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Author Topic: leica M9 as good as Phase P40, P30 and P21  (Read 21934 times)

woof75

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leica M9 as good as Phase P40, P30 and P21
« on: January 17, 2011, 07:16:46 am »

Thats what I've found. You can't tether with the Leica but I use the P21, P30 and P40 from phase and I find the image quality of the Leica to be at least as good as the Phase backs. I don't find any difference in quality between the phase backs, there all slightly different but only slightly and I wouldn't put one above the others in terms of IQ. Unless your doing massive prints of course.. Up to 17 by 13 inches or so though the Leica is as good and has very similar image characteristics. Oh yes, the lenses on the Leica are better too.
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ced

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Re: leica M9 as good as Phase P40, P30 and P21
« Reply #1 on: January 17, 2011, 07:23:38 am »

In that case my G9 is also just as good :D
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ctz

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Re: leica M9 as good as Phase P40, P30 and P21
« Reply #2 on: January 17, 2011, 07:29:01 am »

@ced:
...And my G7 is as good as your G9.
« Last Edit: January 17, 2011, 07:30:49 am by ctz »
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woof75

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Re: leica M9 as good as Phase P40, P30 and P21
« Reply #3 on: January 17, 2011, 09:16:38 am »

Is that a joke?
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ondebanks

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Re: leica M9 as good as Phase P40, P30 and P21
« Reply #4 on: January 17, 2011, 09:17:31 am »

How's your M9 for long exposures (multiple minutes)? Better or worse than the Phase backs?
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Ilan_m

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Re: leica M9 as good as Phase P40, P30 and P21
« Reply #5 on: January 17, 2011, 10:07:13 am »

Summilux lens produces good quality images (details in shadow area and the color tones).  I use them for wedding engagement shoot, not for studio or billboard works :)
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LiamStrain

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Re: leica M9 as good as Phase P40, P30 and P21
« Reply #6 on: January 17, 2011, 10:27:24 am »

How well does it work for subjects closer than 1m. (or any number of other situations where a small format rangefinder is not well suited to the task) ;)

Ultimately, IQ is only part of the picture. Horses for courses, use the tool that makes sense for the job you're asking it to do.

woof75

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Re: leica M9 as good as Phase P40, P30 and P21
« Reply #7 on: January 17, 2011, 11:33:35 am »

yes, thats true, this is for images shot between 5 and 30 feet, fashion pictures. Really impressive, I've tried using canons and nikons instead of phase backs before and they weren't close enough for me but this M9 is a revelation. It does have it's drawbacks, the rangefinder takes some getting used to (which I now love) but for the most part it's really impressive. It's image characteristics are virtually the same as phase one when shooting fashion and if thats what you like (which I do) then this is a great alternative to a back.
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robert zimmerman

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Re: leica M9 as good as Phase P40, P30 and P21
« Reply #8 on: January 17, 2011, 02:34:20 pm »

sounds reasonable to me.
probably nice tones, nice dr, great lenses, shallow dof, all good for fashion.

best,

kipling
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cyberean

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Re: leica M9 as good as Phase P40, P30 and P21
« Reply #9 on: January 17, 2011, 03:40:18 pm »


my wrench as good as my hammer ...
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bcooter

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Re: leica M9 as good as Phase P40, P30 and P21
« Reply #10 on: January 18, 2011, 04:56:58 am »

my wrench as good as my hammer ...

Funny.

It's amazing how equipment can change your style.   It's not suppose to, but it does.  I don't have a m9 but an m8 that I should weld the 28mm on because I never remove it and I used it a lot.

It really makes a beautiful studio look with profoto flash, actually prettiest file I have seen, but the studio is the last place you'd think about this camera, because it doesn't tether reliably and it's so small it's almost funny. 

then again it changes everything when you use it because it forces you into making it work, which forces a different look.

So sometimes using a wrench for a hammer forces you to build a different house.

IMO

Bc

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woof75

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Re: leica M9 as good as Phase P40, P30 and P21
« Reply #11 on: January 18, 2011, 06:00:21 am »

Sometimes no tethering is a godsend in a studio or on location.... One of the biggest differences I find between the M9 and a MF camera is by the end of the day my hand doesn't hurt..
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ndevlin

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Re: leica M9 as good as Phase P40, P30 and P21
« Reply #12 on: January 18, 2011, 10:24:35 am »

@woof: what you say jives with what I've seen.  If you can focus it, and feed it loads of photons, the Leica glass on an M9 works magic.  It seems counter-intuitive, but the camera loves strobes.

