[Leica] HDR, Leica DMR and Nikon D3

[topoxforddoc at btinternet.com (Charlie Chan)]

Toom,

That's very helpful.  I shoot some stage and theatre work, as a hobby.  
Although the DMR is limited in its low light performance compared to  
the D3, it's still very useable. I shoot my DMR handheld with a 180/2  
summicron for concerts and gigs and I'm very pleased with the images  
that gives.

Charlie

On 13 Jan 2009, at 11:34, tl wrote:

> Hi to all,
>
>
>
> In a recent post I mentioned that DMR held up quite well when  
> compared to
> the Nikon D3.  Doug Herr asked me for a some elaboration so here goes.
> Naturally, the D3 has a feature set that far outstrips the DMR and  
> there can
> be no doubt that D3 has much better low light performance than the  
> DMR.
> When you look at images from both cameras and evaluate them  
> visually, the
> DMR images appear somewhat sharper, and I believe more colorful.   
> The Nikon
> D3 has the most accurate color reproduction of any imaging product  
> that I
> have ever used.  The LCD on the D3 is color calibrated.  The point  
> to be
> made here is that accurate color reproduction on input is not always  
> a good
> thing.  Kodak Extachrome Professional was one of the most color  
> accurate
> films ever produced, but most photographers preferred Fuji Velvia  
> which had
> extremely poor color fidelity but produced very vivid and saturated  
> images.
>
>
>
>
> Even though I have very complete color measurement capabilities in  
> my lab, I
> always LOOK AT THE IMAGE.   35 years of technical experience have  
> shown me
> that numbers do not necessarily tell the whole story.  When I am  
> comparing
> two cameras, I try to shoot a side by side image and I generate a  
> full frame
> output image that is 24" X 30".  I tape the images to a wall and I  
> evaluate
> them.  When I say that the DMR holds it's own against the D3 I mean  
> that
> image from the DMR (shot in daylight) is noticeably sharper and more
> saturated.  The Nikon image has higher resolution, but the anti- 
> aliasing
> filter they use does have a negative impact on sharpness, if you  
> don't give
> it a little boost.  The MTF of the Leica glass is probably higher  
> and when
> combined with the unfiltered sensor the difference is real.   
> Naturally,
> unsharp masking of the Nikon image can also produce very stunning  
> results,
> but the fact is that the native image produced by the DMR is  
> excellent.   I
> really do enjoy both cameras.  The DMR/R9 combination is very close  
> to the
> film experience and it produces, with a little work, great images.   
> I bought
> the D3 primarily for its low light performance (I shoot in the  
> theater) and
> for the 14 to 24 mm zoom which really works well on a full frame  
> sensor.  On
> the other hand, nothing beats the combination of the DMR and 280mm  
> f2.8 APO
> for telephoto work.  Of course, one  does need a truck to carry it...
>
>
>
> Take care,
>
> Tom
>
>
>
>
>
>
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