Leica M9 - Full Review

Leica M9; the Marmite of the camera world

You either get it or you don’t!

“You’re so lucky”. This was the greeting I got from a wedding photographer; someone I had never met. Alas she didn’t seem to be talking about me, my dress sense, my personality or my photography. She was talking about the fact that I had a Leica M9 around my neck. There are occasions when cameras spark off conversations between complete strangers in the field, but I have to say that none have induced more talking and question asking than the Leica M9. It seems to be a magnet for chatty photographers from all spectrums of the profession.

Going back to me being so “lucky”. Actually, it was true. I was taking some photographs at a friend’s wedding, and all my kit which comprised of the M9, 24mm Elmar and finder, 35mm Summicron and 75mm Summicron lenses, fitted into a tiny Domke F5 shoulder bag with room to spare. The young lady making the “lucky” comment was weighed down by a back pack, two DSLRs with their big and weighty zooms and flashguns.

Whilst a DSLR is much more versatile in being able to help you photograph most situations, given the right lenses (which can range from fish-eye to macros and zooms to super telephotos) a small, light, precision made rangefinder is something else. If any camera can come close to being Marmite, it’s the Leica rangefinder. You either get it, or you don’t as much as you either love or hate Marmite.

The size of the M9 and the tiny lenses certainly has appeal, but it’s the way a rangefinder works and looks so non threatening that really appeals to me. Its been such a joy to use a Leica rangefinder for work again. In the days of film I used to use the Leica M4-2 and M6 for around 80% of my work. The rest would require long lenses and an SLR would be called into service. The number of times the people I’ve photographed have taken pity on me and told me that one day I’ll be able to afford a real camera. The first time seemed comical as they obviously had no idea about the cost or quality of Leica kit, but I soon realised that the advantage was that people were always relaxed in my presence as they didn’t take me as a serious professional photographer.

The Leica M9 in use. Photo: Antje Bormann

It’s All About The Lenses

I’ve been very fortunate in my career and have used and owned some fantastic lenses. Stunning lenses like Canon’s 35mm f1.4L or 85mm f1.2L II and the 50mm or 85mm f1.4 lenses from Zeiss have all been superb. These have been partially eclipsed by a superb 180mm f2.3 APO lens I had which was made by nowadays little known firm called Angenieux. However, by far my favourite optics have been Leica’s. The 21mm Elmarit, 35mm and 50mm Summicrons from days gone by have helped me make some of my favourite images on my Leica M cameras. The 90mm Elmarit on my Leica R6.2 also worked wonders.

Well, after the absolute disappointment of the M8 and the M8.2, the M9 is an absolute breath of fresh air. It’s not only full frame, but the sensor is great. It now opens up the digital photographer to the wonderful and amazing world of Leica optics; used how they should be used - full frame and without any multiplication factors. Thankfully, you can use the majority of the lenses ever made by Leica, dating all the way back to the 50s, with only a handful of exceptions (these are helpfully listed in the manual). To help out with older non-coded lenses, you can even manually set the lens in use on the camera using the menu system. Naturally there’s also the option of sending any old lenses to Leica for them to code it for you; at a cost.

The main thing with Leica lenses is that they just give a certain look to your photographs. I’d even say that some of the old Summilux lenses aren’t even that sharp, compared to the best modern lenses. However, they all have this magical ability of rendering light sources within the image beautifully and give you a beautifully contrasty image regardless of the light sources visible. In black and white you’d get an amazing tonal range and in colour the true rendition of colours as well as the tonal subtleties captured is wonderful. To finish off perfectly, you get beautiful bokeh. When shooting wide angle you also get such little distortion, as the design of the camera allows the rear elements of the lens to go deeper into the lens mount of the body.

I’ve used many camera systems during my career, starting with the Canon FD system, then the Nikon AF system, Nikon digital and for the past five or so years the Canon digital system. The one thing that remained constant through most of this time was the Leica M system and some R equipment too. What is also amazing is that Leica somehow has the ability to awaken a passion within photographers who generally only look at the equipment as a tool. Not only is it a passion for the cameras and lenses, but when the company gets it wrong, it’s almost taken personally. I have to admit to almost feeling heart broken when I tried the M8. The image quality didn’t live up to expectation, although in ideal conditions it would produce nice enough images, it just wasn’t consistent through its ISO range. To top it was the horrid problems with having to get IR filters for all one’s lenses. The cherry on top was the crop factor. I tried it when it first came out and then re-visited it around six months ago, and still, it was a disappointment. For a camera where zooms aren’t available and the majority of photographers don’t use the tri-focal lenses but stick to primes, it’s important to have full-frame; a 35mm lens should give a 35mm view. Well, thankfully the M9 and its full frame sensor have answered my criticisms of its predecessor. To top this, it’s actually a wonderful sensor and works rather well all the way up to 1250 ASA.

Portrait taken using the legendary 50mm f0.95 Noctilux at 400 ASA

Is It All Good?

You can probably have a suspicion that I’m rather fond of the M9; well, I am. As I mentioned earlier, it’s opened up the opportunity for us photojournalist types to use Leica for deadline work again, and this time, unlike with the M8, its with very little compromise. Its very nicely built and works extremely well.

The issues I came up with, apart from the sadness of only having it for a week and then returning it, was the buffer is easy to fill. I was originally shooting jpeg and RAW combined. I realised that shooting RAW (DNG) compressed made things much quicker and relatively snappy. It’s no Canon 1D MkIII when it comes to buffer speed, but compressed DNG works wonders. If there’s any visible quality difference between compressed and not compressed, I really can’t see it.

