Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2020/02/25

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Subject: [Leica] Comparing portraits with Noctilux Monochrom and film
From: mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner)
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2020 14:07:51 -0500
References: <B32FB319-05E4-4D9A-B660-B249CC6D24FD@gmail.com> <1AC6350E-8375-4248-8449-BE03B19193D8@bex.net> <CA+yJO1DEF4ATtc_6r+Sm8gQbVb9kjaWdrxh-bWa6kxTdOQQjtQ@mail.gmail.com>

I agree with Howard and Tina and others on the superior Leica Monochrom so 
called results but I think if we shot film and printed it in our darkroom or 
had a custom print made we'd know what we were looking at.  A small machine 
print otherwise known as a snapshot we don?t.   A snapshot printed for 
pennies untouched by human hands tells you little or nothing about what the 
6 thousand dollar lens you have on your 6 thousand dollar camera is capable 
of normally doing so lets not delve into the subtleties of output.
Night shooting now is no wide open capturing a thin sliver wide open at 
squeeze and pray shutter speeds kind of deal.   
We?re now both capturing action and getting plenty of depth of field; both. 
A handheld digital shooter shoots the pants off of someone shooting film 
Noctilux or not it?s not even remotely close. We?ve left them many many 
stops behind. Many. Both f and shutter. 
A reason to be suspicious of film to digital comparisons which talk about in 
nebulous terms how film has more je ne sais quoi smirk smirk is the fact 
that close to none of the serious shooters out there have not long ago sold 
their film cameras and never looked back.  The "big film resurgence" is a 
Fig Newton of someone's well-paid PR hack imagination.
I?d shot film at night for decades but by mid 2001 started shooting bricks 
of Neopan 1600 with an f1 Noctilux M I had just bought which never came off 
my M6 and developing and printing the results in my darkroom mainly 11x14?s 
and a fair amount of 16x20?s. 
Was really way better than Tri X with an f1.4 but by 2004 digital hit it big 
and was way, way, way, better. 
I think the hair thin depth of field effect has limited use I shoot wide 
open once in a blue new moon. 
It?s f  ISO12,500 and be there for me with my D750 Nikon a camera in low 
light which is feeling its age as I am. I?m sure ISO12,500 has been left far 
in the dust by the newer generation of cameras in the past few years I'd not 
mind shooting with..

-- 
Mark William Rabiner

?On 2/25/20, 8:19 AM, "LUG on behalf of Tina Manley via LUG" 
<lug-bounces+mark=rabinergroup.com at leica-users.org on behalf of lug at 
leica-users.org> wrote:

    I agree with Howard.
    
    Tina
    
    On Mon, Feb 24, 2020 at 10:09 PM Howard L Ritter Jr via LUG <
    lug at leica-users.org> wrote:
    
    > Lluis, I have just the opposite reaction. I think the MM image is 
superior
    > in just about every way. To me, the film image looks like a flat image 
that
    > has been recorded on a flat surface, like I?m looking at a piece of 
film,
    > while the MM image has smoothness, richness of dynamic range, 
contrast, and
    > depth, like I?m looking through it into reality.
    >
    > Of course, this impression has nothing to do with the fact that I love 
my
    > own MM?
    >
    > ?howard
    >
    > > On Feb 24, 2020, at 7:44 PM, Lluis Ripoll via LUG <lug at 
leica-users.org>
    > wrote:
    > >
    > > These ones are with Leica MP, Noctilux wide open, film Ilford HP5 
rated
    > at nominal ISO 400, developed with D23  1:1
    > >
    > > Diana (3)
    > > 
<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/luisrq/Portraits/2020F020209.jpg.html>
    > >
    > > Diana (4)
    > > 
<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/luisrq/Portraits/2020F020211.jpg.html>
    > >
    > > Please compare Diana (4) with this one Diana (1) with the Leica
    > Monochrom CCD, Noctilux f1 wide open, at ISO 1600
    > >
    > > <
    > 
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/luisrq/Portraits/20200213_L1020137.jpg.html
    > >
    > >
    > > I think that film?s structure or texture gives despite a very small
    > grain, more relief to the portrait, it looks to me more alive?. What 
do you
    > think?
    > >
    > > Thanks for looking, your c&c are welcome
    > >
    > > Saludos cordiales
    > > Lluis
    > >
    > >
    > > _______________________________________________
    > > Leica Users Group.
    > > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
    >
    >
    > _______________________________________________
    > Leica Users Group.
    > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
    
    
    
    -- 
    Tina Manley
    www.tinamanley.com
    http://www.pbase.com/tinamanley
    
<http://www.alamy.com/stock-photography/3B49552F-90A0-4D0A-A11D-2175C937AA91/Tina+Manley.html>
    
    _______________________________________________
    Leica Users Group.
    See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information




Replies: Reply from lluisripollphotography at gmail.com (Lluis Ripoll) ([Leica] Comparing portraits with Noctilux Monochrom and film)
In reply to: Message from lluisripollphotography at gmail.com (Lluis Ripoll) ([Leica] Comparing portraits with Noctilux Monochrom and film)
Message from hlritter at bex.net (Howard L Ritter Jr) ([Leica] Comparing portraits with Noctilux Monochrom and film)
Message from tmanley at gmail.com (Tina Manley) ([Leica] Comparing portraits with Noctilux Monochrom and film)