[Leica] To tempt Fuji X users?

[mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner)]

I've been shooting with a full frame DSLR for two and a half years now. When
I look at my metadata I see that my auto iso has me at iso 64,000 for half
of any take I ever do. Maybe not at the beach but its been a long time for
me and the beach.
ISO 64,000 sounds like phantasmagorical off the deep top end stuff we'd
never need nor comprehend and with the advent of full frame and today's
sensors its normal cursing speed for many shooters for non sunny 16
situations.
As big of a number it looks like its only two stops faster than iso 16,000.
16000
32000
64000
Its not nine stops. Its two stops.
But two stops is the difference between Plus X and Tri X.
Delta 100 and 400.
Or in my case Neopan 400 and 1600 as that's what I used.
If you are using auto iso and you are indoors and point your camera at the
dark side of the room you can find those shots to have been done there at
iso 64,000 easy. And certainly walking down the street at night.

Going from shooting Neopan 1600 (in Xtol 1:3) to using a Nikon D100, 200 and
40x I was still shooting topping out at iso 1600. All those camera top off
at 1600 with auto iso.
So not much changed. Though shooting at night was better with digital anyway
for some odd reason I think no one knows.

But with my D700 I got to catch up to what the bulk of pros and serious
shooters already knew. That full frame was a large jump ahead. And few go
there and ever look back.

I looked  back when last August I got a huge case of sciatica and could not
walk easily or lift things or sleep.
I took my D40x out of a spin after dinner and a movie.
I pointed it something on the sidewalk.
It sound not go off.
It was too dark to focus too dark to see.
I'd forgotten that with my cropped cameras I did not just point it at
anything. I had to stick to where there was at least some light. Near a
street lamp or shop window. But with full frame I got out of that habit as I
could literally aim it at anything and get a shot with no noise issues.

I'm not going back to topping off at iso 1600 again. Those days are long
gone for me.
And when they make a pocketable affordable compact with a 1.5 crop I'd still
have to think about it. As the camera I have with me I like to get those
shots. And I'm used to having it in my side back heavy as it is.

Some blogger shows you a jpeg a few inches across it does not tell you the
story about why the Leica M is not in competition with a camera costing one
fifth as much. Leica has come at least that far in these years.
In the past few years getting into digital of the M8 and M9 Leicas position
has been shaky.
But with the release of the M240 Leica back in the mainstream for pro jobs.
Its no time to if you had the money to jump off the bandwagon. Its a time
when lots of top people will be jumping on.

F 5.6 and be there.
At 100th of a second. That's what I'm set at 24 hours a day. If I'm not set
at f8 and be there.


On 5/17/13 11:09 AM, "Steve Barbour" <steve.barbour at gmail.com> wrote:

>>> For those who are " thinking about my order for the M240 vs. the X 
>>> series."
>>> Kind of sounds like one is in the middle of really financing a seven 
>>> grand
>>> full frame M but then somehow looking over at the $1400 1.5 crop Fuji in 
>>> the
>>> same breath?
>>> Here's what I came up with:
>>> $7000 - $1400 = $5600.00 savings
>>> And also:
>>> $7000/$1400 = 5.0
>>> 
>>> So if you last minute having saved seven grand for the M  but then get 
>>> the X
>>> instead you have $5600 burning a hole in your back pocket that can buy 
>>> you
>>> exactly four more X's.
>>> That's quite a discrepancy of dreams!
>>> ... Or an extra lens and a trip around the world.
>>> 
>>> Its like "oh boy I get to finally buy that Rolls Royce now but maybe that
>>> Honda Civic will also get me there?"
>>> Or as we say in the US of A:  apples and oranges.
>>> Or lets say you saved up to get a Harley motorcycle but then got a tuna 
>>> fish
>>> sandwich instead? Lots of left over here too for extras:
>>> Tomatoes
>>> Cheese.
>>> Lettuce.
>>> Pickles
>>> Rye bread.
>>> 
>>> I'm afraid I'm just not seeing the overlap between M dreams and X dreams.
>>> To me they just don't belong in the same rapid eye movement cycle.
>>> At very least there's a full tuna on rye separating them.
> 
> rather than talking sandwiches, buy or at least use the cameras first....
> 
> other wise it's all a fish story. I cancelled my M240 which was ordered 
> from B
> and H, when I saw the Fuji results compared to my M9, did some thinking, 
> spoke
> to others, did the math....
> 
> I know Mark you want a full frame camera, an M249 above all else... best 
> not
> take your assumptions and wishes for reality.
> 
> 
> Steve
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information




-- 
Mark William Rabiner
Photography
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lugalrabs/