Another issue I came up with was the feel of the shutter button. Coming from the old mechanical rangefinders, it felt different. I could feel the stages in travel it has to have to accommodate the exposure lock for aperture priority use. However, the great news is that this can be changed in the custom functions. Another very useful function is to delay the wind on. I had these two custom functions (Soft and Discreet) constantly set and loved the way the shutter release now felt and worked. It’s still not the same silky smooth gentle release of the old mechanical Leicas, but then again having a yearning for it is unrealistic. After all, it’s a totally different camera.

Lastly, although thankfully there is now a dedicated ISO button, I’d welcome either a mechanical dial that showed the speed setting, or perhaps an LCD on the top plate showing the set ISO. For me it’s essential to be able to check this setting at a quick glance without having to go into the menu system.

In Use

I found the auto white balance to work amazingly well. It worked fabulously outdoors, like most modern cameras. However, it was under tungsten light where it excelled. The results are amazingly good. When shooting a series of images, you do occasionally get one in the set where for some reason the white balance jumps, but it’s generally completely constant. This in itself isn’t an issue if you shoot DNG as it’s very easily fixed.

Photograph taken using the 75mm Summicron

Although Leica offer the camera with a full download of Adobe’s Lightroom, my software of choice is Apple’s Aperture. I do applaud Leica for not bringing out yet another RAW format and the files from the M9 processed beautifully in Aperture. Editing through the 18 megapixel images has been a joy and the image quality began to remind me of looking at Kodak Ektachromes on a lightbox. Maybe the Kodak engineers who made the M9’s sensor were looking at the look of Ektachrome? Main thing is that the files look fabulous.

With the M8, anything over 400 ASA started to look terrible, especially early on when the IR filtering issue was not yet publicly known. The M9 shoots beautifully at up to 1250 ASA and nicely at 1600 ASA. Its maximum of 2500 ASA can be used in emergencies, but I’d personally steer clear.

Whilst the menu system works well, it does take a little getting used to as it’s not as intuitive as some of the modern Japanese camera systems around. I’d for example love to see the SET button placed inside the direction buttons. I have a small gripe with the delete mechanism too. I have a dislike with any delete function which gives the option of delete all. If in the middle of a fast moving news job, it seems a little to easy to delete all images by accident, even if there is a confirmation needed.

On a positive note, the bright-line frame markers work perfectly. The M8 had serious issues with the frame markers not corresponding to image view photographed. This was partly addressed in the 8.2, but the M9 seems to work even better and I didn’t have a single issue.

Does It Make Sense?

If logic were to dictate, then no, not really. At £4950 body only, the M9 is a very expensive camera. Leica have always been expensive, but this is expensive, even by Leica standards. Leica are not a mass manufacturer and there’s a fair amount of hand assembly and finishing that goes on. To top this off the quality control is extremely high and has always been so. However, I just feel that the price tag is too high. It pushes it outside the grasp of most professional photographers and possibly makes it only accessible to the enthusiast photographer who has a well paid day job. Its a shame really.

The image quality, especially at high ASAs, doesn’t come close to my favourite DSLR, the Canon 5D MkII; the Canon produces smoother files at 2000 ASA than the M9 does at 1250 ASA. It also is more versatile and being a DSLR can take lenses from 15mm to 800mm, making it much more useful. However, the Leica M9, and these wonderful Leica lenses just produce images with life; there is a quality and look to the images which no other camera system can produce. Logic dictates that a large and cheaper DSLR makes more sense; the heart though, wants what the heart wants; after all, photography is a passion. Also the form factor is fabulous; this tiny camera takes up so little room and the lenses even less. It affords a very subtle and gentle way of working which is wonderful. I applaud and congratulate Leica on the M9; it’s an amazing camera and as soon as this recession lifts, I’ll be making a visit to the Leica Store in Bruton Place.

For a full range of photographs taken with the Leica M9, please visit my Flickr page.

This article first appeared in the BJP on December 16, 2009.

Leica M9 Review by Digital Rev

Thought I'd share this rather fun and funny, yet accurate review of the Leica M9.

You can read my own review in the BJP and view some photographs on my Flickr.

Olympus E-P1 - Full Review

Photographer Edmond Terakopian trying out the new Olympus E-P1 with the 17mm lens and external viewfinder. June 27, 2009. Photo: Ghene Snowdon / www.gsnowdon.com

These are very exciting times for photographers. Admittedly, if the recession wasn’t on, it would perhaps be even more exciting as we would be able to afford these things, but nevertheless, in the past few months there has been a range of great cameras announced.

The first of these, and the subject of this review, is the Olympus E-P1. This is the first in a new genre; the micro four thirds non SLR interchangeable lens camera, which was announced earlier this year on June 16. Its a great little camera. In a nutshell, it has a 12.3 Megapixel sensor, shoots at 3fps, ISO range of 100 to 6400 and has a built in IS system. The camera was launched with two lenses; a 17mm f2.8 pancake (equivalent of 34mm) and a 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 (equivalent 28-84mm).

I first got to play with the camera for a couple of hours in June, and this first brief encounter left me smitten. The E-P1 was everything the Leica M8 should have been. I have yearned for a proper digital rangefinder since switching over from film and have been disappointed by Epson and Leica’s attempts. Having tried the M8 twice, alas it was clear to me that it just wasn’t for me. The sensor’s cropped size, terrible performance in mid ASA’s upwards and need of extra filtration has put me off for good. I really wish that they sort out these shortcomings instead of just focusing on limited editions and luxuries like mineral crystal LCD covers.

However, a lot has happened since then. On September 2nd, Panasonic announced the very interesting Lumix GF1, which like the Olympus is a micro four thirds camera with interchangeable lenses. Interestingly it has an optional electronic external finder. Having had a Leica Digilux 2 for several years, I’m used to this type of finder but not necessarily a fan; on the Digilux 2 fast panning movement would cause streaking and lag. I’m looking forward to testing the Lumix GF1 to see how its electronic finder works.

