Gear - what do I use?
For a few years now, I have been frequently asked about what material do I use, how do I use it and why, alongside other recurrent questions about camera settings, etc. For years I have been answering these questions individually, without realizing that it would be interesting to share it to everyone on a blog. So here they are, answers to all your questions about my gear and my choices.
Ladies and gentlemen, here is my daily shooting kit:
Leica M8
The Leica M8 is a 10 megapixel digital rangefinder camera introduced in 2006. It features a bright and clear optic viewfinder and an extremely low level of automation. Leica M cameras are compact, non obtrusive and extremely versatile which makes them, to me, the best tools for on the fly shooting, like street photography or candid portraits. Only the Leica M system offers a rangefinder manual focusing solution for digital photography, with only one exception: the Epson R-D1 which isn't produced anymore today.
Though I had the opportunity to shoot with the Monochrom and the M-P(Typ240), I decided to stick with the M8 for several reasons:
- The Leica M8 doesn't produce heavy RAW files, only about 10Mb each.
- Despite their lightness, these are outstanding quality files.
- It features the Kodak KAF-10500 CCD sensor which has its own very special signature in color and black and white.
- Its sensor is not full frame, and it's not APS-C neither. It's somewhere in between. It is not too small, but small enough to allow you to use only the center of the lens. Its overall sharpness is unmatched, even in the Leica M universe.
- Because it only uses the center of the lens, lenses perform better on the Leica M8 and it means that you can achieve astonishing results with cheaper lenses.
- And finally, the Leica M8 is the cheapest of digital Leica M cameras. So you can take it out without fears. It will have scratches, and it's fine.
The IR (infrared) filter featured on the Kodak KAF-10500 CCD sensor is too thin and as a result, the Leica M8 sees infrared. Black clothing materials often appear purple on the pictures, and the M8 files are purple-tinted. It is recommended to use an IR filter on the lens to correct that, and I have been frequently asked if I did. Well, I don't. I never put IR filters on my lens and always correct color issues during post-processing.
I always shoot RAW.
35mm Voigtländer Nokton f/1.2 ASPH II
This is the only lens I have been using for the last three years, except occasional glass I have been lent for test purposes. On the Leica M8 crop sensor, it becomes a 50mm lens. Well, 46,55mm to be exact, it's a bit larger than a 50mm lens. It shows great contrast and colors, and as the Leica M8 only uses the center of the lens, vignetting is not that present and the lens shows very good overall sharpness.
I have been asked a few times about the focus tab. This lens doesn't have any, so I created my own. I shaped it with Fimo clay, put it in an oven and glued it on the focusing barrel of the lens. It makes the lens way more comfortable to use, because I can now hold the Leica with both hands and focus with only one finger.
One camera, one lens
Well, yes, my whole gear fits in one hand. I only use one camera and one lens and if you are mainly shooting on the fly like me, I highly recommend you to do so. I find that having too much gear with you distracts you from taking pictures. If you only have one camera and one lens in your hand, your thoughts are less contaminated with questions that have little to do with taking the actual shot. You just go there and nail it... if you chose the right tools for you.
