red dawn

Hi

Amidst all that talk about DMR and other DSLRs....

This is a fascinating read on how a famous Leica shooter has adapted

his working methods in the digital age in a unique way....

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=7-6468-7844

Oly should use him for their promotions and advertisements :)

David Teo

Hi

you guys are deceiving yourselves. Leica users shoot black and white cos it makes us feel like we're the world's greatest living photographer(s) standing there on the streets with our 1950 era Leica Ms and good old Tri-X / black n white film of your choice loaded in it. You know, just like how HCB / Garry Winogrand and other masters did it! yeah! :)

Hi Peter

Luminous-Landscape has several "guest" writers penning its articles, amoung then Sean Reid (who wrote this one), Alain Briot and Mike Johnston (of 37thframe.com fame). This is in additional to the regular news update and articles written by the site owner himsel, Michael Reichmann.

I wouldn't lump them all into the same statement despite my opinion of anyone of the writers if I were you.

Hi

I guess we really do need to look at actual samples before getting too excited. By this I mean a picture from an actual production unit obtainable from the stores, not pre-production samples....

I remember very clearly the excitement over the Kodak DCS 14n 14 megapixel DSLR couple of years ago, and how amazing that sensor was etc etc, and how superior it is over the Canon 1ds.... In the end, it fell short of expectations, sensor, body ergonomics, everything. So did the Contax N digital, world's first DSLR..... Nikon also touted its Labcast sensor in the D2h as low noise... they didn't figure the amount of internet noise that would generate :)

Hi

well it's all still on paper as long as it is not released is it? :)

btw, fyi, noise is not an unresolved issue with the current crop of DSLRs from Canon and Nikon, esp from Canon. Canon has the cleanest high ISO images of all the current manufacturers and somehow i doubt the DMR can equal or beat it.

well we will just have to wait and see when it comes out. No point talking about it on paper....

Hi

actually i think velvia 100F is not the same as Velvia 100.

velvia 100F has been available for some time (in Singapore where i live too), but it was reported to be almost similar to provia 100F, and lacking the characteristics that define Velvia 50. Velvia 100 is supposed to be the true successor to Velvia 50. and if i am not mistaken, both velvia 100 and 100f have been available in Japan?

i might be wrong though, as i don't shoot fujifilm anymore. personally i prefer the Kodak lineup of E100VS, E100G, E100GX and E200....

Hi

if your batteries run out, you can still use that M6TTL at all shutter speeds, as opposed to only 2 usable speeds (1/60, 1/125) on the M7. the M6TTL is fully mechanical.

unfortunately, unlike the M3 or the Nikon FM2, u can't trigger an external flash unit without batteries.... guess there's more room for evolutionary improvement still in the M series :)

the M6TTL is basically the M7 without the electronically controlled shutter and the Auto-exposure. The shutter timings of the M7 will be more accurate due to the electronic control, but i doubt this is a serious enough difference in practice. Also, the M7 is quieter at slower shutter speeds again due to the electronically controlled shutter mechanism. The M7 is also able to use high speed flash sync with Metz flashes up to 1/1000 sec. however, you will have to set the flash to manual in order to do that....

if you can live without AE, the M6TTL is a much better buy!

Hi

Salgado's projects are often over a period of many years (aka long term) so wat u see in his books is not necessarily from any single set of equipment. Neither, i would think, are the prints necessarily done by the same printer.....

anyway, in a recent interview (last year) with BW magazine (i think it's called), he says he uses 3 Leica R6.2 SLRs with 28, 35, 60mm R lenses (60 is presumably the 60 elmarit macro), one of each body cos he doesn't like to change lenses. Film is Tri-X or TMZ 3200. i can understand why, cos Kodak sponsored his film for his projects (Workers and Migrations). This fact is mentioned in the acknowledge sections of his books, along with thanks to Leica for repairing his cameras :)

this corresponds with another book I have, which states that he shot the burning oil wells of Kuwait in the first Gulf war using Leica R6.2 SLRs and 28, 35, and 60 mm lenses. An older "Leica: the program" brochure by Leica has his picture on the page showing off the R6.2, and with a quote from him on how well it functioned in the old fields of Kuwait. (wonder why did Leica discontinue that camera?)

