simon_hughes1

Ben,

 

I have to admit it sounds a bit different than either of my M8s. The "wah" sound

immediately after the initial click seems quite a bit more pronounced.

 

Cheers,

 

Simon

Wee-Ming,

 

I sold all of my Canon gear to go with a pair of M8s and I don't regret it in the least.

However... if you haven't used rangefinders before (I had, both Leica film bodies and

Epson R-D1s) , you'll have a definite learning curve, and a reduced feature set as Jeff

pointed out. I'd also hypothesize that your shooting style will have to change also. The

M8's are going to be most effective in a "photojournalist" type of wedding approach. You'll

need to be much closer to the action and shoot with available light (there's little point in

moving to an M8 system and then slapping big flashes, Lightspheres etc on an RF body).

 

If this is something you think will work for you, I'd try to rent an M8 and a couple of

lenses (try a 28mm and a 75mm or 90mm) and try them BEFORE you commit.

 

Cheers,

 

Simon

Robert,

 

You'll have two main problems to overcome:

 

1. It is rare to find anything wider than 35mm in a superzoom camera. Certainly you won't

find anything wider than 28mm.

 

2. You will absolutely need some form of optical image stabiliation for the longer focal

lengths. (I don't think the Olympus 550 has this.)

 

On top of that, you will find a HUGE difference in the performance characteristics between

your current DSLR and any of the superzoom cams. I have the Leica V-LUX 1 (very similar

to the Panasonic FZ-50) and although it is a fine camera, there's no comparison between

the sensor size/performance and the AF performance of a DSLR (I shoot a 1 D Mk II N).

You specifically mention sports/grandkids so be aware of the reaction time constraints of

the superzooms. You can, however get some advantage with the burst-mode capture to

overcome AF/shutter-lag issues.

 

If anything, get one of these cameras as an adjuct to your DSLR, not to replace it. I love

just taking the V-LUX with me, but I'd never give up the Canon DSLR & "L" glass for when I

really need it.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Cheers,

 

Simon

Bradford,

 

I have had the FZ50 and currently have the Leica D-LUX 1 which is very similar (some

cosmetic and firmware differences) and I print up to Super B (13" X 19") very successfully

from RAW.

Jake,

 

Be very, very careful! SP is a city where the majority of the population is either very wealthy and very well protected, or incredibly poor. You have to be very wary when you are outside. Don't wear any jewelery or expensive watches and keep any other items out of sight.

 

There are many favorite tricks that are used to distract you such as someone clandestinely squirting you with some foul-smelling concoction and then suddenly there are two or three people "assisting" you to help get it off while they are going through your pockets. And amazingly, you won't feel this happening at all!

 

Make sure you don't pay the taxi until you have received all your luggage out of the trunk etc, lest you see it disappearing with the driver!

 

Remember that items that we consider relatively inexpensive can be worth a huge amount of money to someone living in poverty.

 

Cheers,

 

Simon

Trevor,

 

I have been following your thread on IR with the GRD and as I recently acquired one myself. I loved your images and I'm very interested in your experiences. I have a B+W 093 on order at the moment so I haven't had the chance to play around yet, hence the following questions:

 

1. Since the filter is so dark, I assume that composing has to be done via the external viewfinder?

 

2. Does the resulting image show in any discernable form on the LCD?

 

3. As far as focusing, does AF still function or do you set the GRD to infinity focus?

 

4. What mode do you use: P, M, A...? Most of your examples seeem to be fairly large apertures so is this a function of the opaqueness of the filter and hence the fairly long shutter speeds?

 

5. Could you briefly describe your workflow in Photoshop? I saw from your earlier post that you were reticent to discuss it on the forum but I wondered if you might be willing in a PM?

 

Looking forward to any advice you can offer. I tried emailing you privately but it bounced.

 

Cheers,

 

Simon

Simon,

 

As this camera is based on the Panasonic DMC FZ50, you can find a few reviews (see DPReview.com). Although there are various hints that the firmware will be different between the two cameras, it will, in all likelyhood be similar to earlier Pana/Leicas (including the Digilux 2) where the lowest settings of things such as saturation, contrast etc on the Leica, may be one step lower than on the Panasonic. In other words, it will be 99% the same. What you do get with the Leicas is the extra year warranty, better software suite and the red dot.

 

Cheers,

 

Simon

Well now, wasn't that helpful?

 

Lori, all of Leica's digicams so far have been designed by Panasonic and rebadged by Leica with little or no changes oher than cosmetic. Each of them have an identical Panasonic model. While Panasonic has not been overly good at improving noise, compared to Fuji, for example, most of the cameras are quite usable with a bit of post-processing.

 

The major exception to the above is the DMR digital back that retrofits to the R8/R9 Leica SLR bodies. This was developed in conjunction with Imacom and is a whole other beast... very, very high quality. Leica is expected to announce a digital M body, the M8 at Photokina later this month. It too should be a very different camera than the PanaLeicas that are for the "lower end " market.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Cheers,

 

Simon

Erick,

 

Consider the Panasonic LX1 (the Leica D-LUX 2 is the same). It is 8.4MP, has RAW, full manual control, IS, 16:9 sensor and 28mm to 112mm, all in a very small package. Don't believe what you hear about the "terrible noise problems" which are NOT an issue if you shoot RAW and process carefully. It is capable of astonishing results.

