tommy_baker

Thanks for the pic posts Paul, very interesting. the rez up aint to bad considering its

150%!!

Yep. sounds right. Robertwhite are advertising it for ?2,544 excluding VAT. Which clocks

in at 2989.20 inclusive. 2990 UKP seems to be the standard retail price.

the canon images look MUCH better from this initial posting. lets see some with proper

firmware

> I do hope you are right. I want the same with you after all. If M8 is a success, then Leica

will be financially healthy again and will give us more nice stuff in the future.

RIght on buddy. I am eagerly waiting for the first sample shots. I want to see if there is an

increase in DR

> Yes Tommy, I have found that the slight amount of up-res needed to achieve a spread

file in ACR has no visual effect at all on image quality with the DMR. But, that depends on

how the file was shot in he first place (what ISO, how well exposed, etc.).

ok. makes sense

> The Canon 1DsMKII produces a larger native file but has a filter in front of the CMOS

sensor and is 12bit. So, in many circumstances I've equalled the 1DsMKII files using the

DMR, and in some cases surpassed it in image quality.

great thanks for this Mark. this is going to make it harder for me to resist the M8. wheres

the black paint with engraving version? ;0)

> Again, horses for courses. It's hard to beat the Canon 1DsMKII and 5D for high ISO

shooting ... which I don't do much of.

for low light shooting good high iso performance would be preferred. though the noisier

files may (hopefully) look like B&W film grain!

> (((pretty obvious! its light, compact, plus equally light and compact fast quality prime

lenses)))

> Right... Could you please name the fast quality primes that would cover the 24-300mm

(in 35mm equivalent focal lengths) that two f/2.8 zooms would easily cover in another

system? (for example 17-55mm and 70-200mm in Nikon's 1.5 factor).

just to clarify, this is made with reference to TRAVEL photography (and street photography

to a certain degree). which is why I think it would be near perfect. Wide angles are a strong

point in the leica lens lineup. The longest FL for the M is 135mm, but for travel the FL's

from 21mm to 90mm suffuce 90% of the time. The fast quality primes are the 21 ASPH,

28/2.8 ELMARIT, 28/2.0 APSH, 35/2.0 APSH, 35/2.0 PRE-ASPH, 35/1.4 ASPH, 50/1.4 &

1.4 ASPH, 70/1.4, 70/2.0 ASPH, 90/2.8 Elmarit, 90 pre ASPH, 90/2.0 ASPH. and i might

have missed out a couple. these lenses are usually half the size and weight of SLR lenses

> Will this combination still be light and compact?

Yes

> What about changing lenses all the time? What about dust? (...see? I didn't mention the

cost...).

most would have 2 M's. one with a wide and one with a short tele like the 90mm. Dust? -

this is prevalent on all digital cmaeras with interchangeable lenses till they design dust-

proofing

>You asked about pros, not hobbyists, remember?

yes, i did. and i bet the pros will be putting down their deposits if not already. This is tool

that has been missing from the shed

> Tommy, if you shoot RAW files you don't res them up in Photoshop, you do it in Adobe

Camera RAW where there is the most native digital data.

Yes I have noticed the options in ACR and DPP. I am assuming these options are

essentially a RAW type of up-res'ing? which in all intents and purposes is software driven

> I have the Leica DMR as do others who do commercial work that occasionally post here.

The sensor size and meg count of the DMR is the same as the M8. I have no problem at all

producing files for use in double truck magazine spreads ... including some cropping to fit

and bleed.

By using ACR in RAW. Have you ever used Genuine Fractals or Print resize pro?

What I am trying to say is that IDEALLY you want a camera to produce native file sizes

straight out of the cameras sensor as opposed to using ACR to increasing it to fit

> My own experience is that I have generally provided 4 Mp images to magazines, and the

files were jpegs of around 700 kb in size. Never had a complaint, and the published

results have always been fine.

which at 300dpi means the print size was around A5 with a file size of 12.5 meg. Or did

they upsize to a full bleed A4?