The nice thing with the M-glass is that you can shoot wider-open and still get full quality, giving a shallower DOF and a more "MF-like" look.  Trick becomes avoiding ghosting with the focal plane shutter and good modelling lights...
« Last Edit: May 10, 2011, 08:51:40 pm by ndevlin »
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Guy Mancuso

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Re: leica M9 as good as Phase P40, P30 and P21
« Reply #13 on: January 18, 2011, 10:46:14 am »

Actually in my M9 review I did compare it against the P30+ if anyone wants to read about it but it was pretty much on first release of the M9 so some firmware updates I'm sure have been done. I actually like the M system quite a bit and if i ever get the chance to retire it maybe my only kit to have. I used the M8 for a long time but needed bigger files and there are some limitations to this system that you just can't avoid so i moved up to MF but the M system is really nice especially with CCD sensors and the M glass. It compared pretty well but the end of day the P30+ was still a better file with IQ. But the M9 does compete pretty well. Someday I may buy the M9 but I like my Phase gear much better and the M system just does do everything I need even as a second kit.

Warning its a long thread http://forum.getdpi.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10265
« Last Edit: January 18, 2011, 10:48:35 am by Guy Mancuso »
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woof75

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Re: leica M9 as good as Phase P40, P30 and P21
« Reply #14 on: January 18, 2011, 11:08:23 am »

Which converter do you use for the M9 Guy?
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DeeJay

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Re: leica M9 as good as Phase P40, P30 and P21
« Reply #15 on: January 18, 2011, 11:27:02 am »

very interesting to read. I would love to switch to an M9. And I would switch in a second if it was easy to focus and was an slr. Not saying that it would be better, but my style of photography needs to be quick to focus (pref af) and personally the viewfinder on a rangefinder bugs me. I wish it didn't!

Is it just sharpness you're saying is as good? Or tonality and colour too?

Sometimes image quality isn't just enough. It's the ergonomics of that camera that would mean I miss some shots. Maybe alot. Which as someone else funnily said, my wrench is as good as my hammer.

Either way, it's not going to be long before 35mm really does rival the P45's etc. These manufacturers must be worried!

Thanks,

« Last Edit: January 18, 2011, 11:29:38 am by DeeJay »
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ondebanks

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Re: leica M9 as good as Phase P40, P30 and P21
« Reply #16 on: January 18, 2011, 11:41:37 am »

How's your M9 for long exposures (multiple minutes)? Better or worse than the Phase backs?

I am bumping my own question to you woof75, in case you thought I was being rhetorical: I really would like to see this test being done, and you have the means to do it.

Thanks,
Ray
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woof75

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Re: leica M9 as good as Phase P40, P30 and P21
« Reply #17 on: January 18, 2011, 11:47:14 am »

sharpness I find better, but more importantly tonality and colour I find to be the same. As I mentioned, I find the image characteristics to be very similar to a back whereas I find nothing else is. I do love the rangefinder, it's gorgeous but it's a pain and I'm not into manual focus and comparing it to a 1ds mark 3 it sucks when it comes to handling. Comparing it to a mamiya afd3 with a phase back I prefer it.  For a start, there's virtually no shutter vibration, manual focus is slow but it's just as slow on a MF camera, at least the leica is accurate and most importantly for me it doesn't weigh a tonne. The viewfinder is funny, it's a bit weird to get used to but with wide lenses it's really nice, when I use my mamiya now it's like looking down a tunnel, the leica is a bit more present and immediate or something. Also, shooting people there's a lot less camera between you and the person.  
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woof75

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Re: leica M9 as good as Phase P40, P30 and P21
« Reply #18 on: January 18, 2011, 11:47:34 am »

oh sorry, no idea..
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Doug Peterson

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Re: leica M9 as good as Phase P40, P30 and P21
« Reply #19 on: January 18, 2011, 11:55:44 am »

Given that an H25 from 2003 still beats a 1Ds III and 5D II in color, tonality, resolution, and noise when used at base ISO. Given that the several other advantages of medium format (e.g. leaf shutter lenses, tech camera bodies, view cameras, waist level finders etc) do not seem to be on the radar of Canon/Nikon etc. Given that 2010 was the strongest year we've had...

Worried is not the word I would use :-).

The death of MF is predicted to happen because of the next Canon/Nikon camera EVERY single time a Canon or Nikon camera is released or rumored to be released. It gets kind of tiresome.
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