The Leica M 240 and Zeiss 50 Planar f/2 by Isi Akahome

Hi Steve,

I’ve been having an amazing time with my Leica M240 and the Zeiss 50mm Planar. I have done a few shoots in the last week, and wanted to share them with you and the community. Rangefinder shooting is so rewarding, and there’s definitely a romantic element to using a Leica. I’m infatuated with mine. I’m hoping to get the 50mm Summilux later this year, but if the Zeiss is this good, I don’t know if I need the Summilux (I really want it though).

Well, thanks for all the love and inspiration. I hope you have a great weekend.

Thanks,
Isi.

16 Comments

  1. A bit late to this particular party, but I think they’re great, imaginative shots with appropriate colour etc treatment. I may have seen some less than nice ‘bokeh’, and some digital artefacts (shot #6 in the greenish background) though.

    As for the centering of the subject? It indeed appears to be common with rangefinders, probably due to the inability to focus off centre, and the fear that field curvature of the lens in question will catch you out when centre focusing and recomposing.

    In itself, that’s not a good thing. The technology in question should not limit your creative impulses. A DSLR with well spread AF points lets yu do more, but still not enough.

    An SLR with a very good viewfinder (think Contax RTSIII, Nikon F2) lets you do almost everything.

    Can you imagine the joy of actually seeing the subject in the extreme lower left corner of your viewfinder snapping into focus, as intended?

  2. I like your work! The two portraits of the gentleman are my favorites. Please share more in the future.

  3. Mmhh, fourth one is my fave, very dynamic and her pose really makes it : ) nice job Isi

  4. Nice work!

    Something just so Zen about a rangefinder, that and playing an 80’s video game.

    Im just about to take the plunge and buy a new camera, its between the Hassleblad X1D and the M10…

    50mm will be my first lens thats for sure, well 90mm if I go X1D

  5. Funny how I feel the same although Im using an M9. Im even so tempted to buy 50mm 0.95 noct. Only the size might be too big to get used often.

  6. I’ve followed your work for a while, and these shots are great as usual! One thing I’ve noticed though is that you seem to have the tendency to center your subjects when using the M240…I wonder if that’s just a consequence of getting used to rangefinders?

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