didier

dear all, we will be travelling to Hermanus (South Africa) by the End of October. Photo opportunities to shoot whales from the Coast and from a boat (Catamaran). Do some of you have experience with that ? What’s the best focal length ? I read on the boat too long a Lens is not usable? And from the Coast ? Thanks for your input (since I sold my D500+80-400 I do not have any adapted equipment right now - this means I can be somewhat flexible :) ) Didier

Dear all, I am a happy M(240) owner. I use it a lot, and, since I bought it in 2014, I almost no longer use my film M's. I even sold y M7, rarely use my M3 and M6, and the M4 is collecting dust ! I am happy with the M(240) results, apart from 1) high ISO results (I find colour ok until ISO 1600, B&W until 2500) and 2) the problem with mixed lighting : shooting in artificial light is giving uneven results, and when combined with daylight, it is not reliable. Most of the time I shoot with my 'lux 50, but I love my Noct and recently had my 'lux 75 serviced by Leica. Results are often stunning. I understand the SL is a great tool with those lenses. My wife is pregnant and we expect a little baby in october. I really want a nice tool get thousands of pictures, and high ISO is a criteria! When the M10 was announced, I quickly thought about buying one because of better high iso, better colour results with combined lighting and because of WiFi (getting the SD card out of the camera after unlocking the half-case in PITA), and sell the M(240) at quite a loss. After some thought, and given the recent SL price adjustment, I am wondering if I should not keep my M(240) and buy a SL rather than buying a M10 and sell the M(240). In the long term, it could be not too bad an investment, since I could wait a couple of years before upgrading the M(240) and use the SL with both my Noct and 'lux 75 ! Any thoughts or comments welcome ! Didier

<p>Dear all,<br> I got my Lightroom package when I bought my Leica M.<br> I recently got a Nikon D500 and I can't import the Nikon RAW pictures in Lightroom.<br> Is this a compatibility issue or a simple update is enough ? how can I do it ?<br> thanks a lot</p> <p>Didier</p>

<p>Dear all,<br> to answer your questions l:<br> 1) same results with different lenses (80-400 and 200-500, the latter had no filter on it)<br> 2) the pb looks quite random, as the white spots are not always at the same place !<br> 3) some of the shots are not back-lit<br> 4) for quick imports of pictures I use Apple Photo</p> <p>Thanks for your input !</p> <p>Didier</p>

<p>Dear all,<br> I experience on some shots (not only with backlight) some weird white points or patterns on pictures taken with the D500, either with the 200-500 or the 80-400.<br> This only appears on some pictures and seems completely random.<br /><br />A part of it may be flare, but there is something that definetely does not look like a lens problem (all the more as it appears with 2 different lenses). Where do those white patterns come from ?<br> How to avoid it ?<br> Have any of you experienced the same problem ?</p> <p><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/buxrrvpvpgsbjkk/AADr5G465UhJUJs7s9xJpWfUa?dl=0"><strong> </strong></a><br> <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/buxrrvpvpgsbjkk/AADr5G465UhJUJs7s9xJpWfUa?dl=0"><strong>https://www.dropbox.com/sh/buxrrvpvpgsbjkk/AADr5G465UhJUJs7s9xJpWfUa?dl=0</strong></a></p> <p>Thanks for your help</p> <p>Didier</p>

<p>Dear all,<br> I wonder what's the best way to get the GPS coordinates on my photos.<br> Snapbridge isn't yet available, and there are maybe other solutions. What's your advice ?<br> Thanks</p> <p>Didier</p>

<p>Dear all,<br> for my trip to Namibia & Bostwana, I will take a monopod (Gitzo carbon) + Manfrotto ball-head (200PL quick-release). I am also looking for a way to carry my camera+lens when on foot (we'll be doing some safaris on foot in Bostwana) : I am thinking about a strap such as BlackRapid or SunSniper or ??<br> Are those straps reliable to be fixed at the 80-400 ?<br> <br />Which one do you recommend, and why ?<br> Is it possible to have the strap fixed ad the QR system ?<br> Thanks</p> <p>Didier</p> <p> </p>

