[Leica] Canon Anything vs. DMR

[datamaster at northcoastphotos.com (Gary Todoroff)]

Are you the "Bill in Denver" whom I met at an LHSA conference and who gave
me the "Tree Lugger" name long ago? Thanks in any case for your report on
the DMR. I just sent this posting to the LRflex user-list and it seems
appropriate to the DMR discussion here on the LUG, too (the original topic
was "Signs of the Times"):

To me the "signs of the times" in DSLR cameras are the continued designs
that are still based on film and a mirror. It reminds me of the early
automobiles that were designed with splash guards up front to keep the
horses from kicking mud on the passengers!

I have been using an Olympus C8080 "prosumer" camera (8 megapixel) for about
a year now and can't imagine going to the "splash guard" DSLR approach. It
seems really odd that professional level cameras don't give me the features
that I have grown to rely on:

1) Histogram readings while composing the photograph. This is invaluable to
get really good exposure *before* you take the picture. I just hold down a
button and get a histogram overlaying the scene in the electronic
viewfinder.

2) Fold-out LCD. People who have not used Rolleis or Hasselblads may not
understand how useful a waist-level finder can be. Probably 25% of my photos
are taken by folding out the LCD and looking *down* while composing the
image, much like a twin lens reflex camera. I can set the camera on the
floor or a table for a rock-steady and sometimes better composition. Also, I
can hold the camera high overhead to clear crowds or get better vertical
perspective, too, all while looking at the LCD viewfinder and not guessing
what the picture is like you must do with a DSLR. Why do professional camera
DSLRs still give you only the view of a little window that has to be held up
to your eye?

3) Built in flash. "Real" pros might scoff at a little flip-up flash on a
pro DSLR. But the small flash on the Olympus, set at 1.5 stops underexposure
(just for the flash) has givens some excellent subtle fill light at times. A
quick flip of the flash and I'm shooting. Sure, I carry a nice Metz pro
flash around, too, but by the time I get that setup, the photo could be
gone.

4) Size. This history of modern electronics has been a steady
miniaturization of components - everywhere except DSLRs! What is with these
humongous bodies? My Olympus handles more like an M Leica, and I don't
understand the trend to oversized DSLRs.

DSLR designers are definitely a bunch of 'in the box' thinkers, both
literally and figuratively. I'm really disappointed that so many great
features that are part of the "amateur" camera design have been steadfastly
ignored by professional DSLR manufacturers. The Olympus C8080, while it has
its own set of faults, has improved the creativity of my photography even
more than when I switched from a Dacora to a Leica 35 years ago. I'm really
puzzled by the continued "splash guard" approach to modern DSLRs.

Regards,
Gary (Tree LUGger)

Gary Todoroff 707 445-8425
Datamaster Designs
1824 County Ln
Eureka, CA  95501
datamaster@northcoastphotos.com
www.northcoastphotos.com


-----Original Message-----
From: lug-bounces+datamaster=northcoastphotos.com@leica-users.org
[mailto:lug-bounces+datamaster=northcoastphotos.com@leica-users.org]On
Behalf Of Bill
Sent: Wednesday, August 10, 2005 12:48 PM
To: 'Leica Users Group'
Subject: RE: [Leica] Canon Anything vs. DMR


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


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