I realised something today that made me smile. This Leica M edition 60 with its matching 35mm Summilux is the first digital Leica M I’ve spent any time with. I’ve snapped with them before, but only in shops or with cameras belonging to mates etc. This £12,000 combo, is my first real experience of note with a digital Leica… I’m not sure if this is a baptism of fire, or considering the familiarity of its lack of controls, the exact opposite…?
I’d like to say I’ve been shooting it as I would a film camera, but really I’ve been a little more snap happy – hence the lack of any particularly engaging content in the photos below. Though I should add, I haven’t quite worked out whether or not this snap-happiness is down to the fact that I know each shot isn’t costing me money, or more that I was keen to get a few photos up on here.
Either way, it’s already shaping up to be quite the experience! Not only have I never shot with a digital Leica in anger, I’ve also never shot with a Summilux, of any kind, ever. Because of these two factors I had absolutely no idea what to expect from the photos.
The first couple of shots I took with it were shot in the house just after I got home with it last night. I just snapped away, taking a few snaps of Connie as I normally do. A few hours later I decided to have a look at them on the computer, but as if by some strange coincidence my Mac decided to have a rare wobble and insist the battery was flat despite having been plugged in at work all day. So just as if it was a film camera, I had to wait that extra bit of time to see the results
Upon eventually seeing them today, they were not what I was expecting at all. I expected it to produce a much more clinical image. I expected them to have a fairly familiar “digital” feel. Now obviously they do have a digital feel to them, but they’re anything but clinical. That lens has a real character to it, especially shot wide open. It’s got such a character when shot wide, that I’ve been suckered into shooting almost everything this way. I’m sure I will get bored with shooting like this quite quickly – I usually do – but whilst the novelty is there, I’m enjoying it a great deal!
So anyway, here’s a selection of shots taken in the first 24 hours I’ve had with the Leica M edition 60. Plenty more to come I’m sure, but since I’m going on my jolly holidays, you will probably have to wait for my return before I share any more!
None of these photos have had any post process apart from exposure adjustment where I got caught out by the unfamiliar light meter.
Wish me luck in not getting any sand in it whilst I’m away…!
Cheers for reading
Hamish
You can find my eventual review of the Leica M60 here
Share this post:
Comments
No comments found