Leica also announced the M9 and X1 (which appears to be a Lumix GF1 but with a fixed lens and different body) on September 9. Although I have yet to test either of these cameras, apart from its price point, the Leica M9 looks like it just may be the camera to get Leica back into the world of working photographers. To add to these, Canon announced its G11 on August 19; whilst it differs from these cameras by having a fixed zoom lens (equivalent of 28-140mm) and being firmly in the compact camera category, it promises to be a great tool as it has thankfully left behind the megapixel war and concentrated on image quality, whilst being based on the very user friendly and sturdy G10 chassis. Whilst at launch, the Olympus E-P1 was totally unique and literally in a league of its own, it now faces some tough competition.

The camera has a fantastic feel to it. It’s solid and well built and for weeks I’ve had it on my shoulder. Its feel just encourages you to pick it up and take pictures. Eclipsed by only the Canon 5D MkII, I’ve never had a camera that has piqued the interest of my colleagues so much as the E-P1; on any type of gathering, it has instantly been the topic of conversation.

As my colleague Jonathan Eastland pointed out in his technical review (BJP 29.07.09) one instinctively brings the camera to the eye; alas there is no viewfinder and the rear screen is used much like any digital compact camera. Thankfully there is an option of an external optical viewfinder, the VF-1, which is matched to Olympus’ pancake 17mm lens. This tiny little accessory changes the camera completely. Olympus had difficulty in getting the VF-1 to me and for several weeks I carried the camera to jobs and couldn’t use it. I am of the school where a camera is raised to the eye and not kept at arm’s length. After this initial period I was very close to calling the camera a flash compact camera that had interchangeable lenses. However, fitting the viewfinder makes it a very useable tool.

I generally put the camera onto centre spot focus and could more or less guesstimate where the point would be in the external finder. This system works very well, both in terms of speed and accuracy and only failed on a small percentage of shots. Whilst the camera is generally fast to focus lock, it does rarely just take so long that the shot passes you by; as I mentioned though, this was for a small percentage of shots. Another focusing mode which worked surprisingly well in combination with the external finder was face detect; this would recognise faces in the composition and rather accurately focus on them.

Although the VF-1 is a snug fit, it needs a lock. To take this external viewfinder system to the next level, it would be fantastic if it incorporated some electronics in the form of focusing spot points, focus lock indicator and exposure values.

However, as things stand, the only four thirds lens with a matched external optical viewfinder is Olympus’ offering as reviewed here. Panasonic is launching a great looking 20mm f1.7 (equivalent 40mm) pancake lens. As Panasonic’s viewfinder is electronic, there is no matched optical version. My thoughts are that for this camera to really work and be useable, there needs to be a set of prime lenses with matched external optical viewfinders. My personal wishes would be for a 24mm or 28mm, 50mm and 85mm lenses to be added, all with their own matched finders. Ideally, the current 34mm pancake lens will also be replaced with an f2 or faster version. Whilst the silver version of the camera I have been reviewing looks great, the only other option is white. I have yet to see this in the flesh, but it does look great in the pictures. What’s really desperately needed is a black version.

The 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 (equivalent 28-84mm) zoom lens is a surprisingly good performer in good light. Its tiny size meant that I had it with me for “just in case” situations. Naturally this lens has to be used with the rear screen as there is no zooming external finder available. I must admit though, I was smitten by the little tiny 14mm pancake lens which is smaller even than my Leica M lenses. Its a fantastic performer, producing sharp, contrasty images full of colour. Flare was very well controlled too. My only wish, as mentioned before was that I just wish it was faster than f2.8.

Unlike the Panasonic GF1, the E-P1 does not have a built in flash. Olympus however do offer the dedicated FL-14 flash. Like the camera, its very well made and feels solid. In use, it has a tendency to occasionally over-expose the first shot and then is fine for remaining shots. For its size, and considering it uses two AAA batteries, its amazingly quick to recycle. Using it on aperture priority with slow shutter sync enabled produced some excellent and very well balanced results.

This camera performs rather well in higher ISOs. Its never going to come anywhere near a Canon 5D MkII for low light work, but as far as Olympus cameras are concerned, it does do an extremely good job. I did a whole series of shots from 100 to 1250 ASA, and all of the images impressed. 1600 and 2000 ASA were usable, and anything above is really for emergency use. The fact that the camera has IS and the 17mm is f2.8, does mean that you can work in pretty dim situations.

The camera has a 3fps motordrive which is pretty impressive. It’s very responsive and the drive speed makes it very usable. The unfortunate thing is that the camera is very loud. It’s not even the drive; the shutter is just too loud, even on a single shot. Considering there is no mirror to move, the camera should be much more quiet.

The main use I put the camera to, especially when the finder finally arrived, was street photography. It just seems to be in its element on the street. Although it was shiny silver, the size meant that it could be easily hidden and taken out for a picture. I found it very usable and really enjoyed making pictures. It just so happened that when on most of my news assignments, although I had the camera with me, I didn’t use it much. This was purely down to not having the external viewfinder yet.

So, who’s this camera aimed at? It’s not a compact and not an SLR; think of it as a modern day rangefinder style camera. For me, its ideal for features, reportage and street photography. However, its usefulness depends on the lenses released in the future. These need to be fast prime lenses with matched external viewfinders. Newer models really need to be much quieter (I’ve used DSLR’s which make less audible sound). But even with these improvements, it’s not all clear cut; the offerings from Canon, Leica and Panasonic will need to be considered. Having said that, I congratulate the birth of this new format and wish it longevity.

