Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/11/03
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Ted, it is a big subject and it is confusing. All of the format stuff is relevant to the M8 and a basic understanding is relevant and essential, because that's what the camera produces. Unlike a neg or slide, you need a computer program to see your image. Here are the essentials as seen by me. The M8 will give you pictures as a compressed file of lesser quality. It is called a jpg. The files are smaller but do not include as big a range of tones and there is some loss of quality to make the file smaller. That is some information is thrown away. The camera has also made its own decisions regarding colour saturation and colour temperature for example. So less control. The other format that the camera will give you is called a raw file. The advantage is that you have better control and quality, at the expense of bigger files. The image has a much larger tonal range no information is thrown away and this is the choice if you want the best possible quality. Also, if you alter the image with an image editor, it will record your edits but also keep the original information intact. The camera has not made the same compromise changes to your image as it does with a jpg. Finally dng is the type of raw file that the M8 uses. It is a format meant to be used by multiple brands of camera and is supposed to not rely on one company for a program to read the files. That is, if company XYZ goes broke, you are not stuck with 5 thousand pictures that you can't read because the company's software is not available any more. Other formats require you to pay for and use the camera company's software to read all of the information in the file. Usually software supplied by camera companies is harder to use and /or not as powerful as software made by specialist image software companies. With an M8 in your hands you can shoot some jpg pictures and some dng pictures and decide what is suitable/most important for you. I don't know what you used to print your pics when you tried out the M8. If you have a method then you are laughing. Just try the two formats and decide what suits your circumstances/priorities. I hope that helps. I'm happy to help anyway I can. I'm sure that other posts will be offered. Cheers Hoppy -----Original Message----- From: lug-bounces+hoppyman=bigpond.net.au@leica-users.org [mailto:lug-bounces+hoppyman=bigpond.net.au@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of Ted Grant Sent: Saturday, 4 November 2006 10:54 To: Leica Users Group Subject: Re: [Leica] Re:M8 DNG vs DMR DNG You see the problem with digital is an example right here with all this: dgn-dgr-DGN-RAW- LIKE A DOG LIKES HIS MEAT! Plus all the rest of the meaningless letters unless one is educated. Quite frankly for the not better educated folks, all this stuff is scary as hell! :-( I know how to take pictures and I think I've done that fairly well over the past half century, but we developed film we understood, made prints wherever the darkroom had to be set-up, a motel washroom or our home or office darkroom and we did our thing. Simple, no brainer photography! But we knew what we were doing! KISS Then along comes digital a wonderful manner of doing our loveable picture taking and we get into all this jabberwally stuff of three letter things that are completely meaningless. Quite frankly mind boggling! If this stuff has absolutely nothing to do with the use of a Leica camera I'd really appreciate it if you folks would take it some place else. Or if it has absolutely nothing to do with me learning how to take better pictures please take it wherever! It probably has, but well what the hell. :-( I know I'm not the smartest brick on the block with all this stuff but you guys scare the hell out of me that I am really loosing something very important in my life as a photojournalist about picture taking! Please try to look at it through the eyes of someone who understands taking pictures, not a university degree of ............................ Sorry! ted Ted Grant Photography Limited 1817 Feltham Road Victoria BC V8N 2A4 250-477-2156 _______________________________________________ Leica Users Group. See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information