dayton_p._strickland1

<p>Hell yes!</p>

<p>Last try, honest:</p><div></div>

<p>Let me try this again:</p>

<p>Christmas at the Cabin, Red Top Mountain State Park near Cartersville, Georgia, USA.</p>

<p>Brad,<br>

Let us know when you get your camera. You will certainly have fun trying to find the right settings for your use. <br />From looking at your portfolio you seem to be a very talented photographer (and world traveler). I look forward to seeing some of your pics.<br>

BTW, since you live in Atlanta, did you get a chance to check out the Cartier-Bresson show at the High or the Ansel Adams exhibit up here in my stomping grounds of Cartersville at the Booth Western Art Museum? Great exhibits both.<br>

Dayton</p>

<p>Harry is right. That one just about drove me nuts.</p>

<p>Some excellent comments here. The only thing I can think to add is to take your D300 and 17-55 out for a couple of days and lock it down at about 23mm and see if you can live with that 35mm-equivalent focal length. I know I can and do and it makes shooting with the X100 an absolute delight. I also have a Nikon D300 and except when I need to really reach out and touch someone, it stays in the bag. Also be prepared, as with any digital camera, to have about a six-month learning curve to be get the maximum out of it. I'm still working on that myself.</p>

<p>Dave, the M9 is a manual focus rangefinder so how fasts it focuses is up to the user not some computer chip and the software working it.</p>

<p>There was a lot of discussion for awhile on the Leica/rangefinder forum, but it went dead as a doorknob for whatever reason. I think this camera appeals more to that group of photographers than any other, especially run and gun DSLR shooters.<br>

I've had mine for about a month or so, but using it limitedly because I have yet to receive filter/hood adaptor which is "in the mail." I did take it on a vacation to Florida about two weeks ago and was very, very impressed with it once I got everything set for my liking. It seems to have images as good or better than my Nikon D300 and sure as hell is a lot lighter to carry around. Just so happens that the 35mm range is my favorite and how my eye sees things so their choice to go with that focal length was icing on the cake for me.<br>

I did manage to lose the charger and a battery while on vacation though, but have ordered another one from another company for about third the price of the Fuji product and it should arrive any day now. Why they put that long cord with that battery charger beats me. And you would think it would make it impossible to lose, but no-o-o-o ... not when you are traveling with three women and all their plug-in devices.<br>

Anyway, I love the camera, especially the viewfinder and need only to swap out the plastic strap to be a 100 percent happy camper.</p>

<p>Keep it up with the tips on here. Whew, this camera takes some getting used to but certainly worth it and spending a lot of time experimenting with all the features and reading the book, and reading the book and ... you get the picture. Used all weekend long on several Fourth of July event assignments. Camera did not disappoint although I think the photographer might have disappointed the camera by not being fully versed on how to use it.</p>

<p>Eric is right, once you get the setup to the way you shoot the camera is an absolute delight. And talk about quiet ... I think you could take a picture of Tiger Woods in the middle of his backswing and he wouldn't know. </p>

<p>Eric:<br>

Thanks for the tip on the X100 forum. Hopefully, I won't incur many of the problems people claim to have. I'm just hoping to take a lot of great shots with minimal fuss.<br>

Dayton</p>

<p>My copy of the camera has arrived and I have had a chance to use it for just one day and I already feel like my $1,200 was well spent. I only had to read the owner's manual once to figure out something I needed to know (how to turn off the in-viewfinder LCD review) and was able to figure out everything else on my own by scrolling through the menus. I'm not a geek and generally find computers and software frustrating and a pain in the butt, so please don't think I am some kind of wizard at this stuff. I bought the camera intending to use it like I would my old M3 of newer M6ttl, to take pictures and not fuss over technical crap. I find the camera a delight to use. The autofocus works better than anything short of my professional DSLR's I have owned and those who think it is overpriced or short of their expectations are entitled to think that and move on. It is not the second-coming. To make it incredible it would have to have a sensor similar to the one in a Nikon D700 and have to be a true rangefinder for focusing. The images are 'true to life' to my eyes and much better than my Nikon D300. I was tickled pink when they announced it would be a fixed lens 35mm equivalent camera. Every photographer, I would think, has an angle of view that is his or her favorite — 35mm is mine. And as many have said here, posting photographs on the Internet doesn't do any camera justice so I won't even try. I have sent 'out of the box' samples to professional photographer friends of mine and they seem equally impressed. Maybe all the bad press will loosen up the tight supply of this camera and those who really want one will be able to get one now. I know I waited long enough, but am very happy I did.</p>

