Hi Steve glad to see your site is going from strength to strength, it’s becoming legendary – I did a personal handover in London of a lens I sold on eBay and the buyer asked me if I was the Steve Richards who’d posted on Steve Huff – ego boost all round!!
Anyway my last post included some ultra-wide shots made on M9+CV12/5.6 and I said these would be easier to pull off when the new M240 came out with the EVF. Well I was lucky enough to receive mine at the beginning of June just before my vacation to Alaska and I thought I’d post a few shots.
Firstly the camera is very close to the M9 if used as a classic rangefinder. The bigger screen and new controls don’t take any getting used to and feel intuitive very quickly. It is heavier and slightly thicker than the M9 and that does make it feel slightly less manoeuvrable.
The revelation is liveview through the additional EVF. Because of the giant scale of the scenery I found myself using the Leica 21/3.4 most of the time and being able to see the exact image made framing a cinch. Focus peaking and the magnification setting also helped a lot. With the EVF this is really a different camera completely from the classic M, although it feels a lot bulkier somehow. Using the EVF meant the battery didn’t last all day, you need a spare. It does work with prescription glasses which is a huge advantage over the OVF and the savings on laser eye surgery justifies the price alone!
If I had two wishes for the M11 it would be slimming the body to M6 size and integrating the EVF as per the X100
The file quality is outstanding and I think has the Leica look, even including the dodgy WB that I sometimes get on my M9!
Finally for the words what’s the worst sound in the world? The crunch of your 3 day old M240 hitting the sidewalk in Anchorage… Maybe it was the jet lag or the slow rate of the Earth’s rotation so far North but I dropped it. And again the next day in Seward. They are tough units, the camera survived and despite some light leaks around the lens mount in bright sunshine, it did great service for the rest of the vacation. Thanks to the Leica Passport it is back in Sohms having a FOC repair back to new standard.
As a street photographer I found Alaska a real challenge, probably the lowest ratio of keepers ever. If you’ve never been put it on your bucket list, a truly awesome experience.
Best
Steve Richards
Steve: What are the locations of the three shots (I live in Homer, AK, just trying to settle a friendly conversation).
Hi Lee these three are
1. The port is Seward
2. The river is Knik River Glacier
3. The B&W is Wrangell-St Elias National Park near Kennicott
Hope you won!
Great shots and having just received my M 240, I totally agree with your observations. The EVF and focus peaking are a tremendous help for those of us who left our prime years a long time ago. The EVF, however, does make the camera bulkier, and I wish it would really lock-on to the camera. As it sits there, I keep getting the impression that it could come out at any point, even if it hasn’t yet. Had to set the playback to 1s too, as anything higher than that seemed to introduce a long lag that prevented you from taking more photos. I got the impression (and this could just be me) that there was a little “interaction time” factored in on top of the playback seconds setting. But having said that, I’m really loving what the EVF is giving me over the M9.
Cheers Eric I agree the EVF doesn’t quite feel a permanent part of the camera, not very Leica like. On my copy the connecting jack wouldn’t slide in fully, although it made a good electrical connection it felt a bit half hearted.
Nice photographs, I like to play with reflections, great work.
How do you find 21mm lens performing on the new M, do photos taken with it need any additional corrections in PP?
Thanks Hexx, I don’t find the 21/3.4 needs any correction PP at all especially in these shot of landscapes. If you keep it flat and level you won’t need it for urban settings either, it really renders more like a 35mm.
Beautiful shots, congratulations. And the praises on the M240 from a long-time Leica user proves that the company is taking a right direction, combining their usual excellent craftmanship and quality with new improvements that modern tech can offer.
Thanks Andrea, the up to date sensor with the best lenses in the world in a Leica wrap is a winning combo! I may never need to buy another piece of camera kit ever….
Those shots are amazing. Even appear commercial shots taken by pros.
Why was it so difficult to photograph in Alaska?
Hi Gary when the scenery is horizon to horizon snow capped mountains I struggled to get my framing right. Hard to capture the sheer majesty of Alaska
Agree – epic sweeping scenery is actually very difficult to frame (I found the same thing in Wyoming last year). Placement of horizons is particularly tricky but I like what you’ve done here. The second image is a good example – it looks like you’ve gone for somewhere between half way and a third from the top. It gives the land and water a ‘just right’ feeling in terms of the weight. Really great images.
Absolutely fantastic images Steve! Some of the best i’ve seen. Awesome machine, that 240M.
Beautiful images, sorry to hear you dropped it… I would be sick!
Looking forward to getting the new M to keep my M6 company!
Paulo
nice pics
Nice pictures, Steve!
SWEET…SWEET…SWEET images. Sorry about the drop.
Great shots, dropping the camera is a bit sad, that’s one reason why I always use the strap around my neck so I’ll never here that crunch.
that black and white shot, amazing!
Like to see it in colour. Love the middle shot.