Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/03/22

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Subject: [Leica] Neopan jammed at 1600
From: daniel.ridings at edd.uio.no (Daniel Ridings)
Date: Tue Mar 22 05:44:52 2005

Thanks for your remarks, Bill, Phillipe and Phong.

Bill, you're right. Neopan 1600 just doesn't deliver that gritty look. I 
know a lot of people who complain that it is a charcoal b/w film, but 
I've never understood that. I get all the subtle tones I want out of it, 
and in shots like these, maybe too much.

http://gallery.leica-users.org/Louice-jam-sessions/05v11_0018
http://gallery.leica-users.org/Louice-jam-sessions/05v11_0013
http://gallery.leica-users.org/Louice-jam-sessions/05v11_0030
http://gallery.leica-users.org/Louice-jam-sessions/05v11_0031
http://gallery.leica-users.org/Louice-jam-sessions/05v11_0037

It got grittier as the evening wore on. You can tell the light is coming 
back to the north here. The windows are starting to let some in.

These jam sessions result in various bands forming and tonight I'm going 
to listen to one of them, led by this guy:

http://www.dlridings.com/jam/050312/pages/05v10-0051.html

It should be fun. I should just listen to the music, but I expect I'll 
have my M along.

So far my experience is this:

I think I'll just go back to HP5+ at 1600 in HC110. That's what I 
started with. Neopan is fine, but more expensive.

I've used digital, Nikon (F3 and F90X with autofocus) and in the vast 
majority of cases the Leica.

Autofocus is of little or no help. It's easier to focus on points of 
light or outlines with a rangefinder than it is to hold an autofocus 
camera hunting all over the place for the point of focus. There's not 
enough light for that.

Nikon lenses and Leica lenses are both excellent wide-open. I prefer 
Leica. On some of these neopan shots I can actually discern the pupils 
from the iris. Tack sharp. Could be just as much because they're easier 
to focus as anything else. No matter, I prefer Leica.

I think that I prefer film over digital. I'm losing some feeling with 
digital. Not enough noise at EI 6400.

I didn't like Tmax 3200 much at all. Too contrasty.

Saw an M4 at a decent price yesterday. Yes, I'm sure it would make more 
sense to have the rangefinder readjusted in mine, ... but in the 
meantime ... I'm a sucker for M4's. They're like an improved M2, and the 
M2 is for some reason or another, the one I always pick up.

Daniel
http://www.dlridings.com/jam http://www.dlridings.com/paw2005


Replies: Reply from pdzwig at summaventures.com (Peter Dzwig) ([Leica] Neopan jammed at 1600)