Leica M3 as a wedding camera

About 18 months ago I went to a wedding of some friends of ours.  I took the Sony NEX, as well as my Leica M3, along with a 50mm Summicron and a 90mm Summicron.  The Sony photos turned out well, but truth be told, manual focusing for a wedding wasn't that fun.  You can see the shots from the Sony here.  Unfortunately I forgot about the film shot on the Leica and only found it recently when I got a whole lot of rolls processed.

The results from the Leica and Fuji Neopan combination were very, very good.  It shows low contrast, but tons of tonality in a typical Leica way.  Such a look isnt really a typical way to shoot a wedding these days, but I still love the look, and so did the bride and groom when I showed them recently. 

As a wedding camera, the M3 only really works as a second or third shooter.  The slow manual focusing means you have to plan your shots, and quick candids are quite difficult.  The 90mm Summicron is especially difficult to use due to the low depth of field, making it really easy to miss shots.

Still, it was fun, and I plan to do it again.

Leica 50mm Summicron M Type 4

Sure, you can buy a 50mm f2 lens from an OM Olympus or Fujica for about 20 bucks and get great results, and these lenses are simple and common, but I will say that my Leica 50mm Summicron M Type 4, with a used value of about $1,700, is by far the best lens I own.

You pay dearly for that last bit of quality, and the law of diminishing returns is clearly evident in any Leica purchase; this lens is really something special.  It's absolutely tack sharp at f2, where it already easily out resolves the 16mp sensor of the Sony NEX5n.  The bokeh is smooth and buttery, and there are no aberrations or distortion.

The camera I most enjoy using this lens on is the M3.  I really appreciate the accurate and bright rangefinder patch, which makes getting critical focus easy.

It has a reputation of being the best 50mm lens available at any cost, and I have no doubt that this is true.

Sony NEX 6 vs Fuji XE-1

I must say that this is one of the most interesting match ups to come out in quite a while.  Both cameras are of a similar size, both have the Sony 16MP sensor (Fuji's has some of their own magic fairy dust added), both use the Sony XLA OLED viewfinder (the NEX-6 having a faster refresh rate), both come with interesting kit lenses (Sony's collapsible and wide 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 vs the fast aperture Fuji 18-55mm f2.8-4) and both are premium priced in the mirrorless market.

However the Fuji is quite a bit more than the Sony.  With the kit lens the Fuji is a full $400 more (MSRP $999 vs $1399).   Is it worth it?  That remains to be seen, but I think for Fuji it will be a stretch to show customers the extra value.

As a side bar, I've seen used X-Pro1 bodies now starting to really drop in price on the used market.  Most are going for $1,100 or less now, a little under a new XE-1 with tax.

Sony NEX 5n with Leica 50mm Summicron M

Hawk's Factory adapter - more shots

Here's another shot with the NEX using the Hawk's Factory Leica M to Sony NEX adapter, this time with the Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 shot at f2.  I do like this shot, of flowers outside a Starbucks, and it shows what this adapter is really capable with.

Actually there's a reason I had this lens on the NEX.  I was finishing off a roll of film on my Leica M3 with the Leica 50mm Summicron attached.  This meant that with a 35mm lens on the NEX, the field of view was very close to 50mm.  Having it set on f2 and ISO 400, the same as the film inside the M3 and wide open on the Summicron, meant that I could get accurate meter readings when I took the shot. 

Hawk's Factory Leica M to Sony NEX adapter

Today I got my hands on a Hawk's Factory Leica M to Sony NEX adapter.  The key thing about these adapters is that they have a built in helicoid that enables much close focusing on rangefinder lens.  So far I have just tried it out using the Leica 50mm Summicron and NEX 5n, but the improvement in close focusing is dramatic, enabling shots down to about 25cm instead of 70cm.

The Hawk's adapter seems reasonably well made, but probably not as nice as the non-helicoid ones from Voigtlander and Novoflex, though there are twice the price.

I get the feeling that as rangefinder lenses are not designed to be focused close, they will lose their edge in optical performance in this range, however I do look forward to trying it out.

Sony NEX 5n with Sigma 30mm f2.8          Serena Gundy Park, Toronto