Originally Published in the BJP, September 2009

For a full set of images shot on the E-P1 please visit my Flickr page

First Open Workshop

A montage of images of me at work, ranging from 1994 to 2009

I'll be having my first ever open workshop on November 28th, 2009. The general themes will be photojournalism and street photography. It's going to be most suited to intermediate and advanced photographers, both amateur and professional. Although having done many workshops, lectures and presentations in the UK and abroad, this is the first ever open one, meaning anyone can book and pop along.

Part of the workshop is also a portfolio review, so if you think your work might benefit from some one to one attention, you can also book this.

I'll be showing some work from my 20 year career as a press photographer, answering any questions you may have and then getting down to the actual workshop, so make sure your batteries are charged and your cameras ready!

The business and booking side of things is being dealt by Ghene Snowdon, so visit the Photosocialise site to make bookings.

As it's a first and there's a recession, we've decided to keep it mega cheap. These prices will definitely never be repeated again, so if you're interested, do make a booking sharpish - places are limited and are booking up already!

To see a report from the workshop, click HERE.

Leica M9 & X1 - Hands On Preview

Leica M9

Trying out the M9. Photo: Antje Bormann

Yesterday I had the opportunity to have a look at the new Leica M9 and also the X1. The M9 was a final pre-production model, so it was pretty much what you would get if you bought one. However, the X1 was a mid pre-production sample so my comments should be taken lightly until I get a chance to try out a final sample.

A small bit of background info on me; I used to shoot quite a lot of my film work on Leica M rangefinders. I've had the M4-2, the M4P and the M6. My lenses back in the day ranged from the 21mm f2.8 to the 75mm f1.4. I've always loved the quality of the cameras and more so the lenses. The silent approach to picture taking has always suited me.

At 160ASA the image quality is stunning

Alas the M8 put an end to the love affair and I had to definitely close the door on Leica; I just didn't think the quality was there. Terrible image noise when trying to work in low light, a cropped sensor and that silly filters on every lens thing just put me off. I tried the M8 when it first came out and recently a few months ago, and it still didn't do it for me.

Seems that the M9 has put a stop to that though and I find myself yearning to get back to my rangefinder days; well, the recession's kind of getting in the way, as there's no way for me to justify the £4850 price tag, but at least now its not the quality that's putting me off, but merely the cost. As the chap from leica said yesterday, its reassuringly expensive!

This image at 1250ASA is still extremely good and way above the M8 in quality

At first glance the camera's very similar to the M8 but now thankfully has a dedicated ISO button. The interface is usable but no way is it near the ease of use offered by the latest Canon DSLRs. Still, its a big improvement on the M8.

At 500ASA image quality is fabulous

Where the camera really shines though is that it now has a full frame sensor. The cropped sensor of the M8 was a huge disappointment for me. The other huge improvement is that there is much less image noise, so working in low light is again a possibility. Whilst the camera's high ASA ability doesn't come anywhere near matching a 5D MkII, its still very impressive and a million times better than it used to be on the M8. At 160 ASA its faultless; absolutely stunning. I pushed it higher to 1250 ASA and its still extremely good. There's some grain, but it looks right and the colours also look right. I shot a load of tests indoors under mixed lighting and also outdoors in daylight and apart from some shifts in the auto white balance, the colours where great.

Whilst the shutter is no were near as silent as the old cloth shutters, it has several quite modes which allow the cocking to be done on release of the shutter button; this makes operation much more quite.

As far as the quality of the files concerned, I'm extremely happy with the jpegs which you can see here. As the camera has only just been announced, I'm waiting for Apple to release a RAW update so I can have a look at the RAW's using Aperture. If the jpegs are this good, I'm sure the RAW's will be a knock out.

As I mentioned earlier, I'm really happy with this camera; Leica and Kodak who make the sensor chip have done a great job and made the camera usable as a professional tool. With the M8, you got great shots if all the elements were right and the light was perfect; now with the M9, it looks like you can adapt to the elements and not just give up.

My full review of the Leica M9 is now available HERE.

Leica X1

The other camera of note which has recently been announced is the X1. Initial rumours suggested that it was based on the Panasonic Lumix GF1 which is a micro four thirds, interchangeable lens camera. It isn't the case though, as the sensor is a bigger APS-C sensor with a lower crop. The X1 however doesn't allow you to change its 24mm f2.8 lens as its fixed. This 24mm lens translates into 35mm in 35mm terms. I really wish that it was an f2 though.

Its a very handsome little camera and feels nice in the hands. I was rather impressed by the lens as distortion is very well controlled and the optics are pin sharp. However, I must admit that I wish they had made it an interchangeable lensed camera. However, to use this camera properly, I'd seriously suggest an external finder as otherwise its just a flashy compact camera. At 500ASA, the image quality was very good and noise was well controlled. Focusing was sure footed and pretty speedy. My only initial thoughts are that its a shame there is no face-detect, as this would work well when using the external finder - I have since found out that it does have face detect. Although an early sample, I must admit to being very impressed by the image quality.

As mentioned before though, I'm going to reserve full judgement as this was a mid pre-production camera.

For a gallery of images check out my Flickr.

Addendum: You can now read my full review of the Leica M9 in the BJP (British Journal of Photography).

Hands On With The Olympus E-P1

Every once in a while a product comes along, out of the blue, that you’ve been wishing for. For me, the Olympus E-P1 is this product. For years I’ve been spouting off to manufacturers and resellers about the need for a digital compact camera with interchangeable lenses. I’ve even gone into in-depth detail about exactly how this should be done, and alas, its all fallen on deaf ears. Thankfully, Olympus has answered this call (which I never made to them) with the E-P1.

