[Leica] About to take M8 plunge - but worried about blown highlights...

[rgacpa at yahoo.com (Bob Adler)]

Yeah right...
?Bob Adler
Palo Alto, CA
rgacpa@yahoo.com
http://www.raflexions.com



----- Original Message ----
From: Steve Barbour <kididdoc@cox.net>
To: Leica Users Group <lug@leica-users.org>
Sent: Tuesday, September 2, 2008 9:36:14 AM
Subject: Re: [Leica] About to take M8 plunge - but worried about blown 
highlights...


...
I'm no real photographer

Steve






>
>
> As Tina indicated digital imaging is much more like transparency? 
> film than negative film.
> Yet, the M8 displays very good, useable dynamic range compared to 5D.
> Software allows for successfully reclaiming highlights (to a point);
> and what can be pulled out of a shadow from an M8 file continues to? 
> drop my jaw.
>
> Obviously if one is photographing available light within a room with? 
> sunlight outside a window; any film or sensor will be strained to? 
> hold detail throughout 14 -20 stops.
>
> As Daniel mentioned - taking a trip to a dealer and working the? 
> camera near a window would quickly answer your concerns. If you do? 
> this, be sure to bracket in one third stop steps and then spend some? 
> time with the files in Lightroom. If you don't have experience with? 
> Lightroom - find someone who does - so that you can truly see? 
> everything within the image file. You will be amazed at these files.
>
> Fond regards,
> George
>
> george@imagist.com
> http://www.imagist.com
> http://www.imagist.com/blog
> http://www.linkedin.com/in/imagist
>
>
>
> On Sep 2, 2008, at 4:10 AM, Wyndham Pulman-Jones wrote:
>
>> The one thing that has held me back from buying an M8 is my dislike? 
>> of the look of blown highlights in digital photos. Almost all of my? 
>> shooting is of people interacting in social and working situations? 
>> - and I always expose by taking incident readings for people's? 
>> faces and letting everything else fall where it may. This? 
>> frequently means that lighter exteriors visible through windows or? 
>> doors are overexposed - but when using fast colour negative film? 
>> there is almost always some tone and character to the overexposed? 
>> area. The same also applies to highlights on people's hair when? 
>> strongly backlit.
>>
>> When I have used digital (Epson RD-1, Canon 1Ds) I have not liked? 
>> the totally white blown out highlights, fringed with un-natural? 
>> looking chromatic aberation, that often result from shooting in? 
>> this way (when you are not able to worry about exposinig for areas? 
>> of the photo not carrying the narrative interest, which might end? 
>> up significantly overexposed.)
>>
>> Does the M8 suffer from this just as much as any other digital? 
>> camera? If so, what's the best technique for stopping those? 
>> 'outside the scene' highlights from blowing out? Or is it just not? 
>> possible with the M8 to 'set and forget' exposure in the way that? 
>> you can with incident metering for the latitude of negative film?
>>
>> (I found some M8 DNG samples which show totally blown out 'through? 
>> the window' highlights which have the digital look that just? 
>> doesn't look right to me: http://rpo.eranet.tv/)
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Simon.
>> Cambridge, UK.
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Leica Users Group.
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>
>
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