It's the Leica Lingerie Department. Or as close we get to anything resembling it. This page is about all the extra stuff some can't live without, which others don't understand how anybody could possible live with. It's a matter of personal taste and probably also money worth and a collectors gene.
Personally I prefer Leica cameras to be as original as possible, and I don't protect them against being worn, wet or scratched. Others pack their Leica gear in bags, pockets and cases. Some even in bank vaults.
In any case, a variety of add-ons exist from Leica Camera AG them self or third party companies, and this page is dedicated to those things. Some you will buy immediately, some you won't.
From the Leica Lingerie Department. A jewel box with a jewel in it. We'll get back to what's inside later. Photo by Wslam.
The personal engraving
One thing I had done to my own camera was an engraving of the top plate. Most people didn't think it would be possible to apply Leica Camera AG's "a la carte" program to the Leica M9 - which is the program where one can get the Leica MP or M7 tailored to ones personal preferences in a number of diferent leather qualities and colors, with or without engravings, with red, black or chrome Leica dot (or without), technical details such as viewfinder types and different types of chrome, hammerthorne or black paint finish to the metal surface of the camera. But when my M9 anyways had to go to the Leica Mothership for an adjustment, I tried to write on the order form, "please engrave 'Leica' on the top plate in the style of the 2003 MP," and much to my surprise they simply send me an order confirmation. Highly encouraged by the possibilities, I then added to the order that I wanted my name as well engraved. Nothing less.
The day after I had requested it, I regretted. Did I really want my name on my camera. Yes, in some way I did. Then again, I like not to be noticed when photographing, and how does that go with ones name engraved. The resale value of a camera with ones personal name undoubtedly goes down unless the new owner has the same name (and I know nobody else with my name). But then again, would I really care to ever sell it. Probably not. And was it really a big deal if I had it or not. Nah, let's just go on with it.
Perhaps destiny was involved, or some higher powers - because the camera came back with just the Leica engraving. They had probably not noticed that I had added the name request. In any case, it looks great and for a couple of hours I felt I had accomplished something very special. That was how long it took before I found out that Jaap in the Netherlands had also gotten that engraving - but with his initials below as well.
My Leica M9 top plate with my "Leica" engraving a la the 2003 Leica MP special edition (same size and placing on the top plate).
It's a delicate matter ... it's a balance between what "we" know is special, and then how it is percieved by others. To name an example, one or two persons asked if I had made it my self. So that is how exclusive Leica it is pecieved from the outside world - this unique wonder edition with "Leica" logo on top. If it's of any comfort, those who would assume you did the engraving home in your basement at night are the same who think it's an old camera. So they are in any case uneducated and what cedertified doctors and Leica engeneers (whom all wear white kilts why they know better than most) would classify as "hopeless cases." Probably illiterate too.
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The personal touch
Without having asked Leica Camera AG I feel confident that any request would be considered. Ask for a sapphire glass screen and if technically possible, they will give you a quote saying how much it would cost. Ask for a change of color from black to grey, or even into a white Leica M9 with white leather, and the chance you might get a quote and not a "No" is quite high.
All Leica cameras are hand build in the first place, and all reapirs and quality control is likewise done by hand. So special requests requiring that person to reach out for another screen, another color leather ... why not?
An example of a specially made Leica M9 to mark the 125th year of publication of Amateur Photographer, the UK's oldest consumer photographic magazine. It might not distinguish itself with an aesthetic engraving, but it's the one and only in the world of it's kind.
As to value of "collectors items" I think there's a distinct difference between a made-to-order special Leica camera and an official released limited edition. There simply has to be a limited number of the same edition for it to have a value. Unika Leica cameras made in blue with red leather because that happen to be your favorite color celebrating that your grandad participated in the French revolution ... its a personal camera and not a collectors item. Unless you are royal, famous or president of France. And I guess that is where the limit goes. Whatever request you could make that happen to lie too near a limited edition - existed or planned - it not going to happen. But that's just my idea.