> If you're shooting for publication at normal reproduction sizes, 10 Mp is more than

ample.

Not convinced. you still need to up-rez

> Large posters is a different ballgame, of course.

Yes agreed

> (((But what about NG photogs? the M8 would be close to the perfect travel camera for

them.)))

> ? WHY ?

pretty obvious! its light, compact, plus equally light and compact fast quality prime lenses

Mark,

> Tommy, the 10 meg size is the RAW file size, not the processed size which is what you

provide photo agencies.

Yes I knew that

> An uninterpolated (not res'ed up) 10 meg RAW file from the M8 will produce an 8.6" X

12.92", 28.7 meg. 8 bit file at the standard 300 dpi.

Yes, which yields only an A4 sized native print. Which is why most fashion, magazine

editors prefer 48-52 meg files for double page spreads, ie A3 sized print files

> In addition, the M8 sensor size is a 1.33X crop factor verses many other DSLR's that are

1.5X or 1.6X. A bit larger sized sensor also helps with image quality.

Yes, 1.5x and 1.6x are consumer crop factors. most Pros are using 1.33x minimum. with

full-frame as prefered

> In other words, no problem.

Not quite. How would you supply a requested 48 meg file to a photo agency when your M8

only has a native file of around 29? -- the only way is by software interpolation. but this is

not ideal

Its great news that Leica has brought to market the M8. This is exciting territory for most of us waiting

for this camera to mount our slew of lenses.

One thing that concerns me is the 10 megapixel count. Most photo agencies are demanding 12MP files

as minimum, and I can only see this rising to around the 18-22MP mark. Ok, you can you software to

rez up the file but only too a certain degree. I am just surprised Leica did not release this camera with a

higher pixel count as most pros who shoot for agencies would require this.

I would be interested in your thoughts and comments. The answer that almost all pros are using a 1DS

or 1DSII might be partly true. But what about NG photogs? the M8 would be close to the perfect travel

camera for them. There isn't much mention of sealing on the M8 either, did Leica miss this?

nice pictures mitch.

what concerns me is that there is no black paint with leica script version. guess they will

release that later. plus i wish leica had designed the camera so that the sensor is

upgradeable. and i also think that should have a battery pack option in the proportions of

a leicavit, with the leicavit engraving as well. and yes, i'm serious

> They've already pre-sold their entire first year's production capacity. Some estimate

6000 units and I've seen 9000 estimated. At $5000 that's between 30 and 45 MILLION in

revenues.

and where did you get this piece of 'information' ?

i was tempted to say you're a dumb ass monkey but i won't. keep your 4th for its beautiful

compactness and ergonomics. go back to eating peanuts and shooting pics

was it in black paint finish. and did it have the engraved leica script on the top plate? and

ah what was the lens, 24/1.4 asph?

thanks stuart. i was getting a bit concerned that the engraved leica script was

missing. and also that it was in black chrome. i can sleep a little better tonite.

thanks for sharing jack. i like the 1st photo the best - the smug look in that little

girls face is great

lens prices are going up in anticipation of the debut of the digital M, when

those of us who can afford one will be able to fit our dearly beloveds to it and

snap away gleefully.

the mecahnical bodies are going to go down, especially the run of the mill in

less than mint- condition, but over time with plumeting values of digital M's,

rare and vintage M's will appreciate again in value. Thats my prediction and

you can pin my tail on it. hee hawwWW

right on brother. you pay for what you get.

and by the way [ Donald ], blowing images up and eye-balling at those

magnifications is just a bit too much in real world applications. unless you are

blowing up billboard size

a 1446759 S/N would suggest its probably a an early "5cm" rigid 'cron., rather

than the later "50/2"

post a pic. - so we can have a gawk

some shared points of view... to reframe and take stock

> Perhaps a little more effort could be put into empathy?

> Agree with Marc. No redeeming value of the photo - seems designed to

ridicule. A shame.