Two new videos…Leica M 50’s and an M 240 Video with the Noctilux

April 4, 2013 Just for fun, Leica 27

Two new videos…Leica M 50’s and an M 240 Video with the Noctilux

Just realized I have not posted these here though they have been on my youtube channel for a week or two. The 1st one is an overview of three mega Leica lenses. The 50 cron APO, the 50 Lux ASPH and the 50 Noctilux ASPH. The 2nd video is a short little video I shot with the 50 Noctilux ASPH to show the rolling shutter effect that is very noticeable when shooting 50mm. It was taken with the Noctilux wide open and with the M 240 in B&W mode.

Enjoy!

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27 Comments

  2. Yea there are some issues with video but its about functionality. I have a film Leica (M6) and I also work in video (a very expensive £15,000 kit). For reportage and the kind of video that we used to do with 16mm film cameras and vox pop interviews the quality is very good. Add the mic adapter and you have a superb set up (I would always record on a DAT or external device too) As Steve said a small tripod and an interview no problem. As I am often asked to do a reportage and then provide interview and other documentary pieces I think this camera is superb. Yes its expensive – but relatively? Most people on here (not me!) would spend more on their car or house than this. I’ll be leasing one as soon as I can rationalize my old film gear. Its aimed at a certain user and I guess that user is me. If I want high end video I’ll get a film crew in but if I am interviewing in the house of a subject which is let’s say ‘delicate’ which I often do then I doubt they would want a full crew and lighting rig in their face. Its discrete. Personally i’ve spent this last week looking at the various quality of video. Some is appalling and some is very good. Often its a case of using the light and setting it up correctly. One review says: “eica ever talking to any professional cameraman before implementing HD recording” then proceeds to show the viewer the most soporific interview that is simply not lit well and is flat and dull. There’s no rolling or grain or anything its just really bad white balance and unprofessionally shot! Then there’s another interview that shows how well the video renders in overcast and tungsten light – perfectly exposed (perhaps the operator used a light meter before complaining about the video). Its the operator more than the quality of the video!

  4. Sorry, but for the kind of money Leica is asking I would think buyers would expect THE BEST.

    The video quality is not acceptable, certainly not at Leica’s asking price.

    • This is not a camera meant for video and no one who has nought one has bought it for the video, I guarantee you that. What is important is that it has amazing quality for stills that keeps with the Leica tradition, all at the same price of the M9 but with many many improvements. Video is just there and I doubt more than 5% who buy an M will use it. I could care less if the video is good, bad or even there because if I want to shoot serious video I will use a dedicated video rig.

      • You should care that it’s bad.

        If Leica is going to make video part of the package, make it worthy of the Leica name.

        It seems sloppy of Leica. You would think they would take more pride in their products, that someone would say ‘This is not good enough’ instead of ‘Whatever, they’ll buy it anyway’.

        I say better to not include video than offer something substandard.

        • Are you aware this is the first Leica camera ever able to record video ?
          They are new at this. Nikon has been on the DSLR video recording game for years and they still just can’t make something good with their cameras…despite Nikon being like 40 times bigger company than Leica.
          As said Steve, I guess less than 5% of Leica M users will use this feature because you don’t buy a rangefinder to record video of course…

  7. That clip is a prime example why I wasn’t terribly excited to hear that Leica was adding video to their rangefinder. Nikon, Canon all had years to work out the rolling shutter issues on their DSLRs. Leica should’ve just kept the rangefinder a still camera and pushed video off to their S series where the ergonomics are much more suited to shooting video.

  8. Very nice video. Very beautiful IQ, bokeh are just gorgeous yet what need to be in focus is sharp as, Noctilux rocks .

    But man, oh man, the rolling shutter is just shocking !!!

  10. I have to agree. The video is very shaky and unstable due to the rolling shutter. Not sure if they can fix this via firmware but for everyone that was considering using the Leica M for movie making, this is not going to work…

    Thoughts?

    • I mentioned this in my review. When shooting wide angle lenses up to 35mm the rolling shutter effect is minimized. When using 50 or longer it is bad. If you use a tripod and shoot a static shot, no problem. But no, I would not use this for any serious moviemaking, not at all. I will use it for thos emoents where I want to catch a slice of video as a memento 🙂 For that it is perfectly acceptable for me..personal use.

  11. Thanks for sharing this video, Steve! The rolling shutter and micro stutters are unbelievably awful and, dare I say, on par with cheap smartphone cameras! The lack of any image stabilization whatsoever (IBIS or OSS) is killing the Leica M for video. The only way they could have counteracted the rolling shutter effect would have been a super high framerate. But they simply blew it.

    I still remember an interview where Leica proclaimed that they wouldn’t add video to a camera just because it’s possible (like their competition was supposedly doing), but only do so when they’d get it right. Seems like they changed their mind after all and chose to add video to the new M because, well, just because it’s possible.

    • i loved the look n feel, if not for the stuttering and jello

      so… i like steve as a cinematographer(?), but not the leica as a video camera… lol 🙂

      you should do a x100s and rx1 video comparison with this

  15. Excellent music choice on the 2nd video, which made it very sweet.
    Is that slightly choppy feel the rolling shutter effect?

  16. Welcome to the Leica channel, today, we will be talking about Leica……
    Steve, I really enjoy your site, I look forward to the inspirational articles from photographers, but is it me, or is there an over saturation in articles about Leica? It seems to be 90% Leica at the moment ( other cameras are available ) Is this because of the new camera and new lens? Or do you need to go see a shrink to deal with this obsession!!

    Can we have some articles on cheap cameras, cheap lenses, and how to get the Leica look* on a budget?! I’m beginning to turn into Pavlov’s dog here with all this Leica before my eyes!!

    *( I’m fully aware there is no way of getting the Leica look without spending several £000’s …. But there must be some way of getting that “look” and in fact, seeing as you’ve just done a spot the Leica camera test, how about someone doing a blind test on 2/3 images from different camer/lens set ups one from a Leica, and one from another?….. Being Devils advocate here, but I’d like to see, say.. A Leica film camera/ Leica Lens, go up against a Zorki with a Jupiter lens, and say, a Yashica Electro 35, all rangefinders, all good to excellent lenses….. How about it Steve?)
    Must stop drooling….. ,!

    • I post PLENTY of articles on all kinds of cameras…they are all here, day in and day out. Just search the review tab above or the archives of all posts. There have been a few Leica posts recently because the M is brand new. When a hot camera is brand new it gets written about as I go along. But you will see the same with cameras from Olympus, Fuji, Sony, etc.

    • What’s the problem with ‘a saturation of articles about Leica’??? This is the reason I started coming to this site.

      Besides, as Steve mentioned he writes about all sorts of small, mirrorless cameras.

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