The soft personal touch
Soft buttons exist for all Leica M cameas, and some can even be used on other cameras as well. The idea is generally that the different surface allows you to press the shutter more softly. And it does really work. Those exist in many colors so as to satisfy any personal taste, and as they cost very little, one might stock up different ones so as to be able to change into something more fashionable. Like cufflinks, it doesn't have to be the same every day. Check the types from www.rapidwinder.com and www.matchtechnical.com
This one is either a flower power edition of the soft button release, or it's the artist edition. In any case you never feel alone with those friendly eyes staring up on you! It's different and could probably work wonders for the children photographer to familiarize the children with the camera. Photo courtesy of Birgit Krippner who also supplied the red wig for this photo shoot (no, it's not a rya carpet).
Speaking of comfort. This is the Thumbs-Up that you attach in the flash shoe and then it provides rest and support for your thumb. Better grip on the camera in all, and especially for those slow shutter photos. Photo by Wslam.
Just one of those things. A 49$ battery wrap
The perfect gift for your precious Leica batteries
It's not for the digital age. In fact it's a battery wrap for batteries for film cameras. However, there's no doubt a wrap for Leica M9 batteries will see the light of day pretty soon. Till then, this one will carry two 1/3N batteries or four PX76s.
Available in black, chestnut, turquoise, hammertone grey and garnet red leather from Artisan & Artist.
Soft rest for the Leica M9
Artisan & Artist also does quite a number of very nice and useful things for Leica M cameras and lenses. The famous japanese TV personality and known Leica fanatic, Rina, requested them to produce something that could protect a Leica rangefinder camera when accompanying other stuff in a suitcase - and just in general. And what they came up with is the "Rina Case," a 100 gram foam-fitted case with smooth neoprene inner lining that provides a very high shock-absorptionraw.
It looks very expensive, but it's only 119$ from Artisan & Artist. The "Rina Case" named after the client who requested it.
For a closer look throught the Leica M9
The back of a Leica M with a original Leica diopter mounted on the viewfinder. This for use without glasses, for people who normally wear glasses. Price is around 100$
Diopter origin: Late 16th century, from French, from Latin dioptra, from Greek, from di- ‘through’ + optos ‘visible.’
A pleasant surprise for users of SLR cameras (SLR=Single Lens Reflex) getting the Leica M9 is that you no longer look through a small lens onto a screen, but look directly through a range-finder lens mechanism and out on the scenery. What does this mean? It means that your eye doesn't have to adjust to a artificial distance but see's a real distance. So if you wear glasses, you will experience that you can use the Leica M9 rangefinder with reading glasses, normal glasses, screen glasses or no glasses. The framing and focusing is possible and feels natural with any choice - whereas on a SLR you would have to use your normal "long distance" glasses in order to see right.
Nevertheless, a number of diopters exist from Leica Camera AG, from +3.0 to - 3.0 with 0.5 steps all the way, either to remedy eyesight, or - more often - to change the size of the viewfinder so that you see a large crop of it (when shooting 75mm, 90mm or 135mm), or a slightly larger part of the viewfinder (when shooting 28mm or 35mm). For most glass wearer the 50mm lens frame in the Leica M9 viewfinder will feel comfortable, the 35mm you have to move around a bit to see all corners of.
Prior to ordering, it should be noted that the Leica M's viewfinder is preset by default to -0.5 diopters. So anyone wearing glasses of 1 diopter strength would require a +1.5 diopters M system correction lens (which is why some have noted that there's a difference between figuring out diopters for Leica R cameras and Leica M cameras). A number of third party solutions exist as well, which - in my opinion - would compare to non-prescription glasses bought on the gaz station: If there is one thing Leica know about, it's optics. So if you fit a diopter to a 7,000$ camera, don't save 100$ on it. Please!
The Leica 1.4X magnifier is around 350$. This if for people who doesn't wear glasses, as well as those who do.
The magnifier is a different story. This is for people with glasses, or without, for magnifying the look through the viewfinder. Typically to zoom in so that one can use a 75mm, 90mm or 135mm lens more precisely. Price is in the range of 325$ and the 1.4X magnifier then magnifies with 40%. It comes with a leather case that fit onto the camera strap.