However, if u read the fine print in his "Workers" book, it says the pictures are made using a mixture of M and R cameras, and I know one of the shots was featured in the 1994 Leica 40 yrs of M magazine as being shot with a M6 + 35 Summicron.

My guess is he probably has both M and Rs, but uses his R more often. I think he prefers his reflex equipment...

Btw he's now using a Pentax 67 medium format SLR :) No this is not a joke! His subject matter has changed to nature and wildlife. Search for the thread in this forum where there is a link to some of his latest and newest work. He is working on a new book.

hi

e eos elan 7 series cameras are not known to meter with non Canon lenses. tat is a known issue, and a pity cos e elan 7s are very quiet and small film bodies.

other bodies should be fine, including all of e digitals.

Hi

e human eye is actually digital! it can adjust asa from 6 to 6400 :)

images are actually stored in flash memory. they can be lost if memory gets corrupted....

Hi

the biggest fight this week has to be Arsenal vs Chelsea, in a few minutes time at the time of this posting! :)

Hi

argh in the time it took for me to pen my first reply, 3 others have posted ;p

Rene - the 35 f2 is actually quite comparable optically to the 35 f1.4. of course the L lenses are made too much higher standards mechanically, and employs USM for faster focusing.

also, i now shoot for a living. compared to my "hobby" days, i now shoot and use whatever that gets the job done, even if it's a Sigma lens of a focal length that i need but do not own. As a working photographer, my first priority is to take images i can live with artistically, as well as satisfy the client, and still make money. this means i can no longer pick and choose brands or equipment as freely. if i need a wide angle for the job, i would not buy a Leica M 21mm ASPH, which will likely break my bank. I would pick a cheaper but "just as good, or almost" lens for the job. Be it Voigtlander or Canon.

so to me, a pro does not pick the most expensive and best lens for the job, but the "best" lens that has the correct focal length and speed, and one that is economically viable that still produce beautiful images. i can't speak for everybody though. :)

Hi Rene,

i shoot both Leica and Canon as well, in my case i have sold off all Canon film bodies leaving only my Canon 10D. my leica gear is a pair of Ms (m6ttl and m3) plus a 35 and 50, both crons.

your pictures show what is already obvious - that SLR equipment is generally larger and heavier than rangefinder stuff.

BUT, i submit to you that there's another way of looking at the size and weight issue. (you did say draw our own conclusions right? :)) the Canon lenses you compared are all faster than their leica equivalents - the Canon 50 is 1 stop faster, the wide angle 24mm f1.4 is much wider than the Leica 35 could ever go, and a whole stop faster. As for the 90mm vs 85 f1.2L, it's the same story.

If you compare equivalent speeds, taking the relatively inexpensive Canon 50 f1.8 vs the Summicron 50, the Canon is lighter, and of the same speed. Similarly, the Canon 35 f2 is light and small, takes 52mm filters compared to the monster 24mm f1.4L, which takes 72 mm filters. Also, if you replace the 85 f1.2L with the equally stellar Canon 85 f1.8, u get a much smaller and lighter package.

overall the size and weight difference is reduced drastically. you can fit all that into that Domke. i know cos i have the same bag :)

it will still be more bulky than a simple M setup, but it'll be much more manageable. and if u can manage ur photography with the slower M lenses, you should do quite ok with equivalent speeds Canon lenses. agreed? :P

plus, u'll have the digital option, which the M system lacks :P

Hi

someone mentioned the E10. the E10 has a small and noisy sensor and produces image quality that cannot compete even with digital SLRs of its time, namely the Canon D30 or the D60. it is not a benchmark of comparison to film!

actually the RD1 is already outdated in the semi-pro / serious amateur field it is playing in - 6 megapixels is fine and dandy a few months ago but not now, not at that price for most people. the new Canon 20D is 8 megapixels, and cost way lower than $2500. At the lower end, the Canon 300D costs less than $1k with the same outstanding 6 megapixel quality image.

so the only reason to spend that kind of money is to stick Leica lenses in front of that sensor and to retain the same rangefinding shooting experience. Given that we do not know when Leica's offering will come out (IF EVER...), $2500 doesn't seem so bad, and should last the user.... say.... 2 years? In 2 years, we may not even have the ful frame digital M yet! :)

Hi

Leica have better things to do than to worry about buying Ilford, like for example, worrying how to save itself from a similar fate in the digital age......

