oben_c

With a user base composed of the likes of some who post here it's no surprise really that Leica is going belly up.

 

If I owned the company and knew it was being used by some of those here I'd close shop and run the other way... fast.

 

Leica users - the lovers of second hand gear, and second hand sarcasm.

There's no controversy really.

 

The latest miJ 1.8 for its price is an awesome piece of glass.

 

It's one of my most dependable lenses. I use it on my Canon EOS 20D because its so easy to focus - is relatively fast and produces the most amazingly detailed photos. As good as a 50mm f2 macro for general photography.

 

I prefer the 50mm f1.2 when I use this focal length but its very hard to focus on the 20D so the f1.2 lives on my OM-3 for film shots.

Actually it IS FIXABLE in the camera's firmware. The post above clearly indicates why it is the CAMERA and not the flash that is at fault.

 

It WORKS with the 10D and 300D which are both 1.6 x cameras also.

 

Thus the 20D is the problem. The problem CAN be fixed therefore with a camera firmware upgrade in my opinion.

Hi,

 

That's the point... it is back and it remains at the 14mm setting. Obviously the small tab or widget that indicates this is broken or damaged or whatever.

 

I'm disappointed with the durability of these things. They don't make them like they used to.

Jen selling her M6 is not odd. It's her decision in the face of her economic situation.

 

What IS odd on the other hand is people here saying, almost praying that she'll be back. Why do you care what she'll do?

 

The reason seems to be that it helps those who are staying with their Leicas rationalise their position despite their growing doubts.

 

I own the now discontinued OM system including some exotic bodies and glass but I couldn't give a toss who sold theirs for whatever reason. The Leica 'religion' sure is weird.

My 580EX stopped zooming its head yesterday and refuses to change to

any other setting other than 14mm.

 

I have only been able to find information that states that there are

small tabs or pushbuttons that indicate that the wide adapter is being

used.

 

I've used my flash in a normal way and find it atrocious that this

should be so flaky. This is the third time in 6 months that I have to

send something back to Canon for problems arising from everyday normal

use.

 

Has anyone else had a similar issue with the inbuilt wide adapter?

 

Regards.

Regarding the tiger shots... Looks like it is a safari to the local zoo.

 

Allen says he was passing wind to create the ugly bokeh effect I commented on.

 

It would seem the plentiful flatus wasn't so much from fear resulting from such a close approach to the tiger with a Leica 50mm lens; as much as the strain from lifting a 400mm Nikon lens on a D100.

 

Regards.

The color tiger pic has a telephoto look to the background.

 

Moreover the bokeh in that shot is downright bad - a heat wave effect that really distracts the eye. Horrible.

I guess you'd get better answers if you posted this in one of the old wive's cleaning forums ;)

I was about to buy one online but decided to try one in the local shops first.

 

I found it to be huge and plasticky. I decided against the purchase based on its size. It also still has the problem of not showing accurately the power remaining which is another well known and as yet not fixed problem based on reports.

>"Any fool knows that you need a brand-new camera to make cutting edge photos."

 

Well that cuts to the heart of it really. I mean it's obvious that Leica users have such a disdain for BRAND NEW stuff that they don't buy any new Leica cameras and have led to the demise of the company that did so much for them.

 

If you stay with that attitude you won't be able to buy a new one even if you wanted to.

 

Later.

It seems to me that with the demise of Leica as a looming possibility

that it's a sign of a spent force in photography. The lack of

innovation in products by the company is mirrored by the stagnation of

the photographers actually using the gear.

 

I've tried very hard to find new and exciting things amongst Leica

galleries but instead I find a surfeit of hardly astounding black and

white photos that display a type of perpetual homage to the 1950's.

 

Cliched is a word that kept popping up in my head.

 

Am I wrong? Is there anything new being done with Leica cameras?

What's the cutting edge when it comes to Leica? Show me the rationale

for this overpriced, overhyped system with one foot in the grave.

Actually the photo is the wrong one. That's from my Canon G3.

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Here is the photo from the 20D and Zuiko 90mm.

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<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v431/zuiko/DaytonaBlacky.jpg">

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Actually both these (which belong to me) are the newer 116520 Daytona introduced in 2000 which use an in-house Rolex calibre 4130 to be precise.

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The Daytona 16520 used a modified Zenith movement (4030) from 1988-2000. The difference between the two is easy to spot. The older Zenith Daytona has its seconds counter at the 9'o'clock position, whereas on the newer 116520 its down at the 6'o'clock position.

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The older Zenith Daytona was the model that started the phenomenon of "Daytona Fever" - the Daytona is and has been the most highly sought after watch on the planet (in stainless steel) for over a decade. You won't find one of these in your dealer's windows - in fact there's a 6 year waiting list for one in the UK.

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Regards.

Taken with a Canon 20D with adapted Zuiko 90mm f2 macro wide open.

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<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v431/zuiko/Daytona.jpg" >

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The watch pictured above costs more than the top of the range Leica MP a-la-carte with a Summilux lens on top. It can be sold for more than what it was bought for as soon as one walks out the store with it and in a couple of decades it will probably be worth twice as much if not more. "Paul Newman" Daytonas made in the 70's and which sold for $250 US back then now fetch $25 000 - 50 000 US. Other models can go for much more. Does Leica have anything comparable?