External viewfinders
This is not exactly an item made to "sex up the Leica M9" ... but the price of them and the quality of optics make them worth mentioning in this context. With a price of 759$ it's an expensive little add-on to the Leica M9 - but necesary if you want to use 24mm, 21mm or 18mm lenses because the internal viewfinder only goes as wide as 28mm.
It's a quite simple device which only serve as a framing device. You still have to focus via the rangefinder. But as all optics made by Leica, these viewfinders are great looking through. I sometimes sit and look through them for the beuty of it, and to preview perspectives. They are clear and bright and has a reflex mechanism built-in so that the frame is lit up (and the new editions of these include frame lines for both Leica M9 fullframe and Leica M8 cropped frame).
A 24mm external viewfinder on top of a Leica M8 so as to allow
one to see the 24mm frame (the internal rangefinder doesn't go wider than 28mm on the Leica M9).
Mandatory stuff for the Leica M9
With the Leica M9 you're in the digital sphere which no doubt imply that you use a computer to download, view and adjust your images. And without any doubt, you need to calibrate your compouter screen, no matter how good a screen you think you are using.
Computerwise, the long and short of it is that a Mac computer is the one to get, unless you want to use a PC for religious reasons, or perhaps because you need it for other work you need to do. The photographers choice in MacBook Pro computers would be the 15" MacBook with Antiglare High-Res display and 7200 rpm 500GB harddrive. The antiglare screen is a wise choice, and so is a faster harddrive (7200 rpm), as big a harddrive as you can afford, and as much RAM as you can afford. Though reality is that you can work with photos on any Mac, even the smallest white MacBook and even the MacBook Air. It's just a matter of how many photos you work with and how fast you want to get done with editing them. But no Mac is too small or unable to handle even Leica S2 37.5 MP photo files. It's a wonder to me why Steve Jobs has not yet gotten the Nobel price yet.
The X-Rite Eye-One Macbeth color calibration eye on the screen. Once a month you place it there, start the software for it, and it measures the actual output on th screen and create a profile for the computers graphic card so that it can send the proper amount of colors for that partcular screen.
Calibrator
What the calibrator does is that it measures the colors that actually display on your screen, and then create a color profile which basically tell your computer "tone down the yellow 4%, 7% more blue" etc. so that what you see on the screen is standardized colors. Which mean that anyone else who has a calibrated screen see the exact same colors. This could turn out to a long story, but the simplicity of it is that this has only to do with colors on your screen.
The color profile called Adobe RGB 1998, sRGB, etc. in your computer is a different story which defines how big a color palette you use in your images (and which by the way follows an image so that the color palette you choosed for an image follow that image to the next computer or printer). Adobe RGB 1998 and sRGB are just diferent "translators" of colors. If you imagine a colored dot in your image as a number, the color profile defines which shade of yellow that dot is.
As for printer calibration, some color calibrators can calibrate your printer and your projector as well. But most inkjet priners come calibrated from the factory.
So the simplicty is: Your internal camera software and computer software already agree which colors are which in sRGB and Adobe RGB 1998. And your printer basically does too. So the color calibration of your screen is for you to be able to see those colors correctly. And so that when you adjust a blu color towards a darker blue, it's going to be the same blue for anyone else who has a calibrated monitor. But for those who hasn't got their monitor calibrated, it's going to be any shade of blue. And the point is: You can't adjust a color if you can't see it correctly in the first place, because then you are basically adjusting the original image so that it looks correct on your un-correct screen. And then when you print, it looks diferent. Hence the color calibration so that colors look the same on screen, print and others screens.
A nicer look with a proper screen
TheEizo screens are state of the art I guess. But the Apple isn't all bad and you can get a couple or three 27" Apple Imacs for the price of one 30" Eizo. Best buy Eizo screen is currently model Eizo Coloredge CG222W - at least I think so.
Color calibration will improve any screen greatly. But you might consider a better screen for several reasons: A larger screen so as to allow you a better look and have more spacae for tools. A better quality screen for more precise colors and a bigger number of tones. A better quality screen for more pleasant image that is not flicking.