<p>Most of the problems listed in the dpreview.com review could and should be addressed in a firmware upgrade. Here's hoping ...</p>

<p>I've had one of these on order for months, pre-paid through B&H and was told yesterday that they are starting to trickle in and will go out on a first-come, first-serve basis regardless of what one paid for it. Speaking of rangefinders ... I think dumping the autofocus and putting a true, honest-to-goodness rangefinder in this camera instead of autofocus would have been heaven on earth from the reviews I have read the images I have seen online. I'm anxiously awaiting mine.</p>

<p>Daniel, where did they get their cameras? To the best of my knowledge availability is still at least two to three weeks out.</p>

<p>For all intents and purposes it probably is going to be a great camera. Personally, I wish it had a rangefinder instead of autofocus, but from what I have been able to read about it (and yet to see personally), it is going to be a great little camera and I think their decision to stay with a fixed lens at 35mm was very, very smart. And have you seen the pre-production photos taken at 6,400 iso on dpreview.com? Amazing!</p>

<p>I agree. I finally gave in and purchased the Canon S90 with it's 2.0 lens, front function ring and its high ISO capability. It seemed to be the best of what's out there. I wish it had a viewfinder, but I found the viewfinders on the G2, G6 and G9's I had pretty much worthless for accuracy. What prompted me to purchased the S90 was that I was taking so many photos with my iPhone because "it was the camera I had with me" which makes it "the best camera in the world." The S90 isn't much bigger and of course the quality is first rate for a point and shoot. Maybe someone will build a fixed-lens pocketable small rangefinder camera some day. We can only hope and wish. </p>

<p>Great photos. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a digital version of this classic little rangefinder? It's the only camera I have owned more than 20 years that I've never been tempted to sell or trade.</p>

<p>Hazem, as stated above you will not have any problems with focusing a 50, or at least I don't. I'm an eyeglasses wearer so the .58 is perfect for me. I shoot with a 28 and a 50, but if I had to choose just one lens it would be a 35 as I find that focal length is how "I see" the world. Enjoy!</p>

<p>It really is all about supply and demand. When demand dries up cost goes down. Nikon prices (especially lenses) have risen dramatically since former professional Canon shooters started abandoning the brand in droves because of problems with autofocus and started purchasing Nikon gear. The M9 is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. If I thought it even remotely had a chance of having the longevity of an M film camera I would consider one myself. But since it probably will be outdated within a year or two, no thanks.</p>

<p>I used a CanoScan F2720U for years before an upgrade to iMac OSX made it obsolete. I purchased a Epson Perfection V500 Photo flatbed and film scanner at Staples for just over $200 American and it works great, especially on black and white and even Kodachrome which the Canon couldn't handle very well. I would try the Epson for the price and if you buy it from a dealer that gives you a 14-day satisfaction guarantee, like Staples, you can't loose.</p>

<p>Great shots David. Is that the same Sweetwater Creek that flooded a good portion of Austell last fall?</p>

<p>I have the model that replaced that scanner, the Canoscan FS2720U, and I'm sad to report it does not work on the latest OSX Macs. Canon doesn't provide a driver for this unit and even VueScan won't work. I've contacted Canon about this issue a couple of times and suggested they Google this problem to see how many upset customers they have. Hopefully I will get a positive response soon. By the way, it's a great scanner!</p>

<p>This is really sad news. I followed him on his blog and traded e-mails now and then but never really got to know him like I would have liked to. He was a treasure to his craft and his work will live on. May God give his family and close friends strength at this time. </p>