[Leica] NOW R-D1 vs Fuji 400/800

[joelct at singnet.com.sg (joelct)]

Your reasoning entirely logical, understandable and acceptable. But for a 
>US$2000 piece to malfunction and requiring returns to manufacturer smacks 
of poor QC and 
inferior finish.

If CV/Epson wants the 'new' consumers to take them seriously - they should 
pay attention to QC

It is strange though - that a thoroughly Japanese made product should 
manifest flaws in its early days.

The ghost of Demmings must be turningn restlessly.

Joseph / Singapore




--- Richard <richard-lists@imagecraft.com> wrote:

> My experience with comparing my R-D1 with the M7/Nikon
> LS-40000/"Provia 
> slides" full color managed workflow is that R-D1 offer the
> convenience and 
> quality of digital. Meaning that the color is pleasant with nice and
> smooth 
> gradation. Blowing up to 11x14 looks pretty good too, and in some
> cases, 
> better than the M7. However, 6MP has less resolution than Provia
> scans and 
> that's that. Most of the time it does not matter, but fact is fact.
> 
> I don't mind that I can't focus my 90/2AA accurately on the R-D1. I
> just 
> don't use it. I do mind that the shutter is awfully loud, the frame
> lines 
> are much less accurate, especially the bottom line, and the AE meter
> is not 
> as good as the M7. Other than that, it's a fine (albeit expensive)
> camera.
> 
> Of course currently mine is in the Epson shop since the battery
> gauge 
> refuses to move beyond the half full position. It does seem to be 
> relatively common to hear people sending their R-D1 for repairs, so
> it is 
> definitely a cause for concern :-(
> 
> At 02:02 AM 2/13/2005, Simon P-J wrote:
> >...With my two respective digital workflows (R-D1 Raw or Polaroid
> SS 4000 into
> >Photoshop CS and Epson 1280) I have to conclude that I can do much
> better
> >with the R-D1 (at prints up to 14 x 11). By comparison, the SS 4000
> combined
> >with the Fuji films give some unpleasant noise/grain effects and
> limited
> >dynamic range even on quite low contrast negatives. I'm sure a
> more
> >up-to-date scanner would make a difference, but I wonder whether it
> would
> >make enough difference for me to prefer it to the R-D1 output.
> >
> >I have had no problems focusing anything on my R-D1 at any
> distances -
> >including 35 'lux, Noctilux, 75 'lux, and 90AA. I've been very
> pleasantly
> >surprised that my proportion of in focus shots is similar to what
> I'd expect
> >with M's when shooting people moving around in low light at
> relatively slow
> >shutter speeds. I like the bright viewfinder and the 1:1 view. The
> very
> >conservative frame lines play a nice psychological trick in that
> they at
> >first exaggerate the effect of the 1.53 crop factor and then when
> you see
> >that the actual shot covered quite a lot more it makes it seem that
> the crop
> >factor is not so bad after all. The rangefinder patch itself is
> very far
> >from M standards, having much less contrast, clarity and snap, and
> being
> >very sensitive to the angle at which you peer through it.
> Nonetheless, for
> >somebody experienced with rangefinder focusing it seems that it's
> perfectly
> >possible to get it to work well enough even on the more difficult
> lenses.
> >
> >The worst and most un-M-like feature of the R-D1 is its shutter
> release,
> >which has little feel and which has some confusing 'rules' that I
> haven't
> >got to grips with. I don't think the shutter will fire unless you
> have
> >already activated the meter by a half pressure on the release. So
> sometimes
> >an immediate full pressure on the release results in nothing
> happening. And
> >then, of course, there's also the fact that after every 3 seconds
> or so of
> >rapid RAW shooting the buffer clogs up for a couple of seconds. All
> of which
> >means that I find that about 10 percent of my attempts at the
> shutter
> >release are frustrated. I get that shot a second or two after I
> wanted. Very
> >un-M-like.
> >
> >However, I do find that the shortcomings of the shutter release are
> off-set
> >in practice for the kind of photography I do most of the time
> (indoor
> >available light of family and friends) by the fact that I feel free
> to make
> >many more exposures than I would with film. Given the fact that the
> main
> >factor that ruins shots of people at 1/15th to 1/60th is subject
> motion, I
> >don't mind trading off a few moments missed due to the shutter
> release for
> >the extra moments that I have a go at. Having said that, I wouldn't
> want to
> >use the R-D1 for anything where specific moments really mattered,
> such as
> >weddings.
> >
> >My first R-D1 (under 2000 serial#) had to be replaced because it
> started
> >shooting about 20 percent black/blank frames. The replacement (over
> 3500
> >serial#) has worked perfectly so far - both electronics and
> rangefinder.
> >They obviously did have some serious quality control problems with
> the early
> >batches.
> >
> >Simon.
> 
> // richard (This email is for mailing lists. To reach me directly,
> please 
> use richard at imagecraft.com) 
> 
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