Taking a 10-year-old CCD camera to Point Lobos
There is a never-ending debate about CCD sensors producing “better” pictures than CMOS sensors. That film cameras yield an even “purer” shooting experience. The release of the film Leica MA in 2022.
My reasons for unpacking my 10-year-old Leica ME were more prosaic. My other camera was at the annual Messesucher realignment (which I had missed five years in a row).
So here I was at Point Lobos State Park, which is about 20 min south of Monterey, California. I was standing on Weston Beach, named after Edward Weston. People have taken a lot, really a lot, of pictures at Point Lobos. This is where Apple shot some of its desktop pictures.
Would this old CCD camera deliver a unique experience and produces quality images?
The LEICA ME has an 18MP full-frame sensor. For comparison, a 4K monitor has about 12 MP, and the Leica R11 has 60 MP. Megapixels matter for large print reproductions and if the images are subject to extensive manipulations. I print my images at 8x12 inches or 16x24 to be viewed at a 60 cm distance — like in a gallery.
The LEICA ME has an ISO range of 160–2500. It is usable up to ISO 800, with optimal utility at ISO 200, just like an ordinary film. This narrow ISO range changes your workflow: you need a tripod at f11 in the early morning. The lenses are the same regardless of the camera body. An 18MP sensor does not approach the performance envelope of modern lenses; no APO correction is needed. Any Voigtlander lens will perform nicely, but it is fun to pair the ME with the 50 mm Sumilux.
There is a monitor in the back. It allows you to check composition, such as did you cut off the legs. With much zooming in, you can judge sharpness. This is one up over film, but a far cry from your live view! The buffer is slow, and there are periods when the camera will not respond. I would not take the ME to a sporting event. These little things add up. It takes a day or two to adjust and slow down. Your workflow becomes more deliberate. It is almost like working with film but with unlimited takes. I don’t bring the ME to a party or for family photographs. The iPhone does a better job.
What about the camera’s CCD sensor? Is it magic, or does the sheer number of megapixels trump everything else?
Perhaps the best characterization was published in PetaPixel. CCD cameras produce more pleasing images because most have sensors with tonal curves that are non-linear, and Leica sensors have characteristic tonal curves to match Leica glass. “Non-linearity produces files that more closely mimic human vision — it is incredibly common for our vision to clip totally to black, but we almost never see completely blown highlights.”
Color accuracy is another advantage often attributed to CCD cameras. It almost exclusively comes from the internal software deployed by the manufacturer and is highly dependent on the natural light quality. Again to quote PetaPixel: “CCD output in optimal conditions (good directional light, low ISO, punchy colors) will result in deeper blues, surprisingly accurate reds, warm mid-tones, neutral and cool shadows, and very pleasing tonal transitions from the quartertones into the highlights.”
I found that both CCD and CMOS color reception can be improved upon by overlaying color film stock profiles in Nik Color Efx 5. FujiChrome Velvia pops the reds, Agfa is the most natural, and Kodak Porta is unique.
To summarize, under the right lighting conditions, at the right place. With the right subject, a CCD camera will capture a vision, unlike any other camera.
