Jump to content

more fun with the DMR


Recommended Posts

I had a chance to photograph a local Anna's Hummingbird yesterday:

<P>

<CENTER>

<A HREF="http://www.wildlightphoto.com" target="_blank">

<IMG

SRC="http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/trochilidae/anhu01.jpg">

</A>

<BR>

<B>Anna's Hummingbird</B> Sacramento California<BR>

<I>Leica R8/DMR, 560mm f/6.8 Telyt, extension tube</I>

<P>

</CENTER>

I must say I'm delighted with the DMR's dynamic range.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 87
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Doug

 

Another great image! and it's photographs like yours that have proved how wrong all those who said Leica digital would be 'no good' as only 10mps, or 'outdated etc' before going to market.

 

 

I know you 've not had it long but is there anthing that you find could be improved - or is it pretty good as is?

 

Regards

 

Bruno

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bruno, On the DMR itself I'd like less bulk and weight, and longer battery life. The R8 would be perfect if it had an SL-quality viewfinder. I find the DMR's user interface to be excellent. I've hardly looked at the manual.

<P>

Operationally the firmware has one bug that hits me now and then: auto white balance will drop the blue channel a zone or two when using the camera in continuous mode. The buffer size and write speed have been fine for my use.

<P>

Arthur, since I'm a neophyte at RAW conversions and because this photo is a crop to about 50% or less of the original file I doubt a print of this photo would tell us much about the DMR's ultimate capabilies. Besides I haven't made any prints yet. As far as image quality goes, I'll reserve judgement until I use it at a variety of speed ratings. So far it's been great.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Assuming he'll be shooting "local" more likely to get a Chestnut-backed Chickadee photo than a Black-capped. The Anna's Hummingbird and Black-capped Chickadee range do not overlap too much, except some in the extreme NW of the US and lower SW Canada.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Douglas...if I may be so bold as to ask, what prompted you to go in the R8/DMR direction rather than simply buying a first-class scanner? Since you're clearly not one given to burning through film with a motor-driven body the cost of your new kit will not be paid for that quickly in film and laboratory savings, and as you've stated you've a considerable journey a-head in terms of learning the ins and outs of RAW processing. What specific advantages do you perceive as opposed to your prior modus operandi? I ask this from my perspective as someone who quite reluctantly shoots digital per client demand and finds it a bother moreso than not.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Terence, I might have answered your question in <A HREF="http://www.photo.net/

bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00Fvi9" target="_blank">another thread</A>

<P>

I have not used motor drives with film cameras aside from a few tests because using film

in that manner is cost-prohibitive. Digital capture allows me to make more exposures,

which can be handy when the wind is blowing the bird's perch in and out of the plane of

focus at random intervals, the bird turns his head frequently and the flashes of color for

the bird's gorgette are few and far between. In a couple hours' time I made about 60

exposures of this bird and after deleting the bad posture/turned head/motion blurred

photos I ended up with a dozen I'll save. Variable cost is the price of a couple of CDs (for

redundant backup) vs. a couple rolls of Provia 400F with processing, about US$30 - along

with far better image quality.

<P>

Before getting the DMR I also compared scans from my Polaroid SprintScan 4000 with a

drum scan of the same slide, and the primary difference was that the drum scan was

sharper in the corners and left my wallet much lighter.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, all that makes good sense. I never went back to that other thread after having my say, it looked like yet another which would quickly sink into the usual muck. I misunderstood that your avoidance of motor-drives wasn't purely philosophical, and didn't realise you were no longer shooting exclusively slow Kodachrome, must've missed that...impossible to read through <i>all</i> your posts! Good that you're happy with the DMR, since it is ghastly expensive especially for someone with heretofore a rather spartan outlook w. respect to kit. I wish I could muster as much enthusiasm for my 5D, which cost me rather less.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You know it does sound expensive and i won't argue that but really the same price as the Canon 1dsMKII . The part that is really expensive is the glass and if you bought new than obviously you may want to buy a Porsche instead. But having said that all my glass is used and if a good shopper with some patience you can get some nice deals. Now there are lenses that are through the roof even used the 15 2.8 , 180 F2 come to mind immediately because I have them and even used expensive but the nice thing about leica glass is even there old not so popular lenses are still awesome and really not that expensive. But yes overall i have much more invested in the leica than i did the Canon system but on the other hand i am not crying about my wide angles anymore either. i mean today you can get a brand new DMR out of Germany for 4700 US and a R8 used for less than 1k at 5700 that is a great deal instead of the 5900 and 2500 R9that i paid for my first one. so really if someone wants to have leica it can be done just maybe at a slower pace to find some deals.

 

Now regarding the DR on the DMR unoffically from what i have found is 2 stops better than the Canons and more of the MF world but i have not done a scientific test on this and at this point won't but it does have some fun attributes that I really like in my files so for me , i am really happy and honestly the next logical step is MF but i really have to justify that one more than i did this. People hate this thing because it was late to market , was not the M first and expensive and god knows what other reasons but really folks should try it and see what it is all about , the files will do the talking. Everyone that has bought one has nothing but nice things to say about the images , yea it may have a few quarks but what doesn't.

Honestly if I was going to be buying a pro 35mm system from the start you just have to look at this also. I switched systems and not many may do that but i found it to be a great move for me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

<I>I wish I could muster as much enthusiasm for my 5D, which cost me rather less</I>

<P>

Yet another reminder that you get what you pay for. A big part of my resistance to digital

capture until the DMR reports started showing up was image quality issues. Count all the

pixels you want, measure line pairs per mm, they tell me little about image quality. The

DMR delivers what I'd been waiting for: detail, dynamic range, color accuracy and

gradation, seamless use of the best lenses there are, and a healthy dose of "credibility"

that for one reason or another was missing from other DSLR cameras. It's not perfect but

it meets my needs and in the long run the initial cost is far overshadowed by the quality of

the output.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

there are lots of people making images with superb quality with all brands of DSLRs.

 

The DMR has superior dynamic range dude and does not give plastic images for people shots.

 

How many times do you have to be told!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The "Buyer Justification Manual" accompnying the DMR clearly states that in order to get the most out of the DMR, you must first bash - in clearly subjective terms, of course - all the other DSLRs and lenses before you will get any degree of satisfaction. It also awards bonus points for comparing the DMR with MF digital backs, and if you claim that it trumps the MF backs, they automatically enter you into sweepstakes where the winner gets a tour of the Solm factory guided by Oskar Barnack himself. Since multiple entries in this sweepstakes are allowed, we keep hearing the same things repeated to us like a stuck record being played.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The "Buyer Justification Manual" accompanying the DMR clearly states that in order to get the most out of the DMR, you must first bash - in clearly subjective terms, of course - all the other DSLRs

 

Obviously you do not understand the understandable conception or believe in the word 'superior'. Obviously you are financially challenged.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yea Nels and Micheal Canon is crap , let's face it. Now you two can go take your afternoon nap now. Don't want you to get to stressed out or tried from protecting those Canon investments and on this note it is obvious that i really don't give a rats butt what anyone thinks and you guys lose another Pro not that you guys care you know it all, not going to play this game . I like talking to Doug and Marc and a few others but just a handfull of babies here. Se ya have a great life
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



×
×
  • Create New...