Leica Classic

[Patrizia Leones]

Purchasedseveral times without any problem. PayPal pay, the item ships directly from the store it is advertised at. Seamless experience. Just make sure you are not hit with customs fees if you are ordering outside your customs zone (i.e. you are in EU and ordering from Mayfair store or Dubai store).

Just bought the m8 from the Milano store. Great experience. Glad to be here. First leica. Went for the m8 because the price was better than mpb etc. and the 12 month guarantee. Paid on Thursday. Arrived Monday. Strongly recommended

If you are not using LV, there is only one available option, i.e. "classic" in which the exposure is center weighted on an area equal to about 1/3 of the sensor area and done using three light detectors placed in the bottom of the bayonet which measure the light reflected from the gray stripes painted on the metal shutter curtain.

To the best of my knowledge the only change introduced with the latest FW is the addition of Classic/LV Disabled which prevents the accidental activation of LV. Without LV the classic mode only is possible.

Yes the other sub options are not grayed out (and this is confusing) but they are actually not available. You can experiment yourself, choose classic in the main men and for instance multi field in the set men, take a shot and then check in the exif data (with Lightroom or with any other suitable exif viewer) which metering mode the camera actually used

You can set the kind of advanced metering to be used in advanced metering mode, even when advanced metering is currently turned off. As far as I remember it has always been that way, regardless of the firmware version. And advanced metering is not tied to live view; you can use advanced metering without activating live view. You still have to accept an increased shutter lag as the shutter needs to open and close for metering first, followed by the actual exposure. Classic metering is much faster.

Yes, you can set any non classic metering mode in the set men, even if the classic mode is selected in the main men, but if the LV is off only the center weighted method will work. I have just double checked taking four shots two without LV and two with LV starting from classical mode selected in the main men and changing the set sub menu to spot and multi spot: Without LV the exif data always say center weighted , no matter if spot or multi spot was selected. With LV on, on the contrary, all the advanced option are correctly used as desired and the corresponding setting is registered in the exif data. Easy to try

The key to use or to exclude the advanced mode is the LV switch which, in order to avoid mistakes, after the most recent FW,can be permanently switched off by selecting "classic mode without LV", in the main men so that the LV button switch is deactivated.

I have just double checked taking four shots two without LV and two with LV starting from classical mode selected in the main men and changing the set sub menu to spot and multi spot: Without LV the exif data always say center weighted , no matter if spot or multi spot was selected.

When Advanced metering is selected and I switch on the camera I hear clearly the sound of the shutter opening (and exposing the sensor), which does no happen when LV is inhibited in one way or an other (for instance by mean of Classic mode without LV). This is why it seems to me that with this selection the camera is in LV mode even if non signal is transmitted to the viewfinder or to the rear Lcd screen.

I prefer classic to advanced metering on my M-P but metering has been trial and error so far. Obviously shooting landscapes you get a different meter reading if you shoot 1/3 sky 2/3 land compared with 2/3 sky and 1/3 land. I usually take a snap then adjust exposure to avoid the blinkies and get the histogram 'exposed to the right' (ETTR). Each shot has a different dynamic range depending on weather conditions and metering off the sky varies depending on the position of the sun.

Your camera has a meter which always measures the same portion of the center of the field of view of the specific lens in use. This means that the actual angular coverage varies dependent on which lens you are using. But the PROPORTION of the field of view FOR ANY INDIVIDUAL LENS FRAMED in the range/viewfinder will stay the same.

It might be good at this time to check in the instruction manual to see the specific area of coverage for the individual lens or lenses you will be using within their specific frames. There will be explanatory diagrams/photos & text.

Once you know what the meter is metering: For most outdoor & most indoor situations: Position the meter over an AVERAGE part of the scene that you would like to take a photo of. Take a reading & set the camera accordingly with the camera set on "Manual".. Recompose your photo without readjusting the settings even if the meter shows that you should. Take the photo.

Good advice. If you shoot in Aperture Priority or Manual with Auto ISO you can take your reading using the method above and then lock that exposure by holding the shutter release at the half press position while recomposing.

If you are outdoors in good light, why even rely on the meter? At ISO 200, 1/250 at f11 or any other reciprocal equivalent will get the job done, adding one-half to one-stop as needed depending on shade conditions. That's how I use my M262 or M9 all the time. I go back to the meter when necessary, but try it and you'll be surprised how often you can get by without it and be all the better for it.

In all these ways of outwitting the meter there is a guess involved - where in the scene is a representative average light, how much the scene differs from the central area, how light the scene is. Given that the pupil opens and closes to compensate for changing light I can't imagine how that guess can be based on sensory evidence.

Outdoors I often use the sunny-16 rule, goes back to the days when my exposure meter was the chart inside the film box. My first TTL camera was full-screen averaging, which I found out in a hurry was easily fooled. I learned to meter the clear blue sky 90-degrees from the sun, or a frame-filling patch of green vegetation, or my camera bag which was gray. I like that Leica users know these things. Kinda pity the younguns who are lost and befuddled without maxtrix meters.

Finally there is external light meters which are very precise, presuming the light that hits you from the back would be almost the same as what is hitting the subject further away (as in a landscape). The precision in external light metering is that it measures the amount of light and doesn't care what the backlight and or sky light is, or the colors of the landscape. The exposure is correct and shows shadow details to highlights precisely (with possible necessary use of a graduated Neutral Density filter if the background sky is very bright and the ground is not).

I am a new owner of a M240-P and am loving the image quality and the shooting experience. I'm starting to learn about the lenses and I am coming across phrases such as 'modern look' and 'classical/vintage look'.

Contrast is a typical difference between old lenses and newer lenses/coatings, but then some newer lenses also draw like more vintage lenses. It's a case of deciding what type of 'look' you prefer and selecting a lens to achieve that look.

Which lens do you use with your M ? I ask because is rather probable than you can experience for few money the difference between "classic" and "modern"... (I mean, if you have a contemporary 50, Summicron Summilux or Summarit... an old Elmar comes for cheap and is never a mistake to have one... )

Hi PJ. The answer is rather complex, but I boil it down in simplistic terms to "classic/vintage look" being often distinguished by somewhat lower contrast, central sharpness which decreases as one moves toward the periphery of the photograph, and sometimes a little vignetting; "modern look" being crisper with often intensely sharp edges, distinct contrast but still having depth of tones in dark areas, and virtually no vignetting. Most photographs fall somewhere between these extremes, so it becomes somewhat of a conundrum, relying more on the skill of the photographer knowing the capabilities of his gear and how to manipulate it to achieve the look he desires, than solely the choice of lens design.

When I bought the MP I already had a Zeiss Ikon ZM with a 35mm biogon f2. I have already bought two used lenses. A 50mm summicron and a 28mm Elmarit (latest versions). I am very pleased with the results from both lenses but have not had time to become well acquainted with them.

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