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BTW Rolex stopped producing quartz watches around 2000-1.

I haven't used the RD-1 myself but the amount of chromatic abberation around the letters in that last shot is pretty unacceptable in my opinion.

 

A 50mm should be much better than that especially given that this is a 1.5x crop so that the corners are actually paracentral areas in full frame.

 

I've used adapted 50mm Zuikos on my Canon 20D and there is absolutely no CA at all.

I for one would love to see Canon produce a new digital rangefinder camera. If it took M lenses there'd be so many choices for RF fans.

Excellent answers above. I am also a long time OM user and I considered both DSLRs about 6 months ago. I had bought the Kindai EOS adapter for Zuikos about 18 months ago to futureproof some of my specialty glass.

 

So when I reviewed the cameras and found that Olympus was not supplying the Om adapter outside of the US my decision was made easier. I had been considering a 10D but the 20D came out round about the time I was looking. The 20D ended up being purchased.

 

My experience with the adapter has been good overall. As noted the use of manual lenses with stop down metering becomes tedious if you do any serious amount of shooting. I therefore use only my specialty lenses with the adapter. This includes a 90mm f2 macro, a 24mm f3.5 shift lens, and a 35-80mm f2.8 zoom. All three of these work extremely well with the adapter.

 

As mentioned above the presence of existing Canon primes and an upgrade path to full frame digital with the 1DsII was also a factor for me. I've bought three Canon lenses so far and these are by far much more convenient to use with the 20D. The OM lenses I use with the adapter complement these.

 

I still shoot some film and amazingly I do as someone above does - I use my OM-3Ti with 40mm f2 loaded with Velvia 100 or Astia 100 and carry it with my digital gear.

 

I've shot over 5000 shots with the 20D and can say I am very impressed. Note that the 20D did have issues of banding etc noticed when it first came out. This is really a phenomenon of inherent underexposure favored by the 20D. I set 1/3 to 2/3 overexposure for most shots by default and get great results 'shooting to the right' (histogram).

 

You can't really go wrong whichever option you choose.

Whether it be Leica or Panasonic at the price point of these digital cameras there are far more alternatives for people who are looking for best value for money given similar or superior imaging capability.

It's a 20D.

 

No filter on the lens, but lens hood was present.

Another two green fringe areas that are all at the right side of the picture.

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<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v431/zuiko/Green3.jpg">

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<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v431/zuiko/Green1.jpg">

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Is green fringing a sensor phenomenon? It seems as if it is chromatic aberration with purple/green manifestation. Way more severe than I've seen even in wide angles!

The pictures colour is unaltered from what the camera produced. Shot RAW and converted with DPP.

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Here's some other areas that show purple and GREEN fringing.

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<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v431/zuiko/Purple3.jpg">

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<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v431/zuiko/Green2.jpg">

It's a 20D.

 

Admittedly this is the only example I've found out of 200+ shots taken over 2 weeks but I wasn't really looking for this. I've looked at other shots now and can't find a similar problem.

 

I guess it could be a sensor issue, and I mean I didn't have to take the picture at f1.2 - just wanted to test the DOF etc. I'd heard of the 85mm f1.8 having this problem so it might be peculiar to this focal length.

 

Anyhow, so far it's an isolated case for me.

I just looked at this picture at 100% and was shocked at the amount of

purple fringing on my 85 f1.2.

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This was taken at 1/2500s at f1.2. The resolving power of the lens is

unquestioned as the fine pattern on the hose is resolved, but look at

that purple fringe! What does everyone else think?

 

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Here's the full image.

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<IMG src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v431/zuiko/Truck.jpg">

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and a 100% crop of the involved area.

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<IMG src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v431/zuiko/TruckDetail.jpg">

I personally think that Leica has left the digital foray too late. Much like Olympus' failure to implement autofocus technology in the 80's. Ultimately they never caught up in the 35mm SLR game.

 

The digital M is vapourware. Most people's investments in M lenses will probably have their chance at a future if or when Zeiss Ikon (ie. Cosina) makes their digital RF body.

 

Cosina has made some wonderful new products in the last few years along with some flops (the Olympus OM-2000 was a case); but I have decided to delay my purchase of an MP for example until the Zeiss Ikon RF is released in May 2005. That's where the M action seems to be.

Hi all,

 

I'm thinking of getting a Leica MP, and the a-la-carte service has

really caught my interest though I think there is a great premium in

buying in this way.

 

My question is which of the two black finishes to order for a user

camera - this will definitely see use, though I am generally careful

with my gear. The black paint or the black chrome finish?

 

Also of the leatherette types, I know the vulkanite is the classic

finish but I've never handled it. I intend ordering vulkanite but want

to know whether I am missing out on something else.

 

Finally I think I want the 0.58 mag with 35mm and 50mm individual

frames as I intend using these lenses most and *maybe* get a 90mm

later. Is the 0.58 a good choice for photography with normal lenses

95% of the time?

 

I know it's three questions, but I thought I'd tap into the info here

before taking the plunge. Maybe I'd be better off with an off the

shelf Leica MP and invest the saved money on a lens. I don't know...

please help.

 

Regards.