The short of it is that probably Eizo produce the best screens available in terms of color accuracy, constant picture and even with as big color space as the full Adobe RGB 1998 color spectrum displayed on a screen (which is almost impossible as most screens only display 8 bit which is some of them, whereas print usually display all of them, which is 16 bit). The Leica M9 records images in 14 bit so you miss out on quite some colors when you use a 8 bit screen - and most of us does!
Eizo also produce more and more screens with built-in color calibration, "hardware calibration" as they call it, which mean that you spare the external color calibrator. Apple screens might do 70% - 90% of the Eizo, which is not bad. When you get into screens for PCs, you get into a very big variety of third party producers who produce all sorts of image quality. Visit a super store and look at the images on their flat screen televisions and you will note that the colors differ greatly, and not necessarily the best (most true) colors on the most expensives. In any case, what you look at there is the variety of color output. And the same goes for computer screens when you move away from Apple, Eizo and similar companies who have a "color philosophy."
Best buy, at least I think so
If you work on a MacBook Pro or any PC, you might consider getting an external screen for color work. Even if you work on an Apple iMac with 27" inventory you could cosider attaching the new 2010-model 22" Eizo Coloredge CG223W screen that will show up to 95% of the Adobe RGB colorspace. And it even has hardware calibrator built in (an improvement from the previous model Eizo Coloredge CG222W) and monitor hood so that room light doesn't reflect in the screen. This is a 1,200-1,500$ investment. You can get Eizo screens larger and more expensive, and less expensive models as well. But this one does the job without offering a whole lot of inventory (the Eizo 22" offers only 1680 pixels wide where a 15" MacBook with Antiglare High-Res display and 7200 rpm 500Gb harddrive also offers 1680 pixels wide on its smaller screen.)
If you want to go complicated on this, visit www.eizo.se and use their comparison tool (Product Guide) to define exactly what your screen should be used for. As you will notice, the Eizo Flexscan models are not suitable for photography work but only for less color-precise graphic work. You may notice that if you buy directly from the Eizo website, that their prices are lower than some countries (retailers in Denmark and USA are more expensive to buy Eizo screens from than retailers in UK, Sweden and Germany - to name a few).
X-Rite color adjustment
The neutral gray palette in the small black X-Rite "passport checker"which contains the color palette as well (see photo below).
If you want to make sure that the colors in the real world is in real synch with the rest of your workflow, what you can do is use the X-Rite color palette with accompanying software. Which in essence mean that you bring a real color palette to the real world, photograph it with your Leica M9, and then measure it in Lightroom so that the software can adjust the overall images(s) to the exact colors.
The X-Rite also contains a middlegrey page for manual white balancing.
So with the small plastic "passport checker" you can open up on the middle-grey first and make sure the white balance is correct, then you fold the page and get the color checker whihc you photograph. In Lightroom you can then adjust colors automatically, as well as create a camera profile. It's neat and precise - and I will be writing a complete artcle at a later point in 2010 when I get the hang of it.
The X-Rite ColorChecker card. They don't grow on trees, it's just that there wasn't any blonde girls nearby to assist in holding it.
Photo bags
I will get on with bags, I have a few. But for the Leica M9 I found one partcilar nice one, the Billingham Hadley Pro Original (35 x 12 x 25 cm) in black. I also have a Billingham L2 (25 x 11 x 15 cm) in Khaki which I started using again with the Leica M9: It fits a Leica Digilux 2 or Leica M9 as backup and two or three lenses plus spare batteries, grey card and such, though I can't stand the Khaki color when in Denmark. It's okay in India or some other country where you change into the operation sandstorm or safari look. Billingham does Khaki, Black and Olive green.
