Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2009/07/19

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Subject: [Leica] Stupid Newbie Question
From: ebferro at ebferro.com (Ernest B. Ferro)
Date: Sun, 19 Jul 2009 06:24:42 -0400
References: <mailman.1365.1247971614.92465.lug@leica-users.org>

I've been mostly lurking for years and have been enjoying the photos that so 
many of you post. I was kind of away for photography for years and then got 
back into it around '98 using film and an M6 and then was away for a few 
more years and have gotten back into it again with an M8 and M8.2.  When 
using my M6, my shots were sharp and colors were good.  My question is this. 
 Can you really get a good, sharp shot directly out of the M8 or 8.2 or do 
you always need to process them?  My shots, no matter what lens I use, are 
not sharp and some of these lenses are the same ones I used on the M6.  It's 
not a focusing issue where the subject of interest is not sharp but other 
areas of the photo are, it's a general lack of sharpness throughout the 
whole photo.  And, generally, my photos lack punch.  The colors don't come 
out and grab you like all of the shots everyone here on the lug posts.  So, 
my question is this.  During my hiatus, did I miss something where everyone 
just 'knows' that you need to post process your images and that's why 
Capture 1 comes with the cameras?  To be honest, my daughter's Canon and 
wife's Nikon P&S cameras put my shots to shame.  What am I missing?  What is 
a typical workflow if all photos need to be processed?  What are typical 
sharpening settings?  I shoot raw but should I shoot jpegs with some 
sharpening and color balance included?  Again, what should I do to fix this? 
 I'm at the point where it almost makes sense to sell the Leica gear and buy 
a cheap P&S and be done with it but I enjoy shooting with the Leica gear.  
It's just not living up to my expectations and I don't think those 
expectations are unrealistic given the results from P&S cameras.  Sorry if 
this is a stupid question.


Replies: Reply from luisripoll at telefonica.net (Lluis Ripoll) ([Leica] Stupid Newbie Question)
Reply from mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner) ([Leica] Stupid Newbie Question)
Reply from photo at frozenlight.eu (Nathan Wajsman) ([Leica] Stupid Newbie Question)
Reply from sonc.hegr at gmail.com (Sonny Carter) ([Leica] Stupid Newbie Question)