 

Cheers,

 

Simon

Josh,

 

Judging that the camera is obviously based on one of the CV bodies, either R2 or R2A/3A, and knowing the prices of those, I'd be pretty sure that the overall cost of the R-D1 is about $1200 to $1600 material cost (at best). Obviously you have to add on to that the R&D costs plus manufacturing overhead etc, but given even the higher estimate of $1600, I think it highly unlikely that the gauges cost 60% of the entire parts cost.

 

Simon

I have a lot of trouble believing that the analog gauge "added at least 1K to the price". I'd be very surprised if it entailed more than $200 for the mechanical mechanism and the driver electronics.

 

That said, I found they worked quite well.

 

Simon

Jeremy,

 

I have two which I bought thinking that they would allow an SD card to fit into a camera instead of a CF card. The ones I bought, however are not that small, and although they certainly convert SD to CF, they're not the same overall footprint as a CF card itself. I'd be happy to give you one.

 

Send me a private email.

 

Simon

Skip,

 

Thanks for the detailed reply. You didn't mention the in-camera setting for Saturation, but I'm assuming it may be low too. I'm using the same settings myself.

 

Do you use program, or aperture etc? Also have you used the camera in manual focus mode or do you leave it in autofocus? I'm toying with trying to set up hyperfocal settings to help speed up capture and allow for more street-style usage.

 

Ciao,

 

Simon

Skip,

 

Great work... You have a wonderful eye for subject and composition. I've been following your posts on the DP Pana forum. For all us LX1/D-LUX2 shooters, would you describe the typical settings you use on the camera? I'm assuming RAW and perhaps aperture priority but any other suggestions and observations would be welcome.

 

Keep up the great work.

 

Ciao,

 

Simon

Another option is to get one of the Gitzo (Sytematic) tripods that just have a flat plate on which the head is mounted (with no central shaft). I use the 1348 and it allow you to get as close to the ground as pretty much anything else, plus you have a really sturdy platform to work from higher up as well.

Ben,

 

Sure, the possibility is there, but if it is a long exposure, then its on a tripod and holding a filter against the lens is pretty easy and unlikely to put any degree of pressure on it.

 

Different strokes...

Personally, I just (lightly) hold my GNDs (Singh-Ray Galen Rowell types - fabulous!) against the front of the lens body, with no mounting at all. This is much faster to align and because you're right against the front, you eliminate any stray light that might get behind the filter and cause reflections.

Simon,

 

I should also mention that you need to be wary of the Glazers' website... although they are a great bunch of people to deal with and have good gear, the website is rarely up-to-date. In other words, don't get too excited if you see something on it as it might not still be in the store.

 

As others have mentioned, Kenmore Camera, which is about 20 - 30 minutes northeast of the city center also has a good selection of gear and their website is very up-to-date.

 

http://www.kcamera.com/

 

Hope you enjoy Seattle, it's a lovely city. Give me a private email if you need any further info on must-see places.

 

Cheers,

 

Simon

It's:

 

http://www.glazerscamera.com/

 

and they're most definitely there. Ask for Mark, he's the Leica guru.

I understand the fear but you'll find that unless you've got a bad power pack to start, in which case it's going to be succeptible in any case, you'll be just fine using the plug adaptor only.

 

Even in Uganda, where the power grid is notoriously bad, with regular brownouts, blackouts and spikes, I had no trouble whatever with the chargers for my camera, Image Tank, iPAQ and laptop.

 

Have a great trip!

Paul,

 

I'm not sure I understand your concern... your power supply is exactly that, a voltage converter. It takes a range of input AC voltages, typically 100V to 240V and converts it to the DC voltage used by the device. The only time you should need an outboard converter is for older power packs that are specifically for 110V.

Kathryn,

 

P.S. the French plugs accept a round pin plug. I can virtually guarantee you that both your devices will work on the voltage there, it's just a matter of getting the adaptors to convert the US blade-type plugs to the round pin versions. As I mentioned, you can get these at Radio Shack:

 

Look for catalog number: 273-1452, the Universal Grounded Adapter for Continental Europe at a cost of $6.99. I'd get one for each device you need to use there.

 

Have a great time in Paris... we just returned from 3 weeks there and it is one of the most beautiful cities on earth.

 

Bon voyage!

Kathryn,

 

Check your existing power pack... if it says something like "100V - 240V" then all you need is a small adaptor to allow you to plug it into the French wall sockets. You can buy these at Radio Shack.

Stephen,

 

As mentioned, the Bastille area is the place to find "real" camera stores. I was by there to day and saw quite a bit of Leica stuff, both new and used. As also mentioned, don't expect any bargains!

 

Ciao,

Simon

This one is an interesting camera feature, but a stupid marketing ploy:

 

"This camera can focus and shoot in total darkness!" No clue given as to how to compose.