When you photograph as a fine artist or a humble hobbyist it's entirely possible to spend the rest of your life shooting pictures with a single prime lens. Provided that it's one you like. A focal length that suits your vision of the world. But it's a bit different if you are into "corporate reportage." In other words, if you have clients who pay you to do photographs.
In the case of those doing M Leica photography for corporate clients you'll often find that you require a range of lenses. Maybe not the 16mm to 600mm reach that the YouTube influencers might insist you need to have at your disposal for any contingency but certainly samples of the wide/medium/telephoto "holy trinity" of lenses that actually get used on jobs such as corporate trade shows, on site factory documentation, events of many kinds and those times you get hired to walk through offices documenting the look and feel of a company.
I think you can do most jobs with three lenses. At least the kinds of jobs I do. I mostly need a wide angle lens for establishing shots, a normal lens for normal vision perspective and a longer lens/short telephoto for compression effects, more easily achieved out-of-focus backgrounds and decent, flattering portraits.
For me it's usually 28mm, 50mm and 90mm. For some it might be the 21mm, 35mm and a 75mm option. The exact focal lengths you'll want to use don't matter for the main subject here but, believe me, you'll want the range if you are going to step into a location and make good, story-telling images. But the problem for M photographers is that there's no such thing as a zoom (let's ignore the Tri-Elmar, three in one lens for right now...) so you'll need three primes and that's where the problems start.
If you want to shoot wide on a current M camera with the .68x viewfinder you'll find it annoying to try to frame a 28mm with the bright line frames in the eye level viewfinder. If you wear glasses it's especially annoying as you'll have to move your eye all over the place to see the various frame lines that show you where the edges of your photos reside. So you'll probably want a dedicated bright line finder that you can put into the hotshoe with which to get a better view.
So that's one camera with a 28mm lens mounted and a bright line viewfinder accessory sitting in the hot shoe. The second set-up for me is the 50mm lens/camera combo. That combination doesn't need an auxiliary finder and so it's a bit more barebones. I'd use that camera with a diopter on the eyepiece and no eyeglasses on my face. The third camera/lens combo for me is the 90mm which I prefer to use in a more modern setup. Meaning I want to use that camera and lens with an attached EVF so I can see the frame bigger than it appears in the bright lines of the optical, camera finder. A dedicated bright line accessory finder is also a possibility.
So, that's three camera set-ups for a fast moving, multi-focal length photo shoot. Why not just use one camera and change lenses when needed? Well....because it takes more time, so accessories would need to be added or removed, and changing lenses in dicey environments means there's always a risk of getting dust on the sensors. So much easier to use three identical cameras, set with the same parameters, and just to pull the one you want up to your eye and engage with it.
This is all predicated on the presumption that you're using digital M Leicas. If you are using film M cameras an additional benefit to a three camera solution is the fact that instead of having only 36 frames in your camera before you need to take the bottom plate off the camera and remove and then reload film you'll have 108 frames at your disposal before you need to restock the cameras.
This is actually the way many photojournalists and editorial photographers worked for decades back in the "golden" age of film. With M Leicas but also with other brands of cameras as well.
It helps if all three working cameras are the same model because all the accessories will fit across the three working cameras and your brain will already be tuned into the way the cameras and their controls work. Familiarity leverages functionality across multiple cameras. The fourth camera can diverge from the homogeneity of the functional three but not by much.
So, while it seems wildly extravagant, let's flesh out why you need four camera bodies. Seems crazy, right? Well, while Leica M cameras, especially the digital versions, are highly reliable stuff does happen. Rangefinders go out of adjustment. Cameras get dropped. Accidents happen.
You'll want that fourth body accessible as a back-up camera on high profile jobs that can't be reshot or when working for clients who don't believe in failure....at all. Better to be a Boy Scout and be prepared than to wing it and spend the money instead on something less critical, like a new 8K TV or a new car.
The fourth body also comes into play for the photographer who works with multiple cameras for those times when you want to or are required to send a camera body away for repair, adjustment or tweaking.
None of this is a mandate that every M shooter needs to haul four cameras around all the time. In fact, most of the time when I am photographing for myself I'm carrying only one camera and one or two favorite lenses. With an M240 I don't even take along an extra battery because.....it's not needed. And for many jobs I can work at a more relaxed pace and so only need one shooting camera for all three lenses with a second body in the bag or in the car as a redundant back-up. If I can take 30+ seconds to change lenses then the triple layer of gear is unnecessary. But you need to be aware of dusty environments and still avoid lens changing in the middle of a dust storm...
Of course, you might consider all of this to be insane. Why would anyone hobble themselves with so many cameras when they could use any one of a number of mirrorless camera bodies along with a lens like the Sigma 28-105mm f2.8 zoom and get "equally" good or even better files (technically)? It's a great question if all you care about is getting the job done. Solving an equation. But if you enjoy your version of process, and you love working with rangefinders and prime lenses, this way of working makes more sense. Everyone does it their own way. Neither is faultless or flawless. Each can be enjoyable. Everyone gets to choose for themselves.
My working method usually involves two cameras. Two M240s. One with a 28mm and the other with a 50mm. If I need a longer lens (75mm or 90mm) I pop it onto the 50mm camera and continue. A third camera sits in reserve. Only occasionally would I consider draping all three working bodies over my body and use them that way.
In all honesty, if a job is so time sensitive and fast moving that it might require the use of three M bodies I often just reach for a Leica SL variant and the 24-90mm lens. Need something longer? Use the same 24-90mm on an SL2 or SL3 and click into the APS-C mode. The 90mm becomes the equivalent of about a 135mm.
The underlying reason for using multiple cameras with prime lenses is that those camera and their prime lenses are fun. Working with cameras is fun. Problem solving is a challenge and challenges can be very satisfying. Plus, there is a different look between different lenses and some people love the look of their favorite prime.
Just stuff to think about at the outset of the new year. Hope you are doing well and your biggest problem this year is deciding which camera you want to use today. Best, Kirk
In my newspaper days I said I needed five bodies -- three to work with, one as backup, and one in the shop.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm thinking that's just about right!
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