Member Mark Gowin

I notice that all of your recommendations are for athletic people. I'm not built that way. I'm short and overweight. I live in the Pacific Northwest where it rains a lot but doesn't get bitterly cold. It's be hard to find a good rain shell with a hood that fits my belly. Given that overweight is a serious epidemic in the United States, why don't these manufacturers make clothes “for the rest of us?”

David,

Excellent advice.
I suspect everyone understands the value of a rain shell or rain parka.
I would emphasize the need for rain-pants that can really handle rain.
On the trip I took with you, I sort of wondered if rain paints weren't overkill.
But then I recall one day and one location where the rain was just pouring down for hours. My camera was weatherproof fortunately, and that was the day I added rain paints to my rain jacket. The combo was truly waterproof and I learned to easily shoot in the rain. If I hadn't had the rain paints I would have literally been washed out after the first hour.
https://www.macdonough.net/For-your-review/Rain/n-375bPF/

Nigel,

There are certainly other options besides Arc'Teryx. In many cases, I make specific recommendations for these too. For example, while I love the Arc'Teryx Atom LT, the Patagonia Nano Puff is a super solid piece as well.

I'm not personally familiar with Rohan or Carinthia, but as long as they meet the same criteria, I'm sure they are fine. I do like Fjallraven and mention a few items in my article from them.

The most important take away is how a layering system works and what to look for in each layer. I've tried so many different items over the years and have found my way to what works best – for myself and many others. No, not everyone will prefer an athletic fit. But on the flip side, I tried in vain to find anything that would fit me in my local Bass Pro Shop. Every single thing fit like an oversized trash bag. So, yes, there are options for every size and shape. It's all about finding what works for each person.

As far as the camera, I shoot with the Leica S and SL for all my landscape outings. I don't worry about keeping the camera warm or dry. Not even a little bit. These cameras and lenses are built like tanks and are extremely weather resistant.

I went with the Cerium LT jacket instead of the hoody because 1) I don't like too many hoods at the same time and 2) I often wear the Cerium LT as a travel jacket around town – the non-hooded version looks a lot more urban and less technical. The Cerium SV hood is super warm, so if the weather is cold enough to warrant wearing the SV, odds are I will want the extra warmth of the full hood. But, ultimately, yes, I like having more options.

an outstanding review… as usual!
Albert

David,
Your excellent filter article transports me back to a fall trip with you and Josh back in 2011. It was the first morning of a seven day shoot and you were explaining to eight Leica photographers just these same filter details, only right in front of us.
I too had felt up to that morning that digital post replaced the need for filters. Your fifteen minute demo changed my mind. The only problem was that we were in the wild and there was no photo store on the shore. And you had advised us all before the trip that we would want to have such filters with us. And I had ignored you.
Ah!
Fortunately you explained that you brought along on the trip some extra sets of filters available for purchase. I did so immediately in case you might run out of supply. That purchase allowed me to vastly improve my photos for the rest of the trip and the rest of my career.

I have subsequently broken only one filter in the subsequent years, and that was when I had the filter holder a bit too loose. Haven't done that since. The cases are plenty of protection.

I commented on the forum back seven years ago regarding how GLASS filters vs the old plastic filters I had used before, made all the difference.

Leica S2 New England Fall Foliage Trip – Day Four

see Oct 12, 2011 4:08

The photo I show in my reply was shot with a graduated ND filter I had bought from you minutes before. It paid for itself many time over as the photo was later sold worldwide over 40 times.

But now you have shared your advice to everyone without them having to go on a trip with you.
How very kind.
But it makes me want to go on another trip.

David F., do you like the multi filter case for on-location, or do you prefer the individual cases for the glass filters? Seems like one case is ideal, but then you get wet weather locations and might prefer to have one case per filter…

Thanks for such a detailed article – this is great and brought to light several things I had not though of..

David K.

A 10-stop (3.0) is a bit strong in most cases, but highly useful in others. I'd recommend a 6-stop (1.8) as a good, general use solid ND.

Nice post. For my landscape photography i'm using two ND grad together. A number of the cheaper ND grads are a good place to start out specially brands such Cokin are good. Expensive brands offer high quality , and in some cases the filters are handcrafted . If you discover that you would love the effect these filters give, then you'll want to invest in some Lee filters or Singh-Ray. These are top filter brands and therefore the results from these products are amazing.

You're not the only one. The file seems to be missing on Leica's downloads page. You can click the link in the article for a direct download link.

Hi, nice to have the joystick lock feature.

However, my SF 40 flash still seems completely non-functional.

It might fire once when I first turn it on, (massive over exposure, or nice, or under exposure) and then it never fires again. This is in any mode with any lens attached. 24-90mm or manual lens. PSAM, Auto mode, or TTL mode. Fixed ISO at 200, set slow sync, or 1/125 or 1/F nothing…..

I can turn everything off and try again, and it fires once and then gives up again.

Any suggestions welcome. (It did this on the prior version firmware too) If a put an old Sun Pack flash on it, in Sun Pack A mode, it works great. Of course it is not using any TTL or camera funtions.

thanks in advance for any suggestions,

Dave

Prices on Leica Sport Optics are not increasing at this time. Just what is on the list in the article!

That is true!

There hasn't been an official launch yet and we haven't heard anything besides the preview announcement. Hopefully, we'll see an official launch before summer.

I updated my Leica SL and the Summilux SL 50 last night. The updated firmware to the lens is much better, in my opinion. The motor drive actually seems more quiet and the focus is definitely faster. It is not as fast as the two zooms, but this should be expected because the Summilux has a larger, heavier set of elements to move for focusing. I tested it in dark hallways with my cats (one white and one black) using ISO 12,800. The photographs were grainy, as expected, but the focusing was very good. In very, very low light, you still need to find a good contrast edge (the focus was fast on my white cat and hunted a little on my black cat – all in a dark hallway). Overall, I am excited that this lens immediately feels more useful for active focusing.

David, do you know why the future Summicron-SL 35 is the only one not APO like the others?

David,
Thanks for the interesting article and nice photographs.
I too have found the S007 excellent for night work.
The assumption that the mirror movement will cause camera movement has been false for me.
Perhaps my belief that I can indeed hand hold the S at 1/30 sec. allows me to brace the camera well enough. I confess I couldn’t do that with a dog pulling on my arm. I’d encourage every photographer regardless of camera to test themselves on steadiness so they know what low speed they are comfortable using. I know I can shoot the S at 1/30th. I have even shot at 1/8th but I know from experimenting it’s then better to goose the ISO and accept extra noise to get back to 1/30.