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Leica M Typ 240 @ Beijing Club HK @ Savour 2013 @Tokyo Auto Salon

Whoa. I manage to lay my hands on the new Leica M Typ 240. The excitement caused my hands to tremble little but at the same time I was wondering how different it is from my beloved M9. I am no professional reviewer of cameras, what i write here will be based on my experience alone comparing the 2 cameras and its mainly emotional, yes…..and a lot of it has to come from sky high expectations when the thing cost USD6500-USD7000 dollars……

I will leave the technicalities about the different sensors, the in depth review, the ohhhssss and criticisms to him, him and him.

Should I post the events separately ? Nah, I will sound like a grumpy old man on a broken record about the Typ 240……that is, on repeat mode again and again and again. Great, lets put them all together, pardon the out of focus pictures !!! I have grown rusty having been away from the camera for sometime !! Do bear with the long post !

Ka-Chic Vs Ka-Toop

The first thing I noticed about the camera was the sound the shutter makes. Oh my God ? My M9 had a “Ka-Chic”, the crispy note not unlike that of an old antique camera. This thing………this new thing has a “Ka-toop” ? Is it broken ? It sounds like its constipated ? I love my “Ka-Chic” !!! Where’s did it go ? The feeling was not so nice, i felt lousy as i headed to Beijing Club in Hong Kong.

ISO 2500 Vs ISO 6400

Someone’s getting married and so they decided to celebrate by drinking themselves silly. Beijing Club is in the Lan Kwai Fong area and is one of the hottest club in Hong Kong today……..and with “hottest”, it admits members only. Ahh…..low light, close range… The M9 has a ridiculously nonsense ISO of 1600, the new M Typ 240 has 6400 !! ……With the 35mm Summilux, does it mean that i can bump up the ISO and skip the flash ?

Snap, Snap, Snap – 6400 – Very grainy

Snap, Snap – 2500 – Very grainy

Snap – 1000 – Grainy

Snap – 400 – Ah….just nice but its so slow, that i missed all the action…..*Grumble……and more “Ka-Toop” …..Zzzzz

Things are a little different when the flash came on. I have decide to risk my life snapping away with the blinding flash in close quarters in a club filled with about 200-300 people, lest the bouncers grab me by the neck and chased me out. The images ended up better than i thought and somehow it seems better than that of my M9 (with flash on too). Yeh. Whats the word ? Ah…the “Pop-up” feel of the images has more oomph

Focus Peaking

And oh yes, the lines….. Whats the magic of a rangefinder ? or What is it that we love about old cameras ? These lines makes me feel like i am using a Sony Ex or something. I now have to think alot more and while trying to find the lines, i forgot about my composition sometimes. A matter of getting used to ? Not to mention that these lines are sometimes ridiculously hard to spot if the contrast within the frame is not great. In low light, its practically non-existent. And in an event like this, no time for lines !!!!

Another thing, the Leica 90mms are not easy to use. The images are so small that focusing is not easy and most of the time, we need a tripod with it. Now with the focus lines, will the 90mm be easier to use now because of these lines and the focus zoom ? I must say it did help improve my 90mm images by a mile. But wait…I still need the tripod. Want to use it for street photography ? Forget it…..

I need my meats and my fishes. So I do not understand this “My Garden” dish complete with “Soil”(Cocoa powder actually).

Kondo-San. Very happy to meet the man who brought me around the Tsukiji market in Tokyo again. It has been like what ? 1 year? 2 years ? He will be heading a new restaurant this coming May 13. Good I need my sushi fix.

Unedited – Photo as its taken.

Savour 2013 is a 4 day event featuring the best of the best culinary experiences in Singapore. You will get to see celebrity chefs all in one place which is a good thing because we cannot afford to eat at them different restaurants every week ! Gourment markets bringing their top quality european and american foods. Wagyu ? Checked. Oysters ? Checked. Cheeses and Wine? Checked. Weather looks good, how will the Typ 240 perform in the bright sun?

Sensors

Much have been discussed about the sensors…..I had my doubts about the new sensor of the Typ 240 but frankly, I am fine with both after looking at the pictures. They still have the same Leica “feel”, the same “pop-up”. Any difference ? yes, if I were to nit and pick. But well, i could not decide which one i like better.

Celebrity Chef Emmanuel Stroobant will agree too…he looks happy.

Picture as it is. Setting Aperture to 1.4. Auto Iso and snap away. Stop dreaming Urbanarchiver, ISO6400 is just that…… Even if its the ISO25600 on the canon it does not work. Strange that the more you pay for it, the higher the expectations, no matter if that expectation is realistic or not. :0

Ahh….Much netter with the flash.

The Toyota Supra with the Veilside 4509 Kit. Looks fierce. I like !!!

I do not understand this.

I do not understand this either. A mobile disco with its loud speakers ? And smoke effect that comes along with it ? Ditto….Nada…..

Strange but True

We too, need to practice our photography skills……

Don’t understand either.