Hi

isn't the F3xb mentioned here a bit too big?

my personal preference is the Billingham Hadley small. Can hold up to 2 bodies (M6TTL and M3) with 2 lenses (35 and 50), SF20 flash, film plus pen, notebook and other accessories. Small and doesn't look like a camera bag at all. More importantly, it's easy to work out from!

Hi

to be honest, until i come to photo.net, i never knew that you can actually remove the bottom plastic strip, or that it even made any difference in its perceived value :P

in fact, i never even notice it in the first few months of heavy usage! and my M6TTL was bought new like in August 2002, about 2 years already!

the only unfortunate thing i have done to the baseplate was to drop it a few times while being in a hurry to change film :( someone ought to design a solution for that!

Hi

i'm glad Steve McCurry isn't a b/w guy cos this shot works so well in colour, for reasons that you have pointed out (the red luxurious looking sofa contrasting with the bleak background).

Hi Arie

For Street Photography, HCB prefers to shoot in overcast / cloudy conditions, where he doesn't have to worry about light and shadows, and which allows him to circle his subjects to his liking without worrying about shooting into the sun. He also prefers his prints to be neutral and even, rather than contrasty. Also, he uses Ilford film (not sure what speed though), not Tri-X for much of his career (at least the earlier part).

i got this off Bystander: A History of Street Photography, which devoted an extensive section to HCB's shooting methods. it also reveals that some of HCB's shots were taken with a 90mm, and that he was seen lugging 3 cameras on the streets, contrary to the popular opinion of him being a one camera, one lens (50mm) guy :)

Hi

Without a doubt on my part my vote would go to James Natchwey (both a documentary photographer as well as a photojournalist) as the most iconic photographer of our times, though my heart goes out to Elliot Erwitt as the photographer that is wittier than HCB in his compositions, and to Sebastio Salgado as one of the most important documentary photographer in current times.

Hi arthur,

Imacon is the company providing the digital back solution for the Leica R, so yes, M and R system's future is closely tied to the fate of Imacon at the present moment :)

Hi<br><br>

here's one for HCB...<br><br>

<img src="http://reddawn.clubsnap.org/street/IMG359.jpg" border="0"><Br><br>

Hi

on the last page of the latest National Geographic magazine, under the "In Assignment" section, is a picture of DAH holding what looks like an oversized Leica. I wondered about that for a long time. at first, i thought it was the Digilux 2 :)

now we know. the NatGeo site says Mamiya 7II and Fuji 6x9, with Fuji 400 negative film!!!!!!

Hi Rami

well let's not kid ourselves. On a bright day, with the typical TriX emulsion loaded in our film Leicas, there's not much we can do about wanting shallow depth of field with our Summiluxes either :) Unless of course u shoot mostly Velvia or really slow speed b/w emulsions....

Also, remember that all Cosina Bessas go up to 1/2000 shutter speeds compared to our Ms' 1/1000. And they flash sync at 1/125 compared to our 1/50!!!

I would say this digital will more often than not, give us a better chance of opening up the aperture on a bright sunny day....

Hi

i dun think this is a toy like wat some of u seems to be saying. 6 megapixel sensor, 1.5x, (sems to be the same as the Nikon D100, which is excellent), ISO 200-1600, REAL rangefinder with 1x viewfinder (more accurate than even the M3), and more importantly, accepts Leica M lenses. Available in Summer 2004!!!!! when is the Leica version supposed to be due? 2 years from now! And this is even faster than their R9 digital, which they announced one yr ago and still nothing to show for.

I'll buy one of these Cosina digital if they have one for sale right now!