Month: February 2024

–Well, back to the M11. I might be missing some settings, but test pics on the Safari just don’t look great.

Dilemma: It’s super-hard to focus the Zeiss 85 in the bedroom at night using the Visoflex 2. Similarly with the Biotar. So: maybe one needs an M9 for its history/look, and a CL for lenses that won’t focus on a rangefinder without a Visoflex. Could the built-in EVF of the CL be that much better than a Visoflex on an M11? Maybe.

Later: Turns out the CL viewfinder DOES support nice focusing of Zeiss 85 and Biotar. Will use CL for non-M (i.e. non-rangefinder) lenses, and black M9 for M lenses only. There are a few. Don’t know what I’ll do when the Paul Smith CL comes back. It’s cool and all, but the one I have came new. We’ll see.

–Walked to UPS (!) to pick up the Cheburkov flipper. Nice blade, though it has foggy sections, and the flipper tab is way too small: it’s a pain to open. Crap.

–Got bagels at New York Bagel Cafe.

–Back is bad today; took a Tramadol at 4.

–Back still hurts, a little worse than yesterday. Taking the combo Advil/Tylenol caplets, which don’t seem to have a huge effect.

–Leica M9 (black) came in. Nice enough, 688 shutter actuations, takes fine photos. No box, no accessories except a Leica charger that doesn’t work. Ordered another on eBay ($125 for the Leica name on a $10 charger).

–Noticed that NCIS Hawaii season 3 episode 3 “License to Thrill” was a dead takeoff on the Keanu Reeves/Patrick Swayze film Point Break: older, super-likeable criminal takes a young police officer under his wing as he’s being investigated. At the end, the criminal jumps out of a plane and disappears forever, similar to Swayze paddling out into killer 30-foot waves.

–Back is better, somewhat. Looked up the previous episode from March 2022: it lasted 8-9 days. So, a few more days of this.

–Bought a Leica M10-P Safari from MPB Camera.

–Back bad all day, always on the verge of spasm.

–Still don’t know jack about photography. Took some bedroom shots to check focusing. The M9s were 1/60, f3, ISO 400. The M11 was 1/320, f 1.4, ISO 2000. What??? The M11, known for low-light capability, opened up the lens, did 10x ISO, then snapped at 1/10th speed. It’s like the M11 is saying “do whatever you have to to use a super fast shutter speed.”

–Back still bad.

–Birds and squirrels are getting more numerous at the feeders, and today a cute brown rat showed up to work on spilled bird seed.

–Back is better, but still not good.

–Did a showdown with the Leica C-Lux and D-Lux 7. C-Lux won: much longer zoom, excellent image quality.

–Back was somewhat bothersome yesterday, and sure enough it blew up overnight. Took a Tramadol this morning (which may not have played well with all my other meds), and napped much of the day.

–Got out the Leica, which I thought was wrecked, and was surprised to see it takes as nice a pic as the M9. Shutter count is > 26,000, but it looks and works fine. I do recall I had to re-calibrate the rangefinder–successfully, it seems.

–Took Grace shopping at Bel Air. Saved $35.

–Bought a black M9 on eBay which had its sensor serviced by Kolari. Looking forward to it.

–Went to the dermatology PA. She froze several, asked if I wanted to biopsy a couple. I said let’s wait and see. Made an appointment for three months. Really need to find another dermatology practice.

–Rolex 1680 came in. Disappointing (though not hugely surprising): watch is 1978 while bracelet is 1994; crown guards, while likely unpolished, are not as fat as I had hoped; runs poorly on the Timegrapher: amplitude 200, beat error 0.7ms, timing +23 s/d; caseback has considerable corrosion around the edge. Dial and hands are in good shape, though, and–while I really didn’t notice it–the dial may be blacker than many of this era. And the bezel insert is a gorgeous fade.

–Took Grace shopping at Smart & Final.

–Took a shower and shave.

–Misty day; started raining around 5.

–Made pizza for dinner. So-so.

–Played some more with Leica M9 and M11. Settling on M11: M9 colors are just too saturated; M11 has all the advantages of a newer model–view screen, megapixels, etc.

–Lunch at McDonald’s.

–Walked with Grace to UPS/Bel Air/Rite-Aid.

–Played a lot with M9 and M11. They are strange in precisely opposite ways: the M9 is dark and super-saturated, while the M11 seems over-exposed and under-saturated. I put a new-generation SD card in the M11 (as forums recommend), and it went haywire. Tossed that card. The old style seems to work fine in that camera. Leaning toward keeping the M9 at the moment, though it’s only 18 megapixels. I should probably just go with the SL2, but M’s have their charms.

–Last night they predicted big rain today. We got 2-3 drops and some wind.

