chris_david

Yep Bernard, I'm well aware Sony, and many other manufacuteres fix the problem for free. Arg. That's why I mention it's important to check Leica repair policy before buying.

Good question Ishik. I liked mine, but the answer is no. I'm swapping it for an R-D1 which is what I should have bought in the first place. The Digilux 2 is a good point and shoot, but a poor substitute for a rangefinder.

It's a great camera and a good buy at $599.

 

The lens is great. The AF is so-so, but the ability to scale focus instantly counters this. Best ergonomics of any digital P&S.

5 mega pixel is good enough up enlargements up to 11x14 (maybe larger but I haven't tried it). The EVF is no substitute for a rangefinder viewfinder, but it didn't bother me.

 

The only thing I didn't like on my LC1 (same as Digilux 2) was the fact that the sensor went bad. It cost me $165 to have it repaired which is not a lot considering they changed the sensor and board. Apparently this is not a rare failure so warrantee status is important.

Steve, to answer you question:

1:1 view finder (like any 1:1 finder better for some lenses, worse for others).

Quicker interface for some functions.

Easier to change SD and battery (retention of the removable base plat on the M8 is just goody IMO)

Price. I know you said besides price, but that's the reason I picked the R-D1 over the M8.

 

The M8 is a much better camera overall and I plan on picking one up as soon as they hit the used market.

 

Wolf,

I read a recent article (can't find the link ) where a Zeiss executive indicated they have not even started in a digital Ikon. I'd be shocked if anything was out before 2009.

Prices don't seem to be dropping as fast as I thought at first. Upon reflection, I realize it's not really analogous to most digital camera. The M8 is a lot more than a R-D1 (unlike DSLR which get cheaper every model) and the R-D1 has some advantages over the M8 making a good back up.

 

I just bought a MIB R-D1 for $1800 from a reputable dealer. My guess is that it will be worth $300 less in a year, which is not too bad considering typical digital depreciation (an M8 will lose at least $1000 in the same time period).

 

Just my 2 cents.

The Bessa R is cheap because it has been replaced by newer Voigtlander cameras. It takes almost all Leica thread mount lens. Cosnina Voigtlander still make lenses in LTM and they are excellent for the money.

I need to have a CLA and repair done on a Retina Automatic III. Can anyone

recommend a good person for the job?

 

Thanks,

Chris

Step one: Don't power it up (sounds like it's too late)

Step Two: Soak in distilled water with a little agitation.

Step Three: Dry it out in the oven. No more than 150F.

 

All there is inside is a little printed circuit board with some memory chips and a connector which are all designed to be washed in water. Unless you power it up wet, it should be fine.

I pick up a Nikon 885 for about that much. I wouldn't call it good, but it is compact. The start up and shutter lags are brutally slow.

The F30 is the best low light small camera on the market.

 

I have and like the Pana DMC-FX01 but it's not a great high ISO camera. It does has IS and the lens is 28mm on the wide end which I wanted.

I just recieve my new to me LC1 and I think it's broken. The aperture

doesn't stop down. When you set the aperture to anything other than f2

that pictures are overexposed. The smaller the aperture, the more the

picture is over exposed. When I set it to f11 and shine a flash light

into the lens I can see the aperture blades vibrate a little but it

doesn't stop down. Is my camera broken or is there setting I don't

know about? Except for the fact that it doesn't work, I love the

camera. Anyone know of a trusted place or person with a Digilux 2 or

LC1 for sale?

 

Thanks,

Chris

Thanks for the input everyone. After playing around with the ISO400 samples from dpreview in Noise Ninja, I've decided to go with the Panasonic. I love the lens on the FX01 and really didn't like the idea of adding another memory card type (xD) to my collection. The fact that the Panasonic is cheaper than F30 didn't hurt either.

Doesn't anyone have a link to a full size DMC-FX01 ISO 400 low light picture (not taken in night mode)?

I downloaded the F10 versus Panasonic FX9 (which seems to use the same sensor as the fx01) comparison pics from dpreview. The Panasonic pictures clean up very nicely to my eye. The Fuji does capture a little more detail, but at least in bright light the Panasonic picture look very good with a little help from noise ninja.

 

I've read however that the Panasonic gets much noisier in low light at ISO 400. Can anyone confirm this?

 

Assuming the FX01 noise does get much worse in low light it's the winner.

Fuji F30 versus DMC-FX01 with Noise Ninja

 

I'm in the market for a new compact camera after my S400 died. The

old S400 was pretty nice up to ISO100 and unusable at 400. Considering

about half the pictures I took with the S400 were indoors in poor

light this was a severe limitation.

With this in mind I had settled on a Fuji F10 or F30 as my next

camera but other than the high ISO performance I don't find the Fujis

very appealing.

The camera I do like is the Panasonic DMC-FX01.

I just "discovered" noise ninja and I am not opposed to post

processing the few print worthy pictures I take.

How will ISO 400 pictures run though noise ninja compare to ISO

400-800 pictures straight out of the Fuji? Are FX01 ISO pictures

printable up to 8x10 once run through noise ninja?

 

Thanks,

Chris

Sounds like the Pentax Optio WPi would be a good fit.

 

Nikon, Sony and Fuji also make slim camera with lenses that don't protrude.

If your willing to give up the non-protruding lens requirement there are a lot more choices that will give better results. I'll be getting a Fuji F30.

Do you want to learn photography or is the camera just along for the ride? If you want to learn photography, I'd get a Nikon FM2 with 28mm, 50mm and 105mm lenses. If not, I'd get a good point and shoot like a Yashica T4/T5 or Olympus Stylus Epic(which would still be nice to have even if you get the FM2)

I've had a pair of 1 gig MD's for a couple of years and have had zero problems. I have had a couple of errors and lock ups using Lexar CF cards. Hardly a scientific study, but I think the supposed reliability problems MD have are widely exaggerated.

 

A 4GB MD is still much cheaper than a 4GB CF card.

 

Cabin pressure is maintained at 8,000 BTW.

Thanks for the advice. The F10 sensor does look pretty nice. Wish they would put it in a more capable body. Love to see it with a fast lens camera like a Canon G6. I might get it anyway considering it's pretty inexpensive.

I have a S400 digital elph I'd like to replace with a newer model. I

want a small point and shoot that does well at high (200+) iso. The

S400 is quite bad above 100. Any suggestions? I'd like it to use SD or

CF cards. Other than that, I'm open to anything.

 

Thanks,

Chris

From another forum:

 

"I would like to inform everybody that B&H warehouse should be back up and running by this (friday) morning, The fire was not in our warehouse we only had minor water damage.

Jacob Mittelman

Director of distribution"

I'd make lenses for Canon and Nikon bodies.

I think they would make a good one, but never will. The rangefinder market is relatively small and Canon is making a ton of money on SLRs and digital point and shots. Perhaps they will sell the sensors to Leica or Epson but I also doubt this. Sony, who will sell sensors to anyone with money, is opening a new CMOS sensor plant and in a few years full frame, quality CMOS sensors will hopefully be available for Leica to purchase.

Mine was the same.

I'm shopping for a Rollei 35 and would appreciate any first hand

accounts of the performance of these two lens. It's my impression

that the tessar has higher contrast and the sonnar better resolution.

Based on the images I've seen, the tessar looks to be more pleasing

to my eye. Sharpness is not to most important factor. The speed

difference doesn't matter to me. Is there a cost difference?

 

Thanks,

Chris