alex_p._schorsch

Maybe I should be in rehab

As far as using the central filter on the 45mm lens, I don't have one so I don't use one. Yes the vigneting is visible but I think it is still acceptable. I had a 16-35mm Canon L zoom and the vignetting was just as pronounced. Most people only see it when they are looking for it, otherwise it goes unnoticed. With the 30mm it is supposed to be obrigatory to use the filter. The filter came with the lens and I have always used it so far. I don't agree that this camera is only good for panos. The normal format is really great just like a Leica but a little slow. If you are using it for externals it's still great. A bit dark for ineriors, though.

To Mathew Johnson. I probably have a higher IQ than you. That's why I have troubles with idiot proof cameras. I need a genius proof camera. My day was like this: The Iguassu River was about 60 feet above normal which gave us access to somne really cool little waterfalls that are unreachable when the river is low. The temperature was about 38 degrees centigrade and we had to hike up some boulders and discovered a hidden little waterfall with some really cool caves. There were a lot of wild flowers and butterflies and even colorful birds perching all over the place. All of a sudden one of the girls who was with us took off all of her clothes and sat down next to a little waterfall beneath a fantastic rock formation overlooking the gigantic river with hills of rainforest as far as your eyes could see and started to comb her hair, a la Gaugain. This girl is one of the most beautiful women that I have ever seen in my life with blond hair coming to her hips and a perfect voluptuous body. I quickly switched to the 30mm lens which I had to hand hold, put on my external viewfinder composed, manually adjusted the aperture and speed and shot what I thought would be the panoramic picture of a lifetime. I forgot to check if I was in Pano mode. LOST SHOT. Call me stupid or call me what you like, but it is an easy camera to commit errors with when using the 30mm. By the way, it is the only dual format camera with an external viewfinder in the world so nobody is very accostomed to using it. Hope I have better luck nest time. By the way, I still think it's one of the greatest cameras I have ever used.

I sold my Leica MP and kept my Hassy Xpan. I had to get rid of one

of them because of a new project which is consuming my cash. I have

no regrets. The Hassy XPan is not a Leica and the low-light

possibilities are sorely missed but the Hassy is really a great

camera. It is very versatile especially for someone like me who

spends a lot of time in beautiful scenarios (Iguassu National Park).

I think that the optics on the hassy are really great, even

comparable to the Leicas. But the reason for this post is to share

my tribulations with other Hassy owners and/or future owners. With

the XPan it is very easy to commit major errors. When using this

camera one should go through a mental check list to make sure that

what you see is what you get. These are the problem points which one

should try to remember every time one takes a picture with this

camera. 1) Am I looking through the correct viewfinder? (there are

two atop the camera when you use the super wide). 2) Am I in

panoramic or normal mode? 3)Do I have the spot filter installed?

Yesterday I was taking one of the most beautiful shots in my life

and I blew it. The external viewfinder for the 30mm lens doesn't

automatically change between Pano and normal mode and I took a slew

of shots in normal mode which I believed were in Pano - major

disaster. You have to focus with one viewfinder and then compose

with another which sometimes makes for out of focus shots as well.

This is a camera that really makes you think a lot before each shot

which is in a way good because the cost of slide film is very

expensive. Well, I just wanted to share my thoughts and whine a bit

over my lost shots from yesterday. I am thinking of glueing a

checklist onto the back of the camera to make remember all the

details involved in shooting with this camera. Share your thoughts

and angst with me. Best regards, Alex.

For me, the more pixels the better. It seems Canon quality might be a little better in general so that the real difference between the R-1 and the 20D will not be so great. Yes, the fact that the Sony is cheaper does influence my decision. Another thing is the great range of the lens, let's just hope that it lives up to the name of Zeiss *T*. The waist level finder gives me a hard-on.

I solved the problem myself. Here is what had happened: My computer crashed and I had to reinstall all of my software. I reinstalled Photoshop but I didn't remember that I had previously downloaded a new upgrade from the Adobe site so that I could use 20D images. Obviously the software I loaded was the old version. I just downloaded the upgrade again from the Adobe site and I'm back and running again. it helps to use the old noodle sometimes. Thanks to everyone. No Sherlock Holmeses available at the time it seems but thanks to everyone anyways. Yours sincerely, An extremely pacified recuperated freaked out photographer. Alex

I just did everything automatically. Opened them up with Photoshop and then saved them. I didn't realize that I had to rename every friggin' photograph. They are RAW images and I originally opened them up with Photoshop CS. Before the Camera Raw Palette just opened up automatically. We are the computer's slaves. I have to submit some photos for a magazine and I have been hung up for two days. Thank God for Photo.net

I am having a hard time. I have several hundreds of photos on file

and with backup on CD's which I can't open. I am using Photoshop CS.

The files in the arquives are labeled as IMG_4996, IMG_4997,

IMG4998, etc. In properties they say it is a CR2 File. When I open

the file I get a message in Photoshop which reads: Could not

complete your request because it is not the right kind of document.

I thought the files on my computer might have been corrupted so I

checked my backup and am getting the same kind of message frome the

backup files as well on two different computers. I know I opened

these files in the past with no hassle. Could it be that the

photoshop software needs to be reinstalled. These files are from D60

and 20D Canon cameras. Thanks to anyone who could shine some light

on this problem. Cheers, Alex.

