Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2009/11/15

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Subject: [Leica] D-LUX 4 Filters (WAS IMG : D-Lux4 - (was Lluis's Barcelona Bar))
From: lluisripollquerol at gmail.com (Lluis Ripoll Querol)
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:46:01 +0100
References: <F4BFAE78-B5B0-4EA2-A0CF-D8B9DD65F87F@telefonica.net> <49E7DE09.4010202@bouncing.org> <F2139B75-4F51-4E7B-80D4-AAC2515A4B16@chartermi.net> <49E924CD.4040508@bouncing.org> <457A8882-3E95-4FEF-A1C2-6DE8E766BA4A@mac.com> <49E9CBDB.70809@bouncing.org> <145DBA43-79B5-42B6-9897-136F6936DB71@mac.com> <49E9F53C.9030408@tele2.fr> <49EA1476.4070307@bouncing.org> <4B0047D7.706@panix.com>

Hi Rei,

I can't remember the relation with the Bar....

Cheers
Lluis


El 15/11/2009, a las 19:26, Rei Shinozuka escribi?:

> Here's my 6 month belated reply to Phil's email.  The DLux4 can  
> indeed take filters.  The front decorative ring at the front of the  
> lens screws off to reveal a 45mm thread.  From ebay I got a cheapie  
> kit which contained adapter, filters, fisheye and telephoto  
> accessory lenses, and shade.  I don't really use it much, except for  
> the fisheye (which they call wide angle) for fun.  anyway, this is  
> how it mounts:
>
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/shino/techie/xL8665432.jpg.html
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/shino/techie/xL8665433.jpg.html
>
> -rei
>
>
> Philip Clarke wrote 4/19/2009:
>> The DLUX 4 is sharp, seems flare tolerant, doesn't have an  
>> accessory for
>> putting on filters though. It does macro down to 1 cm which is  
>> insane.
>> The image stabilaisation is great although I can imagine the
>> "discussions" over the choice of words because Panasonic call it
>> Mega-O-I-S Leica has dropped the "Mega" but I reckon they'd have  
>> been a
>> lot happier with "anti-shake". I have the accessory viewfinder for  
>> it so
>> that I can hold the camera to my eye and maintain eye contact with  
>> the
>> subject, but I don't like it, I've just bought a GR-V1 Ricoh  
>> accessory
>> viewfinder and that feels better. I find the leica one is just too
>> tailored for the 24mm end of the zoom with no markings for other  
>> focal
>> lengths, the Ricoh one has markings for 21 and 28mm but is "wrong"
>> possibly because of sensor size differences or formats, but inside  
>> the
>> 28mm brightline is much nearer to 35mm which at least I can "imagine"
>> the angle. The trouble with digi-compacts is you end up holding  
>> them at
>> arms length and your subject is looking at your "eyes" while the  
>> photos
>> being taken two foot downwards.
>>
>> A major flaw with the DLUX is that the zoom is "stepless" between  
>> 24mm
>> f2 - 60mm f2.8 (pretty much every else is f2.2 in between), I find  
>> this
>> irritating because I want to knock the zoom to telephoto once and  
>> have
>> it hop to the next focal length unless I ask it to otherwise (already
>> put in comments to Leica about this), because my wife's Ricoh does  
>> this
>> so I'd like the option in the next firmware update. Also it does not
>> retain focal length settings when you turn the camera on and off, I
>> prefer 28mm about 80% of the time and it hops back to 24mm, it has
>> multiple options for custom settings which is great but it still  
>> zooms
>> back to wide all the time, i'd like setting one to have 28mm stored
>> etc... The lens cap is okay, it takes me longer to drop my walking
>> stick  than take off the cap, it'd be useful if it has a lens hood, I
>> never had caps on any of my lenses except the Canadian 90mm f2 (with
>> tripod mount superbly sharp as well as the clumsiest lens ever made
>> IMHO), the built in hood on that lens would slide down if placed in a
>> Domke, I had the square hooded 28mm and the 35mm f1.4 with the cuts  
>> out,
>> some kind of clip on on the 50mm. Anyway, it would be better if the
>> D-Lux could have a hood. I have the handgrip on order as I used to  
>> use
>> the M6's with them, one with a grip machined in america before Leica
>> started making them.
