Digital upgrade problem

[Philip Freedman]

I currently use a Nikon D70 with 18-70 kit lens for social event and

travel photographs and a RD-1 with 35mm f2 and 50mm f2 lenses for

street photography. They are both 6mp and use the same sensor. I

like digital and I like both cameras. However I used to use Leica M6

and R6.1 cameras with only prime lenses, fine grain film and often

just a 50mm lens, having the ability to enlarge from fairly heavily

cropped frames. I am not satisfied with the results when I crop

heavily from 6mp and then want a 12x8 enlargement, especially if the

shot was taken in poor light with an ISO setting of around 400. So

I am thinking of upgrading the DSLR to either a Nikon D200 or Canon

5D. I do not have a legacy of fine Nikon lenses to carry forward,

but I do wear eyeglasses and would prefer a decent viewfinder with a

fairly high eyepoint. I like Nikon ergonomics and price over the

Canon, but I will move across and spend the extra if I need to do

so. Help please.

 

Philip

[Ed_Ingold]

The solution is to compose in the viewfinder. Have you considered getting a zoom lens to make best use of the sensor. It's nice to have more MP, but a zoom lens would be more cost effective.

[mark u]

You can get an adaptor for your Leica R lenses to use on Canon EOS mount cameras. You have to use stop down metering with aperture priority or manual mode, and you may need to focus with the lens wide open for greatest accuracy. Nevertheless, you probably should wait until you know more about the new Nikon before committing yourself one way or the other - preferably by handling it. You might also consider splurging on a 75 f/1.4 or 90 f/2 for your RD-1 as another alternative while waiting to see if the Digital M ever sees the light of day.

[greg s]

"especially if the shot was taken in poor light with an ISO setting of around 400"

 

Sounds like a noise problem. Are you using noise reduction s/w ?

[andrew robertson]

6 MP is enough for a good print, even up to larger sizes, but you really need to use the

whole frame.