In the film days, for well over a decade I’d been a Leica rangefinder user, having had M4-2, M4P and M6 bodies and most M lenses available. I made most of my favourite pictures with these tiny cameras and those great lenses. Having tried the M8 twice, alas it was clear to me that it just wasn’t for me. The sensor’s cropped size, terrible performance in mid ASA’s upwards and need of extra filtration has put me off for good. I really wish that they sort out these shortcomings instead of just focusing on limited editions and luxuries like mineral crystal LCD covers.

Its because of the lack of a decent digital rangefinder that in my opinion there’s a niche in the market that needed to be filled. Straight off, I’ll say that so far, the optics on the little Olympus don’t come anywhere near the quality of Leica optics, and and the build quality, whilst excellent, isn’t as sturdy as a Leica. However, the costs aren’t even comparable! Digital image quality however, is. I had just under three hours with the E-P1, and I must say that I’m really very impressed by it.

It just feels right in the hand. Its sturdy, comfortable, ergonomic and well made. The construction is really very impressive. Those “retro” looks are quite cool too. One thing I’m definitely unhappy about through is the fact that there isn’t a black version available, though the photograph release by Olympus at launch, seems to hint that a black one will become available. Whilst I’m on this subject, please Olympus, make sure all lenses, finders and flash are available in black too.

I immediately took off the zoom lens and fitted the tiny pancake 17mm f2.8. Its even smaller than my M lenses! The focal length of fitted lenses doubles, so most of the pictures you’ll see were shot at 34mm. Rather upsettingly, the camera doesn’t have a built in optical finder. I would love a large, bright, optical finder with lines for the focal length in use. I really dislike working without an optical finder, so I fitted the crystal clear and nicely made external viewfinder. One thing I wish the lens had though was focus distance markings; one often likes to set the distance on a lens and snap candidly.

This little lens is superb though; its sharp, contrasty and performs well with flare. I just wish it was f2 (or faster) and not f2.8. With the smaller sensor, getting out of focus backgrounds is trickier as the smaller sensor increase depth of field; as a result, it would be preferable to have faster apertured lenses. Naturally this also opens up the world of available light photography.

Talking of which, this camera performs rather well in higher ASAs. Lets get one thing straight though, its never going to come anywhere near a Canon 5D MkII or a Nikon D700, but as far as Olympus cameras are concerned, it does do an extremely good job. I did a whole series of shots from 100 to 1250 ASA, and all of the images impressed. 1600 ASA is usable, and anything above is really for emergency use. The fact that the sensor has IS and the 17mm is f2.8, does mean that you can work in pretty dim situations.

Whilst the 14-42mm zoom is tiny and handy to have, its not where this camera is at. It felt superb and produced its best images with the 17mm. I really hope that Olympus is going to concentrate on fast prime lenses. 24mm, 35mm, 50mm and 75mm f2 lenses (35mm equivalents), all with matched external finders would be my personal wish. The current 17mm is fine for the time being though. I would also love to see an ultra fast 50mm (equivalent), say an f1.2 or an f1.0.

Performance wise, I found the AF (which I only tested in single focus mode) to be sometimes sluggish. It was generally quite snappy though, but on a couple of occasions I completely missed the shot as it just wasn’t quick enough. You have a choice of various focus modes, but as I was using the external finder, I preferred the fixed centre point focus spot. For some reason though, occasionally the camera would go into auto focus spot selection mode; very annoying! The other complaint I have is the exposure meter has a tendency to slightly over expose. During my test I shot in A (aperture priority) and it was generally fine. The auto white balance worked well outdoors but in tungsten light was off, producing results which were far too warm.

At the time of writing, there’s no RAW conversion software, so all the images shown here are jpeg files. I did shoot RAW + jpeg though, so I’m looking forward to processing the RAWs through Aperture when they’re supported. The jpegs where fine though.

Thankfully, the camera supports SD cards and Olympus haven’t tried to force XD cards on us. Another interesting development is the availability of converters. Olympus already has a converter allowing the use of four thirds lenses and another allowing the use of Olympus OM lenses (in manual focus and stop down metering). As far as I know, the Panasonic Leica converters should also work on this camera; I would love to try out some Leica M and Zeiss ZM lenses on this camera.

So, who’s this camera aimed at? Its not a compact and not an SLR; think of it as a modern day rangefinder style camera. For me, its ideal for features / reportage and street photography. I would definitely recommend it as a second camera to an SLR user.

Me and the Olympus E-P1 with the 17mm f2.8 and finder. Photo: Ghene Snowdon

After my three hours was up, I had to return the camera. I must admit, I did this reluctantly. I was fond of this camera when I first saw the concept, and even more so as I saw the pictures of the finished camera and read the specification sheet. Well, having now actually used the camera and seen the results, I’m a little smitten. Its not perfect yet, and has a few flaws, but as a first generation product, on its first firmware, its pretty special.

If the E-P1’s made available in black and has a few descent fast prime lenses with matched optical finders, then I wouldn’t hesitate in getting this camera. Lets hope Olympus keeps this up and expands the product line.

For a gallery of images taken with the E-P1, visit my Flickr page.

Zeiss 50mm f1.4 Planar on my 5D MkII

We spend so much time talking about how sharp a lens is. It may come as a surprise for me to then talk about a lens, in this case the Zeiss 50mm f1.4, and concentrate firstly on how it resolves the out of focus elements in the image. It does this so beautifully!

As a newspaper photographer, I need to be able to cope with any situation. As a result, I need to carry a fair amount of equipment and my bags are laden with Canon prime lenses (from 15mm to 500mm) and Canon L zoom lenses (from the 16-35mm f2.8L II to the 70-200mm f2.8L IS). I'm a huge fan of Canon's lens technology; pin sharp, fast and reliable. Some of my lenses have seen daily use for around five years, in all kinds of weather, and they're still going strong.