The Billingham Hadley Pro Original(35 x 12 x 25 cm) is said to "fit a small laptop" but actually takes a MacBook Pro 15" whcih makes it the perfect small bag. You wouldn't believe there was a 15" laptop inside if you saw it over my shoulder. There is padding for the inside so you can design your own departments. In this case I usually have two or three lenses in the right side, a lightmeter in the left side and then a backup camera in the middle - sometimes with a set of large Sony Monitor headphones as well(!). The 15" fits in the back pocket and there is still space for an A4 folder 1,5 cm thick or something. The front pockets can be made slightly larger than shown here. There's a button you can open up so the hole is expanded. But the left pocket can fit a large multi-card reader, a small cardreader, a modem and a tiny LaCie USB/FireWire disk - and then in the right pocket extra glasses, notebook, pen, greycard, MacBook charger and stuff. I hardly ever put the Leica M9 into the bag; it's always over the shoulder why I use this bag only when I have to carry a laptop as well. There is also a zipped "secret" pocket for passport and papers on the backside towards your body.
As always, when you have had a bag for a couple of weeks you learn to use every single corner of it and you can fit a lot more than you thought to begin with.
In any case, I came by Red Dot Cameras in London in December and they have the full catalog from Billingham in stock.
I have a hard time ordering bags online, I have to see them and feel them so I was thankful that Red Dot actually carry the full line as well as accessories such as shoulder pads. B&H Photo Video also carrry the full catalog of Billingham bags, but I wasn't in their store. And one very important thing I found out was that I could fit my 15" laptop into the model that was most likely meant for a 13" only. Because apart from the Khaki color, the L2 is perfect over the chest and shoulder sitting almost on your back, and then the M9 haning over the chest and shoulder the same way, but towards the front of your body and slightly higher then the bag. That is plenty of space for two or three lenses and a backup camera: With the Leica M9 wou can travel really light, uncomplicated and discrete. (I will get back to this as airplanes are really not made for dSLR camera equipment).
Leica M9 is always across the chest and over the opposite shoulder with the bag hanging lower and towards the bag of the body where it rests well, also hanging over the opposite shoulder. Remember to buy a Billingham Shoulder Pad, it's a really good investment no matter how little or how much you put in the bag. Apart from the distribution of weight it makes the bag stay firmly in place. (For the fashionistas it's a Paul Smith Long Jacket (Main Line) and Mulberry leather gloves).
One warning: Don't wear your Leica M just over the right shoulder only when you have a bag hanging there as well. Very often the camera will take rest on top of the bag and it doesn't hang on your shoulder but now stands ont he top of the bag and will fall to the ground as soon as you make a move. I tend to have cameras just over one shoulder when working, and then across the chest and over the opposite shoulder when I walk. It's a miracle I haven't ruined a lens and camera yet!
Thank you, Jessica!The Shootsac designed by Jessica Claire comes in an elegant green box and wrapped in silk paper with a small chrome "Thank you" sticker. With such a state-of-the-art packaging that basically doesn't leave Apple Computer much left to brag about, a "Thank you, Jessica Claire" feels more appropiate.
The Louis Voutton "Daniel MM" messenger bag
A sac for shooters
I've also just ordered a Shootsac from their international reseller Adorama (who ships this 169$ bag for free locally in the US but charge an exorbitant 58$ for shipping to Europe; though I did actually get it within 48 hours instead of the promised 14-30 days). Their philosophy about a no-nonsense black bag that goes over the shoulder and fits any big or small lenses you throw into it is very much how I like it. Black is always good because it is the appearance closest to "doesn't exist" which is handy when covering most events like concerts, weddings and press conferences. And I guess that if I was a thieve and had the choice between a nice brown Louis Voutton with logos and brass all over it and a black sac ... I would steal the Louis Voutton.
For other occasions, like being a guest at a wedding, I might pick up a
Daniel MM messenger bag from Louis Voutton and look trendy and all (The Daniel MM doesn't fit a 15" MacBook but only a 13". The larger Daniel GM does, but then it's not as elegant).
In any case, it's a cool product, the Shootsac, but they need to find some cool resellers outside US like Meister Camera, Red Dot Cameras and the like.
The Shootsac is minimalistic and extremely elegant as such. I might take mine for a swing on the upcoming Copenhagen Fashion Week. It has three deep pockets on the front under the front cover and three more with locking mechanism on the back. Lenses will lie soft and comfortably in there, yet kept in place by the elastic material the sac is made of all through.
