Micro Trekker 200, Mini Trekker AW, Crumpler 7 million dollar home

First Post!

2010-01-02T18:30:00.006-04:00

I got interested in photography about 10yrs ago when I first bought my own camera for a travel trip. It was an entry level film SLR with a 28-300mm ultra-zoom. For sure the equipments were not that great but I had a lot of fun taking pictures, waiting for the films to be developed and printed, and seeing the results.

Over the last ten years I've witnessed the transition from film to solid state media and the fascinating pace of digital camera technology. I've gone through a variety of camera equipments and most importantly developed my knowledge and skills.

I often read other photographers' reviews & blogs but I have never done it myself. There are several reasons I started this blog:
- a place to record my adventure in the world of photography
- publish my own opinions on any photography related subjects ranging from equipments, postprocessing, to market and technology trends
- I think my insights may benefit some people
- (and probably some more that I can't yet think of)

Let's see how it goes...