By far though, my favoured Canon lenses are the stunningly good 35mm f1.4L and the 85mm f1.2L MkII. I can't recommend these lenses highly enough and I'm at my happiest when I'm on a job and using these optics.

However, for all the technical superbness of these optics, there's something missing. In the film days I used to have an Angenieux 180mm f2.3 APO lens for my Canon F1n and T90. It was a superb lens. After this period I switched to Leica M and R systems. On the rangefinder my favourite lenses were the 21mm f2.8 Elmarit, the 35mm f2 Summicron and the 50mm f2 Summicron. On the SLR system, the 90mm f2.8 Elmarit was my favourite. All of these Leica lenses and the Angenieux had something special about them. It wasn't that they were just sharp or well made, or that they had a superb focusing action. It was something else.

This brings me back to the first thing I said; how out of focus elements within the image are resolved. On the Canon 85 mm f1.2L MkII something magical happens when you use an aperture of between f1.2 to f1.6. The out of focus detail is given a lovely dreamy look which makes you image pop.

The Leicas and the Angenieux did this. However, they went one step further. There was a different look. The Zeiss 50mm f1.4 Planar in the ZE (Canon EOS) mount has taken me back to those days, and reminds of this special characteristic. Its not just a nice softness to the out of focus areas; its something more, something not easy to verbalise. To top this, the Leica, Angenieux and Zeiss also go one step further when you have a light source in the image; be this sunlight or the bright spots of artificial lights. They resolve both of these in a way that even the best Japanese lenses just don't do. You somehow manage to keep the sharpness and contrast of your subject even if its strongly backlit. 

On another note, the Zeiss also brings back fond memories of the good old days when lenses and cameras were made of metal! Its a solid and beautifully made metal lens with a lovely metal lens hood. Naturally, all of these Zeiss lenses are manual focus and the manual focus action is beautifully fluid and a joy to use. Its going to take getting used to after relying on AF for so long, but its such a lovely sensation to manually focus with such a beautifully engineered piece of equipment.

If you get a chance, give the Zeiss lenses a try; you won't regret it.

5D MkII Manual Control For Video

Apologies for the delay in bringing this to you, but I was having surgery when this was announced!

Canon Enables Manual Exposure in Video on EOS 5D Mark II

LONDON, UK, 27th May 2009:  Canon announced today it will release a firmware update for the EOS 5D Mark II allowing users to manually control exposure when shooting video.  The new firmware will be available for download from 2 June 2009 on Canon Europe’s support web site.

Following the launch of the EOS 5D Mark II in September 2008, Canon’s Research and Development team has listened closely to customer feedback to develop additions to the camera’s movie recording functionality.     

Allowing EOS 5D Mark II owners to achieve even more stunning video results with the camera, the firmware update will include the following manual controls when shooting video:

·        Full aperture selection 
·        ISO speed: Auto, 100 – 6400 and H1 
·        Shutter speed: 1/30th – 1/4000th second 

This is huge news. I for one was convinced to start shooting video purely because of the camera. However, with the fully automated exposure, it became a challenge to override it with various cheats. With this firmware update, its going to allow so much more freedom and it'll really allow every ounce of the camera's stunning visual capability to be harnessed. I for one can't wait to give it a try. I just hope that a similar update is in the pipeline for the audio.

Addendum:

The firmware is now live and can be downloaded HERE.

Canon 5D MkII Audio Hacked

5D Mark Free audio meters from Trammell Hudson on Vimeo.

Well, its happened. The audio function has been hacked on the 5D MkII to allow an override on the automatic gain control. This is superb news and my congratulations go to Hudson for this.

There's a thread on the Cinema 5D forum exploring this update to the camera's firmware.

Informative 5D MkII Video Tips

EventDV TV // 5D Reel from StillMotion on Vimeo.

Just watched this very interesting video and the author's tips on manually controlling the aperture, shutter and ISO on the Canon 5D MkII in video mode. Well worth a watch.

Rode VideoMic

Rode VideoMic and 5D MkII in action during a Gaza demo

Those who read the second part of my review of the Canon 5D MkII will know that my microphone of choice for this camera is the Rode VideoMic.

I gave a little interview to Rode about my experiences with their products and why I have chosen the VideoMic as my preferred audio equipment. You can read it here.

Should The BBC Get Canon 5D MkII Cameras?!

It seems that the BBC have accused Daily Mirror photographer James Vellacott of ripping off their footage of a U2 concert and putting it on his blog. Actually, turns out that James was using a Canon 5D MkII from a nearby hotel room. The camera is so good (as is the operator), that the BBC can't tell the difference between what their crew (using much more expensive video gear) have shot, and a single photographer using a DSLR! Seems that after Mirror lawyers explained the situation, the BBC have left James alone!

Further Reading:

Original post on Jame's Mirror blog.

Follow up post on the blog.

Focus On Imaging - Birmingham NEC

Well folks, its that time of year when Focus comes to town. For those who haven't been before, its a photography exhibition which is more orientated towards gear. Most of the major manufacturers and distributors have stands there, along with some of the smaller companies which often have some very interesting stuff to look at. The show runs from February 22 to 25, 2009.

This year, I'll be there on Tuesday and Wednesday, on the Snapper Stuff stand (C-41). Do pop by and have a chat. Those looking for the perfect photography bags will be able to see the ThinkTank Photo bags on the stand. I'm a big fan of these bags and can show you why I like them so much. Hope to see you there!

