Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/08/10
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I have had the pleasure of owning the DMR since July 7th and I can only say that I am completely satisfied. I can now use my full stable of R lenses (28 PC, 21-35 Vario, 50 Summicron, 35-70 Vario, 100 APO and 180 Elmar) without having to futz with the adaptor rings, lack of aperture communication from lens to camera, and looking through a teeny tiny viewfinder that doesn't have a fresnel screen or split image focusing. I used the Leicanon 10D for the past two years and while the system worked, it didn't work well. I have reached the age when my eyesight leaves something to be desired and frankly focusing the Leicanon was a hit or miss affair. I now have my BRIGHT big sharp focusing screen of the R8 and can do a much better job. Being able to have the lenses stop down automatically is a real godsend. I don't care what you say, having to manually stop down the Leicanon was a PITA. The digital back is virtually identical to the motor drive that I used to have so there is no weight or size difference in my mind. There is also something reassuring about the mechanical chklunk of the mirror/shutter action that says you are taking a real photo. I have yet to run down the battery although I did order a second battery from Rich just for back up. The biggest drawback at the moment is that when I shoot RAW (DNG) I am limited to using the Adobe Bridge/CS2 programs - Picasa does not recognize DNG - yet. And Adobe is such a humongous program that is just takes too long for quick reviews and there is no easy way (at least that I have found) to batch convert the DNG's to jpgs so that they work on Picasa and for uploading to Smugmug. I am sure this will change with the next release of Picasa. When I was using the Leicanon I felt like my Mercedes was running on one of those little donut spare tires; now I have four brand new Michelin's on the pavement and everything is working as God and Oscar Barnak intended. I don't always announce my postings (cause some of them frankly aren't worth the announcement) but I upload a lot to my smugmug website (an awesome service BTW - thanks to whomever it was that pointed them out) http://www.photobynelsch.smugmug.com Bill in Denver -----Original Message----- From: lug-bounces+bill=photobynelsch.com@leica-users.org [mailto:lug-bounces+bill=photobynelsch.com@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of Peter Werner Sent: Wednesday, August 10, 2005 1:36 AM To: 'Leica Users Group' Subject: RE: [Leica] Canon Anything vs. DMR It might also be interesting, IMHO, to learn the opinion of people who actually own and have used the DMR for some time. What makes them opt for the DMR, how are they satisfied in day-to-day work? I invite other DMR owners to post their experiences. Here my own : 1) I have an array of R lenses and R bodies, a SL2, R8 and R9 2) A year ago I switched to serious digital with a DSLR (Fuji S2 taking my Nikkor lenses). I was not very satisfied, especially with the dynamic range and the color rendition. The results could not compete with my film-based Leicas 3) Second experience: a Panasonic Lumix FZ20 with the 2.8/36-432 Leica vario Elmarit zoom lens + image stabilizer. I loved the results in terms of color rendition and the image stabilizer. But this Lumix has some limitations which made me look further: - Sharpness. Prints larger than 8x10 are not as sharp as I would like - Viewfinder. The LCD viewfinder of the FZ20 does not allow you to manually focus the camera with precision. While this is not a problem using auto-focus for landscapes, people, etc. it makes it unfit for macro photography - Noise level too high at higher ISO settings. 4) Enter the Leicanon option. In order to use my Leica lenses I bought a 20D and adapter rings. I could now make pictures that I was satisfied with in terms of sharpness. Big drawbacks (for my use) - Small viewfinder making it difficult to focus with precision. 80% of my macro photos where out of focus unless I used very small apertures (1:16-1:32). I felt I was taken back to the 60ies and the Exactas, before full aperture focusing and metering became available. - Exposure was often off. At the small apertures I had to use, the TTL exposure meter of the 20D was no longer reliable, I got a lot of under- and overexposed pictures. Of course, you could make a test shot, look at the histogram and then take more shots with different settings: Complicated, time-consuming and very frustrating. In the meantime, the bee that I was trying to capture had flown away. - Most disturbing of all: I did not like the color rendition of the Canon. The Panasonic FZ20 colors where much better. The Canon colors seemed harsh and unnatural. The colors I got with the same lenses on film where much more to my liking. Some might argue that you could correct this in Photoshop. It took me sometimes hours of trying but the results did not satisfy me. You can see examples of the problem on http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00BflF 4) Next step: I booked a one-week seminar at the Leica Academy in Germany, where I could use the DMR for a full week and compare it with my Leicanon. Finally, full satisfaction: - a clear viewfinder that allowed to focus with precision and see the aperture setting in the viewfinder itself. - Correct exposures with meter readings that were, most of the time, right on the dot, even at high magnifications in macro work. - Full-aperture metering: No need to change the lens aperture after focusing - Very user-friendly handling: No need to consult the manual (and forget) adjustments buried in deep menu layers; simple and straightforward to use. - Most important of all for me: color rendition that I liked and that compared favorably with the results I got on film. - The sharpness was excellent, better than the 20D, but that had not been one of my problems, I do not usually print larger than A3 (11x16) and at that magnification, the Canon was already sharp enough. I could buy a DMR last week and will post more experiences and pictures with the production model on my web site, www.leicaphoto.net . At first sight, the results are not significantly different from the pre-production model I used in the seminars. Peter Werner www.leicaphoto.net > -----Original Message----- > From: lug-bounces+pwerner=bluewin.ch@leica-users.org [mailto:lug- > bounces+pwerner=bluewin.ch@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of Gib Robinson > Sent: Wednesday, August 10, 2005 01:18 > To: LUG > Subject: [Leica] Canon Anything vs. DMR > > Tina, > > [you wrote] > > With RAW files any subtleties of tone or sharpness can be adjusted when > they are developed. > > I love using RAW (I only shoot RAW) but, to my eye, the 20D images don't > have as much subtlety of tone (low mid-tones & below esp) as I want for > outdoors. I don't think that simply upping the MP count will do it. I > suspect it has to do with the extra filter and maybe with other decisions > that Canon made about electronics & CMOS. I've seen a couple of prints > from a DMR that were very impressive & the staff at Calument really > does think > the DMR produces a better image than the 1DS Mk II. They've seen both, > used both & printed from both. I'm not saying they're right but I > can't dismiss > their conclusions either. I want more proof: "Ocular Proof" as Iago was > fond > of saying to Othello. Would I rather wait till October and pay 2.5K for a > body that would match the DMR? You bet; but I'm not yet convinced the next > gen. Canon will get me there. > > --Gib > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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