>>
>> If you haven't seen it, it is tiny, which is good for me as I can't
>> carry an M6 any more, it 294 grams with the external viewfinder and
>> battery. The buttons aren't that fiddly to use, there's program shift
>> which I have biased towards f5.6, aperture priority, it has  
>> "intelligent
>> iso" that biases the iso selected towards reducing camera shake and  
>> "ISO
>> Auto" that seems to bias it towards quality. It's got spot metering  
>> and
>> 9 ? segment AF but I have it jammed on the centre high speed AF and
>> multi-zone metering, I trust it to set the exposure and trust  
>> myself to
>> override it. A good thing is the shutter dial has a big difference in
>> indentation between SCN (scene mode) and custom mode, so it can be  
>> used
>> in total darkness and set to whatever settings are needed. Might  
>> sound
>> stupid to some people but I am learning the camera by touch in the  
>> dark,
>> which is exactly what I did with the M6's and comes in useful at the
>> theatre or stuck in a gloomy Moroccan toilet with a load of marijuana
>> and some jittery armed Tauregs.
>>
>> Because of the external viewfinder it is Leica "like", colour  
>> rendition
>> certainly is, at the end of the day it's a small compact with a sharp
>> fast wide lens and macro facility so it ticks all the boxes unless  
>> you
>> like long telephoto shots.
>>
>>
>> Philippe AMARD wrote:
>>
>>> Well, better change the title, or even better would be to start a  
>>> new
>>> thread if we don't want to get confused between two monarchies ;-)
>>>
>>> I agree with George.
>>> The other shots are more of the classic framing, even though their
>>> compositions are very clean and appeal to me.
>>> The D-4 sems to perform well in your hands too. Rather sharp, and
>>> excellent colour rendition on my PC at least.
>>> I was surprised to see that it can shoot as low as ISO 80.
>>>
>>> Oh yes, the blur on blooms - like it too.
>>> But I must be biased to Fuzzysomethings. :-D
>>>
>>> I'd be happy to see more of these when you can.
>>> Take good care of yourself.
>>> Bien cordialement de Metz
>>> Phili^^e
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> George Lottermoser wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> Hi Philip,
>>>>
>>>> Thank you for showing additional photographs,
>>>> and for contributing more images to the "assignment."
>>>>
>>>> "Insolvent business, Pinner UK, 18th"
>>>> struck me as the strongest of the group;
>>>> for it's asymmetry and strong lines,
>>>> as well as for the "different" quality of the subject.
>>>>
>>>> Regards,
>>>> George Lottermoser
>>>> george at imagist.com
>>>> http://www.imagist.com
>>>> http://www.imagist.com/blog
>>>> http://www.linkedin.com/in/imagist
>>>>
>>>> On Apr 18, 2009, at 7:47 AM, Philip Clarke wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> So here's the funny thing, my wife's working and I'm not  
>>>>> normally out
>>>>> alone, so on the way to pick up some medication from Tesco  
>>>>> Pharmacy
>>>>> (British supermarket chain) I see the glassworks, feel the DLUX  
>>>>> in my
>>>>> pocket and reckon I feel well enough to take some images. (the  
>>>>> images
>>>>> are backwards in the portfolio and moving seems limited to  
>>>>> between albums).
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Walking out of the Pharmacy and bearing in mind Daniel Ridings
>>>>> portfolio, I find this on the postbox advertising. Lucky Yes,  
>>>>> but if I
>>>>> weren't looking...
>>>>>
>>>>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Philip+Clarke/18th_April_2009/
>>>>> L1010241.jpg.html
>>>>>
>>>>> This was taken with the camera above my head as it's quite high  
>>>>> on the
>>>>> wall, note the focal length is not to the full extent either  
>>>>> way, I
>>>>> found the image moved into position and then chose the focal  
>>>>> length.
