Leica Two images to discuss

BillN

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Name
Bill
As you know close ups are not easy with the M8 and a 28mm lens.

I keep trying

Two images for you to view - they are not taken on a "like for like" basis so you can throw a lot of comments at them - they were taken within 5 mins of each other - both hand held - different ISO, f values and shutter speed

The first image was taken with my Leica M8 plus Zeiss Biogon 28mm/f2.8 ZM - you can say that the effective FX of the lens is 35mm.
It is a 30% crop - i.e. 70% of the image has been discarded - it was taken at the closest I could focus the lens - just over half a meter - it is of course a MF lens
ISO 160 - f8 - 1/60 sec

The second image was taken with my Panasonic G1 plus PL 20mm/f1.7 - you can say that the effective FX is 40mm.
It is a 90% crop - i.e. 10% of the image has been discarded - it is of course an AF lens
ISO 400 - f3.2 - 1/500 sec


Both have slight, (the same - plus a slight vignette to give a mood feel) treatment in LR3

Rose_28.jpg


Rose_20.jpg


My first conclusion is:
1). That the M8 with good glass can produce very good cropped (close) images - OK - the M8 (was) £2,000 ($3,000) + and the lens - maybe £600, (over US$1,000), compared with £500, (US$800), for the G1 and lens
- but we knew this didn't we?
 
I would like to see the second image done at ISO 200 and F8 for a more direct comparison.

On the Leica- the 28mm lens would be my last choice for shooting close-ups of flowers. The 90/2.8 Tele-Elmarit would allow the same FOV without the need to crop the image.
 
I like both of them. They both have their own character. I think I like the first one more though, the red really stands out against a rather boring background.
 
I find I have to clip the blacks a little with my m43 kit, to get the richness I want. I prefer the M8 shot, but I'm not sure they are wholly comparable.

It does feel like the red channel clipped in the M8, though.
 
I don’t usually critique images on the web but today I feel like it. Compositionally both images are very similar although with a slightly different angle. Neither one is better they are just different and only an A/B comparison will make one win out over the other.

The composition is good both with placement of the rose and the curving branch but the backgrounds are in slight conflict with the image. The top image due to the heavy cropping gives the background that larger than life telephoto look and this exaggerates the joins in the rocks. The bottom the cracks are softer but we have more of the background and on the right hand side some background greenery starts to compete with the green of the branches and leaves.

The top image is darker than the bottom and your exposure data indicates ⅔ of a stop difference this plus the fact the lens is slightly more contrasty and there is greater DOF compared to the bottom image it gives the elusion that it is a sharper image. The bottom image appears to be softer but there is a cob web in the lower middle that is not in the upper image so unless you added it in, or removed it, I think the bottom image is sharper.

Now to the elusive feel of and image and to be up front that is very subjective. I normally prefer darker images but due to the nature of image. Delicate flowers and all that I would go with the bottom image if I were to exhibit it.
 
All the aforementioned aside, I prefer the bokeh from the Leica set up. Much less busy and helps the flower to stand out more. The Leica has more depth to it but I guess you might be able to reproduce at least some of this on the Panasonic file by upping the blacks a little.
 
thanks for all your comments - which are all good and helpful - keep them coming - I do think that this is a useful exercise as it has brought out so many things to consider

Negative comments of any kind do not upset me at all - in fact I find the reverse to be true as I need to learn

I think that there is a place on this forum to do more of this and rather than say - "please critique my images" - maybe a more useful way is to post two (similar) images together and ask that they be compared and contrasted in a way that Grant has brought out - plus comments on the equipment/lens used with alternative suggestions, (as Brian indicates) and on content, composition, processing and "the look" as other have commented.

I'm using the M8 plus 28mm for the SIJ, (therefore 30 images) and I'm trying to use it in as many (different) situations as possible to ascertain its versatility - and as you all know it is MF and I wear glasses

please keep all your comments coming no matter at what experience level you are - do not be afraid to say what you think and feel
 
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