Slammed and Flushed !

Tokyo Auto Salon comes to Singapore this year. Was expecting more JDM cars, more booths featuring high performance add ons but instead all we get are more girls, more “homemade” photographers and even more girls. Kind of disappointed.

White balance

Why do i have a Canon DSLR feeling now ? At this indoor show, I was shooting in auto white balance. I think my M9 was more consistent in producing the same white balance for the same image over and over again. The Typ 240, i have this odd one out every 4-5 shots. Maybe its just me. Still need to learn more about the camera.

Video Mode

A very nice addition i must say. I can see myself exploring the full use of the M lenses with this function in the coming future. But without image stabilization, without panning zooms, I wonder if it will just be limited to taking videos of people during interviews ?

All right, all right. Sarcasm aside, I had great fun with the Typ 240 and i am looking very much forward to using the camera in video mode. The major differences to me are the new sensor and the higher ISO. But really, to upgrade to this from a M9 ? I say, get it if you are new to the Leica rangefinders.

And if you are an existing M9 user, there is no clear reason as to why you will want the new M. The expectations after waiting 4 years for this was not matched for its price, unless you count the video mode as being one. Men are creatures of habit, I know i am one, its hard for me to accept new things if the old ain’t broken or that I have grown use to working round its limitations. Strangely but surely, the Typ 240 is eating its way into my heart. I cannot explain it.

But who cares what I feel !! If you already own a Leica and its full range of M lenses, you will probably get it. The power of branding

Ka-Toop !!!

Update 5th May 2013 : I know why its eating into my heart….. Post-Processing. There are so many little surprises every time I do something to a dull picture. Whether is adjusting the contrast or the exposure. Something which the M9 could not give me. Niceeeeeeeee…………..

CNY Fireworks !! x Blending in Photoshop

Happy Chinese New Year !!

Well, its suppose to last for 15 days from 9th of Feb. So technically speaking we are still in celebration even though most of us are back to work. Busy Busy Busy ! Family, Sports, Food and Photography…..Tsk Tsk….not enough time for everything !

This year, the River Hong Bao Celebration is along the Marina Bay Floating Platform, where the fun fairs, music, song and dance will all join in the celebration. Including a miserable 5 mins fireworks display ……Ok, ok i know, shall be grateful You can also read all about the Marina Bay Floating platform here and here. It will be a dream to be able to play a soccer match here while surrounded by water !!!

How to take pictures of fireworks ? Googled around and got the answer. But how to take really nice fireworks ? No one said a word and i shall reveal the secrets. Its called blending in photoshop. Show you later how later

See ? Nice ? Mark helped me with this. Blending in photoshop, aka bluffing if there is such a tool

I was rather pleased to see the stalls at the fun fair, because it reminds me of what i use to play with when i was young. No Ipads, no massive electronic equipment and screens, just good old fashion fun. Love it ! Even the kids love them, it time to give them something more than just exercising their fingers.

And the tea cup spinning thingy !!! When was the last time you sat in one ?

The secret to a nice fireworks picture, well its not a secret, just exaggerating a little. I was just peeved that sometimes when you ask someone how did they take such nice pictures, they just say point, frame and shoot. And it leaves me frustrated when i could not do it, making me feel stupid. Its not true, all nice photographs go thru some kind of touch ups.

Right, you need to be at the place about an hour before. Setup your tripods and frame your picture. Make sure no one moves or touches the tripod after you set it in place. Kill them if you need. Now, take a series of the same scene but setting the exposure from -3 to +3. Take at every 1/3 stop if you like. At aperture F8, let the camera decides the shutter speeds it need but ISO should be at 100. Use a remote shutter if you can. Reason being that there are different areas in the pictures that look different with each exposure. For example, this building will be too dark, that building will be too bright.

Finished ? Switch the camera to bulb mode. Now wait for the fireworks, but no one moves the tripod !! When the fireworks come, take the shots, holding the shutter button for 2-3 seconds and release. Don’t bother to time and synchronize so that you capture the fireworks at its “blossomest”. You can only do this if its the first one, after that, its a blur when they start to fire everywhere.

Now go home and choose 5-6 pictures that you think will effectively light up the buildings and fireworks if you blend them together. Go to this tutorial and get the basics (See…its no secret) and you are on your way !! Blend the images by using this method as well to get well exposed buildings all around

Voila !

Happy Chinese New Year Everyone !!!!

Fireworks : Leica 24mm F1.4 Summilux 6bit.

Thaipusam 2013

Weather is a little hot today…..felt a little sick, but i couldn’t resist taking pictures of this once a year event…..though i did not really try to look for my shots. Too tired, just random snapping and snapping away.

Thaipusam is a Tamil festival that some says is a celebration of Murugan’s birth and some say are to celebrate an occasion when Murugan is being presented with the spear to kill evil demons.

Gosh, i have been living here for 37 years and i do not know what it stands for ? Why the need to have the body pierced and walk for kilometers carrying the Kavadi ? These men, respect.