Hello…
It has been a while since my last post. Been really busy with everything in life but I am not complaining… its good to be busy and busy doing what I enjoy doing is the best feeling…
Anyway, I have been looking through some images I did some months ago of children with my Leica M8 and 50 Lux and think back, what is the different between using the DSLR with the Rangefinder (RF) in terms of capturing children photography at Botanic Garden.
For one, the manual focussing is always challenging as you really need to be able to lock down the correct focus before the children move… for those who have tried Children Photography, this is easy said than done, especially, I love to shoot at 1.4 or f2 for most of the images to get that limited depth of field. But with some anticipation and understanding what you want to get, it isn’t too bad. I manage to get 90% of the images that I wanted sharp (sound like a challenge, but it is…).
Here is what I feel the different is…
1. DSLR has higher frame per second hence allow you to shoot faster… but you tend to over shoot and trigger happy… my rates is about 3 to 1 (shot to keeper) but with M8, it is very slow, but I tend to get 2 to 1 or 1.5 to 1 ratio. I tend to spend more time getting the shots rather than shooting more.
2. It helps you to “see” better with the RF because you really have to previsualise a lot more as what you see through those frame is not what you are going to get. So it train you to get the right shots in your mind and translate to the final image.
3. RF is a lot lighter… I will love to do more with RF instead of DSLR mainly for the weight, but sometimes, I would love to come in a little closer than 1m and that is where the DSLR win… close minimum focus distance.
But having said that, I do love using RF to take shots as I just love the feeling of it.
Last but not least… if you love B&W, Leica lenses are great… good contrast but not overly contrasty.
Swirly bokeh for some of the shots with f1.4 is not for everyone but I love it.
Hope you enjoy the images as much as I do…
Regards,
Hart

