[Leica] Intro and question.

[mingthein at gmail.com (Thein Onn Ming)]

Hello and welcome Bill...

Can you get a sharp image on a stationary subject with the lens wide  
open, using the built in flash and say manually selected 1/100th  
speed? If not, then it's probably your AF submirror that's out of  
whack. If you can, then there are other issues afoot.

As for the filter conversion...mechanically I don't think it's that  
difficult, but it may be difficult to reassemble the camera with the  
sensor perfectly plane to the lens mount. It's not something you can  
easily test for or adjust (and I remember reading somewhere that even  
the manufacturers use a laser jig and various thin shims to get the  
sensor on plane).

I service my own watches for the own part (that's another story) but  
I don't think I'd be willing to mess about with the sensor -  
partially because I wouldn't have a clue how the camera is put  
together and would be quite afraid of breaking something, and  
partially because of the aforementioned alignment issue. Adjusting  
the mirrors or RF cam is about as far as I'd be willing to go  
personally.

Ming

On Jun 1, 2009, at 12:09 PM, William D. Tallman wrote:

> I've been lurking for a while and have found the thread on anti- 
> aliasing
> filters very instructive.
>
> I read here because I stumbled across a reasonable deal on a IIIf and
> Summitar, now at DAG; seems like it's time to dig out the darkroom
> stuff, get some TriX, and see how well I do at street shooting.  I
> suppose that's just justification, given that I've never been
> innoculated against the Leica-bug ;)  But now there are some real
> issues, so it seems.
>
> I'm (still) trying to learn something about photography, and have  
> gotten
> a Canon 40D and some lenses, including a 100/2.8 macro; instant  
> feedback
> teaches more effectively than waiting for film to be processed long
> after the scene is gone.
>
> It seems that I can't get a really sharp image.  Using a well weighted
> tripod, the macro lens at f5.6, MLU, remote release, and shooting a
> stationary well detailed target at about 15 feet, manual focusing via
> Live View at maximum magnification, I could not manage to get a sharp
> image.  Taking shots and reviewing them the same way shows no change.
>
> Absent the removal of the AA filter, or an investment in a Leica  
> system,
> am I unlikely to ever get real sharpness from this (or any  
> comparative)
> digital gear?
>
> I follow the anti-aliasing arguments, but certainly don't have the
> necessary information to make any judgment.  If the site with the
> comparisons between Nikon D200's is to be believed, the anti-aliasing
> filters are well below the Nyquist limitations, I would think.   
> Ergo, the
> argument about software capping output at that level is  
> irrelevant.  Or
> am I not even in the right parking lot, let alone ball park?
>
> I'm thinking about acquiring a Pentax K7 to use with all my K series
> glass (have LX, etc), and so either of these two cameras might be a
> candidate for a filter removal.  I can't imagine that neither Canon  
> nor
> Pentax have sensors equal in capability to the Nikon D200.  The  
> question
> might be whether or not anyone knows how to get rid of said filters.
>
> Is this something that someone who can dismantle and reassemble a
> wrist watch movement might be able to do, given the tools, etc?  Or  
> does
> anyone know?
>
> Thanks for reading.
>
> Bill Tallman
>
>
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THEIN Onn Ming
*photohorologer ming at www.mingthein.com
www.flickr.com/mingthein