>>>>> It's gracious that nervous people are always welcome but good to  
>>>>> have a
>>>>> safety net.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> I walk along to the Glassworks, it's not really suitable,  
>>>>> because it is
>>>>> a rare and beautiful sunny day in the UK, Really I need a  
>>>>> polarising
>>>>> filter in front of the lens to reduce the distractions in the  
>>>>> windows,
>>>>> but it's passable, and I'm slapbang in front of the door to stop  
>>>>> my
>>>>> reflection being there. I'm using a 24mm equivalent and pointing  
>>>>> the
>>>>> camera dead centre to avoid perspective shift (some of the floor  
>>>>> and
>>>>> flat windows above have been cropped) although not 100%  
>>>>> successful as
>>>>> can be seen by the slight divergent parallel line to the top  
>>>>> right.
>>>>>
>>>>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Philip+Clarke/18th_April_2009/
>>>>> L1010243.jpg.html
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> As I walk back along Pinner Green (you can do a google maps  
>>>>> search), I
>>>>> shoot the advertising sign for window blinds on a wall without  
>>>>> windows
>>>>> that I saw when walking to the glasworks. The camera is above my  
>>>>> head
>>>>> this time to avoid divergent bricks. This is at the 60mm setting
>>>>> standing on someone's lawn and has been cropped slighty to  
>>>>> reduce the to
>>>>> the sign and wall, any different composition leads to the  
>>>>> guttering
>>>>> above the sign being shown.
>>>>>
>>>>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Philip+Clarke/18th_April_2009/
>>>>> L1010245.jpg.html
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Walking back towards the pharmacy I now shoot another insolvent
>>>>> business, this one has a big sign by the bailiffs in the window  
>>>>> but
>>>>> that's too obvious. The piled up letters is a better picture, I  
>>>>> use the
>>>>> diagonals and the cameras on 4:3, I'm continually having to use  
>>>>> program
>>>>> shift because the camera wants a wider aperture. The reason the  
>>>>> opening
>>>>> times sign stands out so much is because of an internal shadow  
>>>>> in the
>>>>> shop, that was intentional it doesn't show from the other side.  
>>>>> I did
>>>>> consider cropping this but then it doesn't show the emptiness of  
>>>>> the
>>>>> shop. You'll notice the word closed appears distinct, I've  
>>>>> joined it to
>>>>> an envelope but used the shadow and blank space on the floor to  
>>>>> make it
>>>>> more apparent. None of these pictures have been "printed" btw,  
>>>>> they have
>>>>> been adjusted for contrast and color balance slightly and had some
>>>>> reduction in saturation levels.
>>>>>
>>>>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Philip+Clarke/18th_April_2009/
>>>>> L1010246.jpg.html
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> The next one is just outside the Tesco and my back would have  
>>>>> been to it
>>>>> when I walked out. I like the irony. This "new way" to shop on a  
>>>>> old
>>>>> sign with an advert for "nearly new" clothes beneath, on an old  
>>>>> wall
>>>>> with the shadow of a barbed fence (thereby making it impossible to
>>>>> shop), is just my subtle sense of humour. The image was taken  
>>>>> from a
>>>>> bush that I had to climb into. I have three different shots, one  
>>>>> of just
>>>>> the signs, one taken from over the barbed wire after this one (I  
>>>>> gained
>>>>> access through the car park) and this one. The exposure is  
>>>>> correct but
>>>>> looks wrong because the wall isn't white, this has had some  
>>>>> burning in
>>>>> to reduce the patchiness of the paint. The tree framing the top  
>>>>> and the
>>>>> bush at the bottom are deliberate to keep the eye in the frame.  
