majid
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Posts posted by majid
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Better Light <a href="http://www.betterlight.com/products4X5.asp">scanning 4x5 backs</a> start at $7K for 18MP (those are true RGB pixels, not Bayer-interpolated ones like those in the 1DsII). Bill Atkinson (the guy who wrote half of the original Macintosh's software, and who has started a new career as a photographer) swears by it. For landscape work, the scanning aspect shouldn't be an issue, unless you shoot a lot in swaying grass.
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Primes are a little sharper (not always, though, the 20mm prime is actually worse than the 16-35 or 17-40Ls), but the main advantage of going prime is speed, which won't be much of an issue for you.
What you should consider is getting one of the TS-E lenses.
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Leitz was split in 3 a long time ago. The camera division is not the same as those who make microscopes or surveying equipment.
Leica Camera also makes binoculars, which are quite profitable. If the reception of the M8 is any sign, I don't think Leica is going away. The low point was probably early 2005.
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Link to the <a href="http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3238,36-814144,0.html">Le Monde article</a>.
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Perhaps, but on the other hand, digital churn would be an answer to Leica's chief business trouble, that its film cameras are so durable the used market cannibalizes new camera sales...
<p>
As for Leica's ability to keep up with demand, I would love to be proved wrong. In French newspaper "Le Monde" dated 2006-09-18:
<blockquote>
Selon Patrick Thomas, gérant du groupe de luxe Hermès : "Le M8 a l'air de démarrer sur les chapeaux de roues, il est prévendu jusqu'à la fin de l'année 2007."
</blockquote>
For those who don't speak French, here is my translation:
<blockquote>
According to Patrick Thomas, manager of the luxury goods group Hermès: "The M8 seems to be starting off strong, it has been pre-sold all the way to the end of 2007"
</blockquote>
Whether this applies only to France or also to other markets is an open question. I have read anecdotal reports, but I can't cite references to them.
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According to some reports, the entire production for 2006 and 2007 has already been sold on pre-order, so this may be an academic question as you won't be able to buy one before 2008 anyway.
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Not my main Leica body (a MP), but I did resell my second body, a M6TTL and refrained from buying a Zeiss Ikon despite being sorely tempted.
The M8 is a real M. I think black & white film will linger forever (easy and cheap to make, develop and print), but E-6 is another story entirely. There is only one E-6 lab left in San Francisco, and I can easily conceive of color processing options becoming as limited in the near future as those for Kodachrome today.
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I have a Canon Rebel XT, my third DSLR. I will keep it for macro and tele use, and resell my wideangles to fund a M8.
I wouldn't even consider the Digilux 3 due to the tiny, noisy 4/3 sensor.
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The 20D and 30D are significantly heavier than the Rebel. At the end of the day, your neck and shoulders feel it. That's why I switched from a 10D to a Rebel XT.
Unless Canon announces a 30D successor at Photokina, they are indeed outclassed by the XTi.
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John, 5 grand is not the baseline you should use, rather the price difference between a M7 and a M8, $1500 or so. That covers about one year's film and processing for me.
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I use the 35mm f/1.4L (couldn't stand the noisy 35mm f/2), but the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 is a worthy candidate.
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I paid $12 for a set of two BP-511 clones, that work just as well. Canon's profit margin on their battery packs must be truly obscene.
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The R-D1's lever is an affectation, but worse yet, it doesn't have enough throw, so in many ways it is more jarring than no lever.
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Charles, the shutter goes to 1/8000, and since it is electronically controlled, it's not hit and miss like the mechanical 1/1000 on the non-M7 film bodies. So you will be able to get the DoF you crave, subject to the DoF extension effect of a 1.3x crop factor.
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Honeywell invented autofocus. Well, they were the first to patent it, anyway, and they collected royalties from all the major camera makers.
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You can already buy Canon-compatible batteries from third-parties, so even if Canon discontinues them, you will still be covered. In all likelihood, your shutter will wear out before you encounter this dilemma.
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Read Thom Hogan's <a href="http://www.bythom.com/graycards.htm">article on the subject</a>
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Lens design is about making compromises. I wonder if a future trend in future lens designs won't be to under-correct certain aberrations like barrel distortion in order to correct more others that are not as easily solved in post-processing.
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No curtain shutter can do a true 1/500 X-Sync. You'd need a leaf shutter to achieve that.
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Keep in mind the nodal point may also vary depending on the subject distance.
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Some of Markins' Arca-Swiss type QR plates accept handstraps. They claim to have a patent on the idea. Here's the one I use on my Rebel XT:
<p>
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Consider also the superlative 70-200mm f/4L, even if it doesn't reach 300mm. There is also a 70-300mm f/45-5.6 DO IS USM that has a real ring-USM (not the noisy pseudo-USM a.k.a. micro-USM). It is more expensive, but also very lightweight thanks to the diffractive optics (a Canon exclusive).
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Read this <a href="http://www.photo.net/equipment/canon/70-300is/review">review</a> for a comparison of the DO and the newer non-DO 70-300mm lenses.
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I second the Codispoti plate recommendation. It has a ridge that hugs the base plate, and is well built. It does add bulk, however, and Leicas are not really meant to be mounted on tripods...
Joe Codispoti delivers excellent customer support. I bought his replacement plate for my Hasselblad 500C/M, which uses different (shorter) screws from the current model, and he went out of his way to find replacements.<div>
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I too chose the f/4 for its lower weight, but if you are going to shoot portraits, you may need the f/2.8 to get shallow enough depth of field, although by that point, you should consider the 200mm f/2.8 or the 135mm f/2. The best bang for the buck will be with the 85mm f/1.8, though.
L prime vs L zoom
in Canon EOS Mount
Posted
Oh, you might also be interested in <a href="http://www.hartblei.de/english.html">this announcement</a> from Photokina, where Ukrainian manufacturer Hartblei is combining its TS mounts with genuine Zeiss medium format lenses, available in Canon mount, including a 40mm Distagon IF. If it's as good as the Hasselblad 50mm Distagon FLE, it will be a winner.<p>
Another option is to use a Zoerk PC lens mount adapter (they take medium format lenses and adapt to Canon and other mounts).<p>
Once again, a tilt=shift mount for 35mm is not going to offer movements as extreme as required by Scheimpflug for landscapes with wildly inclined planes of focus and offered by a monorail view camera.