I am seriously thinking of buying Sony's new 10.8 megapixel camera,

the DSC R-1. It seems that the image quality is a little bit better

than a 20D although similar. I know that the low light possibilities

aren't as good as the Canon cameras but it seems to be competitive up

to 800ASA. I was wondering if the Zeiss lens is really that good. 24-

120 zoom just about fills the bill for me. I want it as a carry-all-

the-time-camera for not missing the Decisive Moment. I think the

waist level viewer will be perfect for candids. I hope to get quality

similar to 35mm slides which I think I am correct in assuming. The

only negative so far is the size of the camera which is kinda big.

Tell me what you think. Talk me into it or outa it. Cheers, Alex.

Wow, for an extra $2,700.00 they painted the shutter release button black and have purple leather on it. No more 75mm lenses though, but I guess one could always get used to estimating what's in the frame and what isn't.

All these posts and not one link to his gorilla photos. Come on you can do better than that.

Thanks a million Robin. I am selling my teleconverter and a potential buyer wanted to know. Since I don't use zooms I was a bit in the dark. Best regards.

I need help from the experts. I would like to know if the older model

Canon Extender EF 2x is compatable with the newer 75-300III

Ultrasonic zoom. A heartfelt thanks to anyone who can help me with

this question. Best regards, Alex.

Yeah, I heard it was pretty good, but I'm lost in this area - I've never used a 400 ASA slide film. So it seems that Provia 400F is the consensus. Thanks.

Hi, I'm starting to use my MP with my 50 cron a lot now. I have

always used slide film in the past, mainly Velvia (50asa). I want to

use the camera for street and travel shots so I want to go fast. B&W

for me is a hassle and I will scan my photos in post production. I

would like to hear some suggestions on which is the best 400asa slide

film. I'll be shooting some indoors but mostly outdoors.Mainly people

photos. I use XPan with Velvia for my landscapes and architectural.

Thanks in advancefor any help.

I have used Canon for years and always got more variation in my comparisons with Canon than I got with the Leica. Although I was always pretty much satisfied with the results on film from my Canon. I bracket.

I have a new MP and did a test last week and got the exact same results as my Sekonic hand-held meter. I was amazed at the accuracy of the Leica.

I bought a 20mm f/2.8 to use as my wide street shooter. This is a BIG lens.Ithink it's a bit too big for it's usefullness.

Why can't you post a photo of your hammertone kit. Please.

I dunno, to me these look extremely well saturated and sharp. Tell me, how is shooting with the 75mm. Is it intuitive. Is it easy to focus (for a rangefinder). Give us more info on this supposedly fantastic lens. Everyone seemed to gripe about the 75 lux. Tell us more about the cron. Who needs the hassle of a polarizer. I feel polarizers are just for landscape photography. I think crying about the price is useless as well. Hasselblad, Zeiss, Leica - they all are extremely expensive. What can we do about that. Crying doesn't help. Cheers, Alex.

Leicas aren't obsolete. They are manual rangefinder cameras that have a place in some peoples photographic workflow. Saying Leicas are obsolete is like saying automatic winding watches (like Rolexes) are obsolete. By the way, I prefer electronic watches to automatics.

I have been photographing for years (too long to confess). I always shot with a 35 SRL and then started shooting also with the Hassy XPan. For the past few years I have been shooting mainly with Digital SLR's. Recently I coughed up the cash for a new Leica MP. The reasons? I wanted to get back to simple stuff. I wanted a light camera good for candids. I wanted to have one last film camera to balance my digital work. I wanted a camera to make me think. I wanted a camera that wasn't a pain in the neck (literally) to carry around. I wanted to keep taking photos with velvia which I adore. I am extremely happy with my MP. I use a 50mm summicron. It's a great little lens. I have a 35 lux coming but I think it will be tough to outdo the 50mm. This is a great break from using a complicated 35mm digital system. This is what is called "Quality Living". This about enjoying photography. This about dominating the medium without an on-board computer. I bought the MP because I wanted to go whole hog. No automatic shutter. Back to basics but I must confess that I have lost a couple of shots because it took me too long to adjust the controls. So I would say that for a profession maybe a Digital SLR is better but for pleasure a Leica can't be beat. I also like the fact that I don't depend on any batteries or memory cards. I have trekked 300 kilometers along the Indian southern coast. Walked from the Kulu valley to the Tibetan biorder and hitchhiked from Senegal to Morrocco. I like out of the way places with no electricity. I'm an MP man and loving it. In the end, it's worth the money you pay for it. PS. I haven't had any dust demons in my finder as of yet. Cheers, Alex

Rob is the one with a baloon next to his name. Anyways, Serkan, if you have the money by all means buy a leica. It is sometimes a real pleasure to comeback to film. Digital has too much hassle. Color correction, sharpening, high res, low rez copies, burning cd's, back-ups of back-ups, etc. etc. etc.

Rob is the one with a baloon next to his name. Anyways, Serkan, if you have the money by all means buy a leica. It is sometimes a real pleasure to comeback to film. Digital has too much hassle. Color correction, sharpening, high res, low rez copies, burning cd's, back-ups of back-ups, etc. etc. etc.

Rob is the one with a baloon next to his name. Anyways, Serkan, if you have the money by all means buy a leica. It is sometimes a real pleasure to comeback to film. Digital has too much hassle. Color correction, sharpening, high res, low rez copies, burning cd's, back-ups of back-ups, etc. etc. etc.