Gearhead: Reviews – Ming Thein

Macrophotography and the Leica M: seriously?

February 12, 2012 by Ming Thein

I’m a watch photographer first, and a photojournalist second. My collaboration deal with Leica requires me to use their equipment where possible; since horological photography is my speciality, this would be a focal point (no pun intended) of the arrangement. Except there’s one problem: everybody know the M system isn’t suitable for macrophotography, with the highest possible magnification being 1:3 – which is about 90x60cm on the M9, and nowhere near close enough for the kind of work I do. And let’s not even mention parallax and accurate framing issues. The S2 and 120 macro were suggested – 1:2 on 45x30mm, which is again 90x60mm. What about the compacts? They get close, but only at the wide end – meaning low magnification and high distortion.

So what does one do to get a pure Leica solution but still deliver magnification in the ranges I need – 1:1 and greater?

After a long time trawling the web and pestering my handler about exactly what was available and what wasn’t, I finally decided the M system was the platform to begin with. Not as crazy as you think; in the early SLR era, Leica made a series of attachments called the Visoflex that permitted TTL/ SLR viewing on a rangefinder body. The Visoflex III fits the digital Ms; I happened to find one for sale on a recent trip to Prague. Coupled to a 50mm lens, that would act as a natural extension tube and deliver 1:1 magnification. But what about lighting? The Visoflex prism housing sits very close to the top plate and of course blocks the hot shoe, so a flash or cable was out of the option. Early experiments involved using a large array (120!) of LED lights – normally for video use. Even then, limited stopping down was possible due to light loss from the magnification factor. The resultant images were different – but more of an impression of a watch, rather than a clear depiction. And there was still the low magnification issue to contend with.

Impressions of a watch; Girard-Perregaux F1-047. M9-P and Noctilux 0.95

Fast forward a bit. A Bellows II was located, together with the Bellows to M adaptor; this solved the magnification issue. Some creative modification (read: cutting, filing, drilling and knots) involving a hot shoe cover, a flash stand and some speaker wire allowed primitive PC sync connection between the M9-P’s hotshoe and a Nikon SB700 slave flash, which would in turn trigger my primary SB900s. The cable is nice and slim and still leaves sufficient clearance for the Visoflex.

Der Frankenkamera

So what can we achieve with this combination? See for yourself. I haven’t had a chance to test it out on a full blown shoot yet, but the early results are very encouraging.

Ignore the watch, it’s nothing exciting. What IS exciting is that the right hand side gear is 5mm across; this is the full, uncropped frame.
M9-P and 35/1.4 FLE

See more of my macro work with the Leica M9-P here on flickr

Because somebody will eventually ask…

February 12, 2012 by Ming Thein

…”what gear do you use?” is the most common question I get from aspiring photographers or keen amateurs.

Gear doesn’t matter. Practice, on the other hand, does. I’ve got images in the Getty library that were shot on digital medium format; I’ve also got images shot with my iPhone. But I admit, like every other photographer, there is an element of gearhead geek in me. So here’s the current list:

Primary – Leica M (I’m Leica sponsored); M9-P chrome, 35/1.4 Summilux-M ASPH FLE, 50/0.95 Noctilux-M ASPH, 90/4 Macro-Elmarit-M (on it’s way, I’m told). Zeiss ZM 2.8/28 Biogon, ZM 2/50 Planar. I’ve also got a Visoflex III and Bellows II for macro work, and a home-made hotshoe mount PC sync cable that fits under the Visoflex housing to trigger my flashes.

Primary, special purpose – Nikon FX; D700+MBD10, D800E (on it’s way), AFS 24/1.4 G, AFS 60/2.8 G Micro, AFS 85/1.4 G, AFS 28-300/3.5-5.6 VR G. Zeiss ZF.2 2/28 ‘Hollywood’ Distagon. A whole bunch of extension tubes and adaptors. Three SB900s and one SB700.

Compact – M4/3; Olympus Pen Mini E-PM1, ZD 12/2, ZD 45/1.8, ZD 14-42/3.5-5.6 IIR. Panasonic Lumix G 20/1.7. Contemplating the upcoming ZD 75/1.8 and ZD 60/2.8 macro.

Point and shoot – Leica D-Lux 5 (incoming), Ricoh GR Digital III and of course the iPhone 4.

…”how do I get better?” comes from people serious about learning.

As I said before: practice, practice, practice. Also, look at other people’s work; famous work; what don’t you like, what do you like? Can you figure out how they did it? Can you figure out why the shot works, or doesn’t? Critical analysis of an image often yields insights into composition that will help you instinctively arrange your frame when you look through the finder. And the two most important tips are a) watch the edges of your frame and b) make sure your subject is clear: if you don’t know what it is, then it’s almost certain nobody else will, either. And that makes for a very weak photograph.

…”how much do you (or should I) charge?” comes from people who want to turn pro.

How much do you think your work is worth? What is your opportunity cost? If you’re asking how much I charge, if we were in head to head competition, could you justify what you’re asking?

…”what’s your workflow like?” comes from professionals.

RAW > ACR > Photoshop – nothing else gives me enough control over individual files, and even batches of files. I don’t like libraries; I don’t like batch editing; and I don’t believe in using JPEG unless you don’t have a choice, or your image is baked and done (and it’s appropriate for the final intended use).

…”what’s your day job?” is what I inevitably get from old hands who’ve seen the game change from film to digital to social media and wonder how on earth there can be so much content out there – some truly great and probably only made accessible by the digital era; yet so little appreciation for art.

A job is a means to an end: sadly, yes, I do have a day job that provides the backbone of my income. Suffice to say it isn’t photography, or even photographically related 🙂