Practical use - One little tiny problem though
When you wear the Shootsac across the chest and over the shoulder, the metal bucke used to adjust the length of the strap can come to sit right on your shoulder, which can get a bit painful - especially if you have cameras hanging over that shoulder as well. And the metal clasp between the bag and the strap has an tendency to hit a camera all the time as both camera and clap might be in the same position. The metal clap took off the C letter on top of my Leica M9 this way (the c by the shutter release button).
And one final thing to watch out for is that it's a soft bag, so some times when you grab it from the floor, the weight of lenses inside will make it tilt and the lens fall out. It's like there is no up or down on this design. Fact of the matter is I'll only be using mine for very rare occassions, and then probably more for transport protection than actual over-the-shoulder-use.
Shootsac: I prefer the black basic lens bag concept, but they do provide some design editions where you can change into hipster mode or just simply noisy mode. As illustrated above. While it might appear on the left one as if there is only three pockets, you may norice on the right one that you can see there is three pockets on each side. So a total of six pockets for lenses, lightmerters, mobile phones, a bottle of water, etc.
A pleasant surprise about the Shootsac is the strict minimalistic and practival design. It's diving equipment meets street fashionista. Waterproof, durable, stylish and fashionable. Though the metal clap can be in the way and hit equipment. It goes well and discrete with almost anything - and it's one of the few bags that works equally well on both female and male photographers. If not all photographers in New York, London and Tokyo has one, I'm sure they soon will.
ARTISAN & ARTIST COV-8000 messenger photobag for airline travel and other greater needs
The fairly new Artisan & Artist COV-8000 messenger photobag is a bit to the large side for just transporting an Leica M9 and an extra battery. But for longer travel or trips, it fits MacBook Pro, Leica S2 and lenses, Leica M9 and lenses and a lot of other stuff such as chargers, water bottles and what have you. It's a 400$ photobag - or 380€ at Monochrom in Germany - though dealers like Popflash sell it for around 350$.
The Artisan & Artist COV-8000 messenger photobag inside and outside.
How many lenses does one need..?
As many as it takes. Enjoy this video of Joe Bonamassa and notice his guitar rack behind him. Lenses are a great part of the artistic expression you have as a photographer. Some do well with just one lens, others will need several to explore the possibilities.
To be continued ...
I will get back with (many) more bags as well as nice, interesting and kinky camera straps to go with them. In other words, this is to be continued and will also come to contain stuff about 18mm, 50mm and other very sexy lenses ...
Adobe Lightroom - Workflow and archive with RAW conversion - offers a 30 days free full working trial. Apple Aperture - Workflow and archive with RAW conversion - offers a 30 days free full working trial. Capture One 4 (also known as "C1") - RAW conversion - offers a 30 days free full working trial. SilkyPix Developer Studio - a RAW converter that does what it says; create silky files. 30 days free trial.
Black and white software: Silver Efex Pro from Nik Software - stand-alone software or as plug-in for Lightroom and Aperture. The de facto standard for converting color pictures into black and white. Nik Software offers a 15 days free trial and charge 200 Euro for the software which only works for Aperture and as stand-alone. But B&H Photo Video sells it for 149$. So try it at Nik, buy it from B&H.
An even better deal at B&H Photo Video is the Complete Collection for only 199$ including Silver Efex Pro, Dfine, Viveza, Color Efex Pro and Sharpener Pro. True Grain is another black & white software from Grubba Software which can emulate Kodak Tri-X 3200 and other black and white grains. It's a stand-alone software for only 50$ though they offer a trial version that works unlimited, except you cant save your results.
Thorsten Overgaard is a Danish feature writer and photographer who contribute stories and unique branding to magazines, newspapers and companies through exclusive and positive stories and photos. He currently photographs for WireImage, Getty Images and Associated Press.
An example of a specially made Leica M9 to mark the 125th year of publication of Amateur Photographer, the UK's oldest consumer photographic magazine. It might not distinguish itself with an aesthetic engraving, but it's the one and only in the world of it's kind.