<p>Dear all,<br> after some thinking, I asked my dealer if he would take the 200-500 I bought 10 days ago, and used for less than 50 shots back and only from indoor. I got the 80-400 instead, which will be more versatile.<br> I will certainly get a D5500 + 18-300 for my wife. She wants a relatively small camera (otherwise I would have been thinking about a 7200 that shares the same batteries as the D500). We'll try tomorrow the combo and get one for her if ok. That'll give us a kind of back-up in case...<br> Shun, amazing pictures !<br> I'll take the wide-angle add-on for the Ricoh GR which gives quite good results with equivalent of 21mm.</p> <p>Thanks a lot to you all for your useful advice, I'll come probably back to all of you within days with other questions...</p> <p>Didier</p>

<p>Dear all,<br> thank you very much for all those very valuable comments, advice and examples.<br />Shun and Joe, yes, there is a gap between 120 and 300 (DX equivalent) and that was the main reason of my posting. I wonder if I have done right buying the 200-500 : had I better bought the 80-400 ? That's probably a bit too late :)<br> I understand the lens changing problem in a dusty environment, and at key moments where there is no time to lose.</p> <p>Buying a second Nikon body with the 70-200 sounds very interesting, but for me it may be a bit too much, as I will bring my Leica M already (I could attach the 135 which would be a kind of intermediate, but with no flexibility), and probably my ricoh GR to have a fast wide angle.<br> I am so used to my Leica I can't imagine travelling without it !</p> <p>That's the problem with those once in a lifetime trips, you want everything to be at its place and waste no opportunity :))</p> <p>Still thinking... and interested in your comments</p> <p>Didier</p> <p> </p>

<p>Shun,<br> I only have a 200-500 and 16-80 with the D500 right now.<br> I will take my Leica M with me, with a 50/1.4 and 135/4.<br> Didier</p>

<p>Dear all,<br> I am still looking for my safari equipment, now I have the D500.<br />To go with the 200-500 I'd like a shorter lens. I also think something more useable in low light could be fine.<br />What do you think of the 132/2 DC (makes a 200mm on the cropped sensor) or 180/2.8.<br />From what I read they are maybe a bit slow, and I'd like to have your feedback from using those lenses for safari</p> <p>thanks</p> <p>Didier</p>

<p>Dear all,<br> I know the variation in size you can have on a compressed file.<br />If you take the Nikon manual and take the average file size in this manual, you end up with 2500 pictures on a 64 Go card whereas in the same manual such a card is given for 1300 pictures....<br> The difference is huge !</p>

<p>Dear all,<br> the D500 is said to take about 25 Mo for a RAW-lossless compressed and 10 Mo for a fine JPEG. <br> When shooting RAW+JPEG on a 64 Go card, this should lead to something like 2000 pictures / card (ie about 30 pictures per Go).<br> The D500 indicates 984.<br /> <br />Where is the trick ? ;)</p>

<p>Dear all,<br> thank you for those detailed and useful comments.<br> Weight for the trip is limited, electricity may be scarce sometimes.<br />My laptop is 2011 MacBook Pro : it weighs 2 kg, which is not light when weight is limited.<br> I'd like not to have to take it with me. <br />Joe, I am very interested in the <strong>Hyperdrive</strong> : from what I read, you can attach a XQD reader through the usb port, so I could back up everything from the D500 to the hyperdrive.<br> If I understand right, you can even back-up the Hyperdrive to an external drive without laptop.<br> What do you all think of that solution ?</p> <p>Didier</p>

<p>Dear all,<br> I just got my D500 before leaving in 1 month to Namibia and Bostwana.<br> As we'll be away almost 3 weeks, I wonder which storage / back-up solution is best?<br> Since the camera has built-in wifi, does it mean I can just get a back-up solution such as a WD passport wireless or LaCie Fuel and copy the pictures on the cards in the camera to the hard drive ? is that a solution ?<br> any advice on the best (fastest, not too expensive, and lightest storage/back-up solution ?</p> <p>thanks a lot</p> <p>Didier</p>