Daily Inspiration #199 by Gerd Appel

Hi,

I’m here the first time. The name is Gerd, living in Germany between Hannover and Frankfurt, I am physician and started taking pictures at age 16 (with Dad’s Olympus OM 1 and the great XA). About 15 years ago during a visit at the local photo dealer an old man (another customer, I suppose, or was it the ghost of Oscar Barnack?) came to me and spoke: “Don’t buy another Nikon, the only camera is a Leica M6, buy one NOW! So I was happy with my M6 several years, switched over to Pentax DSLR till (same dealer but without Oscar’s ghost) my photo dealer gave me last week a brand new Lumix G2 with Nokton 0,95 on it. The EVF was the best I ever saw, the adaptor for my Leica lenses was in stock too, you see the first results here, made in the early morning in beautiful countryside called “Schwalm” on my way to work (I stopped about ten times). Lumix G2 with Voigtlaender Nokton 0,95/25, at home waited Adobe LR3 and the brand new Silver Efex Pro 2, so I had to test all the gimmicks… so please excuse 1) my english and 2) some faults in “postprocessing”.

 

Yours,Β Gerd

PS: Great Homepage! I visit everyday.

25 Comments

  1. Hi Gerd
    Great atmospheric pictures that give a feeling of what it was like to be there.
    Thanks Peter

  2. @Boris its obvious you didnt read who sent those responses,it wasnt me.I never said quality dosent
    matter,and I never mentioned a G2,now I fully understand why you think the M6 could take better
    photos.Certainly the photos would be different,however that does not mean better.

    • I neither said quality does not matter. Quality is relative. Would a M6 take better pictures than a G2 if they use the same lens? (not the case here). How can you know? it depends on the film used and many other factors. the concept of “better” means something different to each person, as does quality. In a few words, M6 is a body, it has no sensor, no fixed lens. G2 is a body, with a sensor, no fixed lens, so strictly, you cannot say a M6 can take better pictures than a G2, because it depends on the film used with the M6, (supposing the same lens is used on both bodies to mantain things equal). Perhaps you should say: “the pictures would have had more resolution (or contrast or saturation or other technical attribute affected by the lens) if you had a Leica lens on your G2”. I believe that (and more after the .95 nokton review), but to me, the “goodness” of a picture remains in the moment captured and the success of the photographer in transmiting his/her feeling. In fact you could take a better picture with an Iphone than with a Leica. The quality of the camera would not guarantee a better picture. Better is more than the technical aspects. Perhaps we need to be more specific, as the word “better”is too ambiguous.

  3. @danny
    if you dont think quality matters then , then we have nothing else to discuss ! πŸ™‚

  4. @danny
    if you think a g2 and a leica m6 take same quality pics then you have a lot to learn ! πŸ˜‰

    • Besides that, you cannot compare a film camera with a digital one. Perhaps you should say “X” film looks better than “X” sensor. Gerd said he has the adapter for this leica lenses, so, the M6 body is out of the equation because finally what creates the quality of the image is the lens and the film/sensor. The body only makes your work easier or more difficult.

  5. Beautiful photos. And interesting that you use the Voigtlander lens that was reviewed here the other day.

  6. Gerd,excellent images,thanks for sharing.

    Boris,would the M6 take better photos?absolutely not,different perhaps,but not better.

  7. Inspirational post! I assume the pretty borders are part of the silver efx upgrade package? Is it worth the money upgrading to silver efx pro v.2 you think? I love that plugin…

    • Ok, I tried to buy the Silver Efex Pro 2 plugin from their website, but apparently they don’t allow Europeans to buy any… πŸ™ piracy really is a lot easier…

    • Yes, they are part of the package. Use the free demo version, so you can decide later. The borders are nice, there are a lot of further improvements in SEP 2. It’s easy to use and the results are OK!

      • But why do they demand I buy a box with a disc in it… have it it flown by an airplane to my home where I have to wait all day for a postman to deliver it to my door? It’s just a 40mb plugin ffs… but no download option if you’re European… a really horrible marketing choice by the Nik company. I am only half-kidding if I say pirating it will be ten times more convenient.

  8. I agree with Geoff here! Great photos acomplished by simply carrying a camera with you, even if your on your way to work.

    And Boris as for M6 vs G2… As proven here, the best camera is the one you have with you!

    Good work Gerd πŸ™‚

  9. 2nd is lovely, i believe the 3rd image could use a touch more contrast. Love the borders, which I normally hate but there not gaudy horrible things, there simple and elegant.

  10. I love how the third photograph has a neat cinematic feel to it, as if we are peaking through the branches looking for something in the misty rolling hills. I bet the branches could have easily been omitted had you moved forward a few feet (meters); yet your gracefully left them in the picture to create a piece with immense depth. Great job on all these, wonderful art!

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