>>>>> Viewing
>>>>> the EXIF data, you'll note that I'm not going to the extremes of  
>>>>> the
>>>>> telephoto end (nor the wide), any further right and the tree trunk
>>>>> bisects the sign, any further left and edge of the spiked fence  
>>>>> goes,
>>>>> there are some divergent lines, I could have tried holding the  
>>>>> camera up
>>>>> a little higher if my arms were working after this walk.
>>>>>
>>>>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Philip+Clarke/18th_April_2009/
>>>>> L1010251.jpg.html
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> I got myself home and thought bugger it, I haven't done a flower  
>>>>> photo.
>>>>> And about 50 metres from the house is a cherry blossom tree. It  
>>>>> rained
>>>>> last night and the blossoms on the ground are past their prime,  
>>>>> shooting
>>>>> the tree would have a view of a road and quite probably an H12  
>>>>> bus. We
>>>>> already know it's blue skies and 1/250 at f5.6 ISO 80 so I find  
>>>>> the
>>>>> blossoms in the shade, hoping that I'm going to get a slow  
>>>>> enough speed
>>>>> to let the wind add some movement and I fail to get a slow  
>>>>> enough speed
>>>>> it's got even brighter and is now 1/250 at f8 ISO 80 in the  
>>>>> shade and I
>>>>> have to underexpose by a stop to keep the picture dark as it's an
>>>>> entirely shaded area and start shaking the camera and you can  
>>>>> see from
>>>>> the frame numbers that something's gone wrong because I've  
>>>>> skipped from
>>>>> 10251 to 10263 for the last picture, I am shaking the camera at  
>>>>> the
>>>>> longest telephoto setting and I'm not getting enough blur and  
>>>>> then I
>>>>> work out that I've left the Image stabilisation on and I'm only  
>>>>> moving
>>>>> the camera in one plane. Lots of fiddling with the menu and it  
>>>>> gets
>>>>> turned off and I get the shot I want. The picture gets colour  
>>>>> balanced
>>>>> in photoshop and then flipped horizontally because upwards  
>>>>> moving lines
>>>>> are move attractive.
>>>>>
>>>>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Philip+Clarke/18th_April_2009/
>>>>> L1010263.jpg.html
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> I have Chronic Pain Syndrome level 8 complication by Complex  
>>>>> Referred
>>>>> Pain Syndrome, so I feel the pain from my legs in my left arm  
>>>>> and my arm
>>>>> in my tongue, which is something you really don't want to have.  
>>>>> I can't
>>>>> lift my elbows up now from that little jaunt and my left  
>>>>> shoulder will
>>>>> dislocate inside the next 24 hours. I'll be partially paralysed  
>>>>> for 3
>>>>> days now which makes me pretty useless as a professional. That  
>>>>> area is
>>>>> one that I have never walked along, I visit the pharmacy every  
>>>>> month so
>>>>> that's ten times maximum. We (as in me and some other  
>>>>> professionals)
>>>>> used to play a game when we were young when we met up off- 
>>>>> assignment,
>>>>> about going to an unknown place and fulfilling a brief, it kept  
>>>>> the
>>>>> competition between us fierce and kept us sharp. Could I go to a  
>>>>> bar in
>>>>> Barcelona and practice what I preach. I believe so.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> George Lottermoser wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> May we see some examples of your waiting and moving, Philip?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Regards,
>>>>>> George Lottermoser
>>>>>> george at imagist.com
>>>>>> http://www.imagist.com
>>>>>> http://www.imagist.com/blog
>>>>>> http://www.linkedin.com/in/imagist
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Apr 17, 2009, at 7:54 PM, Philip Clarke wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> All of these pictures could be improve by waiting or moving.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> Leica Users Group.
>>>>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more  
>>>>>> information
>>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Leica Users Group.
>>>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more  
>>>>> information
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>> information
>>>>
>>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>
>>
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>>
>
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In reply to: Message from shino at panix.com (Rei Shinozuka) ([Leica] D-LUX 4 Filters (WAS IMG : D-Lux4 - (was Lluis's Barcelona Bar)))