Canon 5D MkII Review - Part 1 - The Stills Camera

The Camera That Defies Light

Canon 5D MkII Review - Part 1 - The Stills Camera

by Edmond Terakopian

Canon TS-E 45mm f2.8 (Tilt and Shift). F2.8, 1/60th shutter speed at 4000 ASA.

The London Eye, London, UK. December 04, 2008. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

Introduction

When Canon introduced the 5D it was a revolutionary camera. Although DSLRs had been around for years and Canon already had the full frame 1DS and 1DS MkII, the 5D was the first affordable camera with full frame. On top of this, and equally as important, it was small. It was a departure away from big, bulky and heavy “pro” DSLRs. It soon became the modern day “Leica” as it opened up a whole new market to digital photography; that of the photojournalist. Press photographers took to it in a big way too. We all now had a full frame camera which was small. Naturally the question of image quality was of paramount importance, and in this respect the camera didn’t disappoint. In fact it astonished us all with its image quality. The number of double page spreads in quality news magazines and  number of winning World Press Photo images are a testament to this.

Canon had big shoes to fill. What ever the replacement was going to be would have to be stellar. I’m happy to say that it is. Canon took a winning recipe and improved it even more. At a quick glance not much seems to have changed physically, but the camera is almost totally new. The body, chassis and button layout are totally new. One of the requests from users was weather sealing and the new camera has this feature. Although practically the same size and weight, it feels more sturdy in the hand. The menu system is also completely new and very straight forward to use. As with all the Canon DSLR range, customization is abundant and you can set up the camera in a way that suits you; physically with button and camera behaviour programming (with 25 custom functions) and visually with its various fully customizable picture styles.

One of the camera’s headline features is that its the first ever DSLR to shoot 1080p full HD video. On top of this its also the first DSLR to have an external microphone input for better sound recording. The video aspect is so huge that it will be covered separately in part two of this review in a following issue.

Another stunning feature is its high ASA capability. The 5D MkII goes all the way from 50ASA to 25,600ASA (when the appropriate custom function is enabled. The standard ASA range is 100 to 6400).

A quick run through the specifications leaves one speechless; a full frame 21.1 megapixel CMOS sensor with a viewfinder covering 98% of the frame. A continuous shooting speed of 3.9 fps and a nine point AF system (with six assist points) and a gloriously large and sharp three inch rear LCD screen. The rear screen is of high importance as it is used for live view and video capture. I’m happy to report that unlike the average rear screen of the 1D MkIII, this one is superb with accurate colour.

Although the continuous shooting is only 0.9 frames a second quicker than its predecessor , it actually feels much quicker than that. Another point of interest is that apparently the focusing module is the same as the 5D’s. I was rather disappointed at this, but in use its actually much quicker as the processor is the newer and faster DIGIC 4, and as a result AF computations occur much faster. The other innovation to the AF is the addition of micro adjustment which was first introduced on the 1D MkIII. This allows you to tweak the AF behaviour of individual lenses which may back or front focus, in camera.

As the body is completely new, older accessories, including batteries have changed. The battery has higher capacity which is needed for live view and even more so for video. Other accessories such as the grip won’t fit, so there is a new range of these. One particular accessory which caught my eye is the new WFT-E4 wireless transmitter which is also a grip with a vertical shutter release.

In The Field

Canon EF 300mm f2.8L IS, f4 at 1/500th shutter speed at 3200ASA.

The Prime Minister of Great Britain Gordon Brown will host the Global Europe Summit on Monday 8th December. Along with President Nicolas Sarkozy and President of the European Commission Jose? Manuel Barroso he will meet with business leaders from across Europe to discuss the global economy. Gordon Brown greets his guests at the door of 10 Downing Street, London. December 08, 2008. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

Having been a user of the 5D for around two years, I had certain expectations. The 5D had enabled me to make some good images, especially in low light and the 5D MkII had to better this. At first when I heard of the camera’s specifications, I was rather dismayed by the 21.1 megapixels. More pixels usually mean more noise and I found myself initially hoping that Canon had left the megapixel count the same. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Well, the 5D MkII has bettered its predecessor by a huge margin. As always with my reviews, I took the camera on real assignments. Whilst on assignment for Polaris Images, I covered President Sarkozy’s visit to Downing Street to meet Prime Minster Gordon Brown. Arrivals happened at 3pm when the light was already low. Sarkozy left at just gone 4pm by which point it was almost pitch black with the only available light coming from street lamps and a very weak TV light set up across the street which wasn’t even pointing towards the door of number 10. As my colleagues around me began to curse at the lack of light and grab their flashguns, I found myself feeling rather smug and content. I had the 5D MkII and a 300mm f2.8L IS trained towards the door. I’d cranked up the ASA to 6400, and knowing the camera’s abilities felt confident. The problem with direct flash is that it kills the mood and looks artificial; on top of this, the door to number 10 is painted in a very high gloss and reflective black. F2.8 and 1/250th shutter speed and I managed to nail a picture that the others simply could not. When I showed a couple of colleagues the image, an argument ensued as they were sure I’d used flash or caught someone else’s. When they realised that this wasn’t the case, there were expressions of disbelief as they looked down at the little camera on the end of my 300mm.

On a PR assignment I found myself photographing Fearn Cotton in a recording studio. I’d set up a Lumedyne and a Quantum Q-Flash with a couple of softboxes. I needed to get a deep depth of field as the shot featured a prop, so I shot at 400ASA. When I was editing the images I was stunned by the quality of images. They looked like 50ASA transparency and had picked up every bit of available detail and perfect colour.

AP sent me to photograph the UK premiere of the film “Australia” with Nicole Kidman. I had a 70-200mm f2.8L IS on the 5D MkII and spent the night at 3200ASA using only available light. One of the images was chosen by AP as its top 20 images of the day internationally and two images made it into the top 200 of the week.

