1st Shot from Seal concert with M8 and 50 Lux

Steve, you are off and running with the concert venue - great shots.

MarkD

Very nice images. even better story!

Will

Great shots, I'm impressed . A question: you wrote, the 75 Summarit backfocuses. But that's a manual focus lens, no? Does that mean that it back focuses when the two planes in the view finder show that the subject is in focus?

This particular 75 will focus great up close at minimum focus or close to it. At infinity or with distant subjects of 15+ feet the focus is WAY off. For example, 80% of the shots I took at that Seal show with the 75 had Seal OOF and his drummer in focus. I tested it here at home and if I shoot a street light from my yard it looks like a blurry out of focus ball. If i shoot a portrait, up close it is the sharpest lens I have ever seen.

Also, when set to infinity the patch goes past the point of matching in the VF.

Fred Ferkel said:

Great shots, I'm impressed . A question: you wrote, the 75
Summarit backfocuses. But that's a manual focus lens, no? Does that
mean that it back focuses when the two planes in the view finder show
that the subject is in focus?
--

Click to expand...

--
My Leica M8 Images
http://www.pbase.com/stevehuff/leica_m8_images

My Homeless Project
http://www.pbase.com/stevehuff/the_homeless

5DII 1st Shots
http://www.pbase.com/stevehuff/canon_5d_mkii__stevehuffphotoscom

Steve hi,

let me start by saying that I enjoy your sites and photography tremendously.

Now... I'd like to get your help on the back focus issue a bit further. I have the 35 and 90 Summarits (M8 body) as well. Both have focusing issues which I don't know how to best label - so I'll describe the issue. At infinity the RF images do not occlude so I am assuming there's a problem. I have developed a few focusing techniques, but I can't really determine which work and which don't. At one point or another I think you mentioned it being either a body issue or a lens issue. How do I go about determining which is it? Would it be reasonable to assume that if both lenses experience the same problem it's the camera? I don not have any other lens for additional testing.

Fred - thanks for asking the question. I was also feeling a bit "shy" to ask the same question. But as they say - there are NO dumb questions.

--
Photography is my hobby

http://www.pbase.com/d2hshooter

Hey, thanks for the kind comments! As for backfocusing...

To me, it is bugging the heck out of me and it is totally not acceptable for ANY back-focus on these lenses or bodies. My 75 is the sharpest lens I have ever owned when shooting up close at the minimum focus distance. (ill have 100% crops in a future review of the lens) but when I shoot at infinity, the focus in the RF patch does not line up, it goes past the point of focus. All of my other lenses are fine and do NOT do this.

I am driving back to the shop where I bought it on Tuesday (big drive) and I am going to try a new in box 75 (this was a demo) and test it in store. I am also going to test the one I have now on their M8.2 they have on the shelf.

I will know Tuesday if its just a lens issue or if its my Body. I think its the lens as it is insanely bad at infinity. One thing though, that 75 Summarit has the smoothest feeling focus out of any of my lenses. My 50 Lux ASPH is STIFF and the Summarit is liquid smooth. If there were no focus issues, that Summarit would be one incredible lens. Its OOF areas look like my 50 ASPH.

Ill let you know what happens on Tuesday. Thanks!

Steve

d2hshooter said:

Steve hi,

let me start by saying that I enjoy your sites and photography
tremendously.

Now... I'd like to get your help on the back focus issue a bit
further. I have the 35 and 90 Summarits (M8 body) as well. Both have
focusing issues which I don't know how to best label - so I'll
describe the issue. At infinity the RF images do not occlude so I am
assuming there's a problem. I have developed a few focusing
techniques, but I can't really determine which work and which don't.
At one point or another I think you mentioned it being either a body
issue or a lens issue. How do I go about determining which is it?
Would it be reasonable to assume that if both lenses experience the
same problem it's the camera? I don not have any other lens for
additional testing.

Fred - thanks for asking the question. I was also feeling a bit "shy"
to ask the same question. But as they say - there are NO dumb
questions.

--
Photography is my hobby

http://www.pbase.com/d2hshooter

Click to expand...

--
My Leica M8 Images
http://www.pbase.com/stevehuff/leica_m8_images

My Homeless Project
http://www.pbase.com/stevehuff/the_homeless

5DII 1st Shots
http://www.pbase.com/stevehuff/canon_5d_mkii__stevehuffphotoscom

Waiting anxiously for your test results.

got to admit I kind of accepted it and learned to live with it as just another Leica quirk...

--
Hi Steve,

These photos are superb. Have LFI or Leica User Group approached you for those photos for publication yet?

--
Photography is my hobby

http://www.pbase.com/d2hshooter

Nice job Steve. I imagined the Leica would be viable in decent lighting but all too often (in fact most of the time) concert lighting is awful and the Leica would not work well, while the D90 would work better (as I think it has with the Seal concert from the images I've seen). I now use a 5D, D3 and occasionally a D2Hs and my images can be seen at http://www.shakenstir.co.uk (10 years work when I started with a Canon Sureshot!)
Tony

That 75 I used for the concert was defective. I swapped it for a new one and this one is spot on, so it was not my M8 body. The 75 Summarit is the sharpest lens I have ever owned, thats for sure. My review of the lens is up on my site now...

d2hshooter said:

--
Photography is my hobby

http://www.pbase.com/d2hshooter

Click to expand...

--
My Leica M8 Images
http://www.pbase.com/stevehuff/leica_m8_images

My Homeless Project
http://www.pbase.com/stevehuff/the_homeless

5DII 1st Shots
http://www.pbase.com/stevehuff/canon_5d_mkii__stevehuffphotoscom