–Took a shower and shave. The Gillette Spoiler blade continues to impress.

–Mailed Amelia’s birthday present.

–CIT Bank account is closed, money moved over to Heritage. Will likely re-move some to Ally for better interest rates.

–Played with cameras. Still having a hard time deciding between the SL2 and the M11. Bought a Visoflex viewfinder for the M11 that will pretty much turn it into an SL2. We’ll see.

–Picked up coffee from Black Sails.

–Played with cameras. Actually boxed up the M11 because the SL2 was so much easier to focus–thought the M11 had some rich colors. Then did a test in late afternoon, same lens wide open on both cameras (Summicron 35/f2). The SL2 used an ISO of 25,000, compared to 2,500 for the M11, and the difference in noise was striking. I’d heard the M11 sensor was good in low light, but a factor of 10 was really surprising. Back to M11.

–Motor City pizza for the Super Bowl.

–Picked up thick floss at UPS.

–Went to the dentist. Three cavities filled, crown needed, but I’ve already used up 2024’s max reimbursement. So he’ll check it in August when I’m getting (and paying $174 for) a cleaning, maybe do the crown in 2025. This is ridiculous.

–Stopped at UPS. Picked up Aquasonic flosser. Totally useless: The built-in tank on this hand-held unit holds enough water to floss for less than 10 seconds. I had to refill it twice to even approximate a thorough flossing. Dumped it, bordered a tank-based Waterpik. Nokton lens came. Beauty. Leica M11 came. Also a beauty. The standard shots I took of Froggy the Gremlin are incredibly dense and rich. The rangefinder seems easier to use (may be bigger/brighter), and live view focusing works, but it’s not magic. Will take some practice.

–My eyes are feeling almost moist for the first time in a long time, as though the Restasis were working. Hope so.

–Took Grace shopping at Bel Air. Spent > $200 for not a ton of groceries.

–Painted the Leica “soft touch” shutter button with Krylon black lacquer. Came out fine, but not as glossy as I had hoped.

–Another rainy day.

–While trying (and failing) to use a diamond-loaded strop to hone a Shamwari, I put a couple of large scratches on the blade rubbing it with a cloth that had picked up some diamonds. Tried half-heartedly to save the blade, but ruined it. This was the Shamwari that came with issues, was “repaired” by Bull, and re-anodized by Ted Rooney. Good riddance.

–Frozen dinners tonight.

–Went to the dentist for “cleaning.” One month after 2 crowns and a cavity, 2 more cavities (one of which may need a crown) and filling replacement. Grrr…

–Put gas in the Honda.

–Took Grace shopping at Smart & Final.

–Red Baron for dinner.

–Rain and wind all day. Back gate blew open, breaking the tree branch with the bungee cord. I put three bungee cords around the tree trunk; it’s holding.

–Was reminded again that the M9 won’t focus with adapted lenses that don’t couple with the rangefinder–Biotar and Zeiss 85mm, for example. They would focus on the M11 using live view, but not in the viewfinder. Decided (for now, as usual) to go with the CL, which offers magnified viewfinder focus for any lens, native or adapted. Hoping the Paul Smith CL is as mint as was claimed in the eBay ad.

–Took a shower and shave. N of 1, but the Gillette Spoiler blade that came with a razor was pretty darn nice.

–Picked up leather strop at UPS. Quick test did nothing. Also got the third GE toaster oven. This one is in extremely nice shape AND IT WORKS! With a bell even when toast is done.

–Cleaned up paperwork, scuba stuff. Did some quick testing of small Leicas. The 007 D-Lux 7 seems fine compared with another D-Lux 7 and a C-Lux.

–Picked up the chromed Tekna regulators from Sherm’s. Nice work. Spent a LONG time this evening putting them together–lots of free-flow issues. Had to use parts from the eBay plastic Tekna that came in today–body was cracked, but innards were okay. Lost a circlip.

–Second set of Jubilee links for the Datejust came from Wholesale Outlet on eBay. Like the first, they didn’t fit. Might have to give up.

–Took the Beemer to Hooverville Orchards to get jam and pastries.

–Played with Shamwaris. Turns out you can get just about any Sham (washers or bearings) to have great action if you tighten the pivot properly.

–Got the Leica M9 out (giving up on the M11 for now: seems to be the worst of both worlds: no magic M9 sensor, no DSLR advantages (anti-shake, auto-focus)). Took another “in my room” photo and started working it in Capture One. Disturbingly choppy, especially for a not-that-large file. Dropped Capture One (again), brought back RAW Power and Affinity.

–Got the seller to accept return of the Leica M10-R. Boxed it and mailed it out.

–Left hearing aid battery died around 8 PM (5+ days).