On a different evening I found myself by the Thames and decided to take some shots using a Canon 45mm TS-E (tilt and shift) lens. I set the ASA to 4000 and began to shoot away. Not only was the lack of noise a huge advantage, but the colour rendition was spot on.

The camera almost makes you feel like you’re cheating. This camera genuinely defies light. You can make images where ever you want. When the sky looks black, it picks up subtle blues that the eye just misses. I think the days of not being able to take a picture because its too dark are behind us. When married to the 50mm f1.2L or 85mm F1.2L, I can’t think of a single situation where you couldn’t work. If you can see it, you can photograph it. It just opens up so much. When I’m walking around with the camera it just makes me take pictures. Its brought back the same childish enthusiasm I had for taking pictures as when I first picked up an SLR 23 years ago; with this camera you feel like a kid as there are no boundaries any more.

Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS, f2.8 at 1/250th shutter speed at 3200ASA. This picture was chosen by AP as one of its best 20 pictures from the world on the day and was also included in the best of the week. Actress Nicole Kidman being interviewed by TV at the UK Premiere of "Australia", Odeon Leicester Square, London, UK. December 10, 2008. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

The standard lens supplied with the camera in kit form is the Canon EF 24-105mm f4L IS. I’d never used this lens before but have always been interested in it as its range is ideal for a walk around or travel lens. I must say that I was surprised by just how good it is. Naturally its somewhat let down by being an f4 lens, but with IS and the 5D MkII’s high ASA ability you’re actually not that effected by its aperture. I managed to take a beautiful portrait of a friend in a very dimly lit restaurant. I wouldn’t even have thought of taking this picture with any other camera, let alone using an f4 lens.

Live View

I must admit that I thought this was rather gimmicky before I used it. You need to activate Live View for shooting video. However, I can see this mode being of real use for photographing micro and macro subjects as you can magnify the Live View for extremely precise focusing. In fact its also very useful for very shallow depth of field shots taken on a tripod.

Black Dots

This is a bizarre issue which has cropped up in a few places on the internet. In certain circumstances small black spots (appearing to be a couple of pixels in size) appear next to bright pin lights of photos taken at night on long exposure. Images have to be inspected at over 400% for this to show. In the three weeks that I’ve been shooting with the camera I didn’t come across this, even in my shots at night including bright lights, although admittedly my longest exposure was probably 1/50th of a second. Canon is investigating this and an announcement is imminent.

Note: This has now been sorted out with a firmware upgrade.

Comments

As I mentioned earlier, the video aspect of the camera will be handled in a separate article.

Following on, one of the biggest features is the ultra high ASA ability of this camera. It truly opens up so many opportunities for making pictures that you will find yourself exploring more photographic avenues and expanding your creativity. One very useful and often overlooked aspect of clean high ASA files is that you can sharpen them properly with un-sharp mask and sharpen edges which will really make your images pop.

On the subject of post processing, its always a little annoying when new cameras are introduced as you have to wait for RAW converters to become available. Being a big fan of Apple’s Aperture I was rather disappointed that I couldn’t use my normal workflow, but had to use Canon’s supplied DPP program for RAW conversion to TIFF and then to import these files into Aperture do do the final tweaking needed. This isn’t unique to Canon, but I do wish that camera manufacturers would work closely with the main software vendors well before launch to allow the needed RAW converters to be ready as the camera is launched. DPP does the conversions nicely but is clunky to use; it made me appreciate the elegance and smoothness of Aperture even more. Still, in my opinion Canon is a photographic equipment manufacturer and not a software specialist.

Moving back to the camera, not all is perfect. It could really do with more cross type AF sensors and faster AF. A small annoyance amongst  my colleagues and I is the fact that the mode dial doesn’t have a lock. In a situation where you’re running around, the dial can catch on clothing and change. I’ve had the occasional situation where I’ve raised the camera to my eye and discovered that its in “bulb” mode. One last thing that the interface lacks is a protect or tag feature. Many news photographers use this as a means of quick editing when on deadline; after import you can set your software to show only tagged images and you can edit at speed. I hope that this can be implemented in a firmware upgrade.

So, is this the perfect DSLR? Well, that depends. I’m a news photographer who covers everything from breaking and fast moving stories, to features, portraits, fashion and music.

I already use my two 5Ds for over half of what I shoot and can see that the 5D MkII will raise this percentage considerably. The 1D MkIIIs come out for all other situations involving extreme environmental conditions or fast moving stories.

My dream camera would have the CMOS sensor and low light ability of the 5D MkII but with the added sturdiness, weather proofing and focusing speed of the 1D MkIII. To boot, I’d like a faster motor drive too. All of this would fit into something the same size and weight as the 5D MkII. These are my wishes and by adding these naturally the cost will rise, and the camera will jump from its segment of top end prosumer and pro camera, firmly into the pro category of the 1D series cameras.

If you’re constantly working in hostile environments or covering sports, then one of the 1D series would suit better. Having said that, I know several friends who have taken their 5Ds to Afghanistan and Iraq several times and never had any issues. If your photography is more considered and you need the highest quality available, or a second or third body, then I can’t recommend this camera highly enough. Canon have produced an astonishingly good camera that ticks many boxes. It allows you to unleash your creativity and not be hindered by difficult or low light. The fact that it has a street price of around £2300 makes its existence even more unbelievable. As far as image quality is concerned, I’d say that it even gives the 1DS MkIII a run for its money; its that good. Lets not forget, we haven’t even begun to talk about video yet!

Part II - The Video Camera

Note: This review first appeared in the BJP on December 24, 2008.