Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/11/06
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Here's what i think is going on; as we do seem to go through this in a cyclical manner. When digital issues come up - - Jim will wave it off as not applicable - Kind of a non happening thing. Kind of like it's off topic. Beneath us. Then everyone goes crazy. And i know that he's got big stuff on his walls done with digital processes and he works in the digital business. So what the heck is going on? Jim's post has made things finally clear to me but in this different way: Well i think he's making it clear that digital photography from a digital camera should be about 5 billion times less nifty then what you get from silver film. So why bother with it or talk about it in the same breath with Leica M or R glass? Putting our Leica glass on a digital body would be stupid would be the thought. Why not put on a hunk of glass worth 20 bucks the results would be the same as the digital sensor is the great equalizer. And Leica has made these dumbed down optics for the Panasonic.... So what's the big recurring ongoing deal? Some of us feel it would be real nifty to be able to up our 24 Asph on a little Leica digital body and do some digital captures and then switch it for a 135 3.4 apo and get telephoto captures with that body. Sure saves time with the clone tool! Kind of switching bodies with our lenses between film bodies and digital bodies. For when you need stuff now to fire off to someone on the email wires or upload to your little website. Leica lenses though smarter would take a lot more dumbing down; and that's really a shame. Those lenes are heavy. And expenseive. But we're out there anyway with them weighing down our camera bags... and we are shooting some film but we also want to make some digital grab shots like our Nikon and Canon pals do. Digital captures. Is this an abomination against the anti Leica? Me if i had a choice between seeing someones 4x6 snapshots taken with a 3000 dollar lens from a Leica M6; or letter sized or A3 inkjets taken with dumbed down or already dumb Plastic panasonic optics...... I'd just as soon pick the later belive it or not. They look great. The are much more than glorified snapshots. They are legitimate print making which looks great on your walls and gallery walls. The problem being the negs from those 4x6's do have so much more detail and can be used to make 30x40 inch C prints, I've done that a few times. 20x24's are common and 16x20's are par for the course. 11x14's are no stretch. They've apparently got 5 billion times more information. The kind of detail in there is amazing and digital grabs look lush on inkjet paper but don't come close to darkroom work. You get a feeling of detail but it really is not there. Sorry folks but not only do i love RC prints or fiber black and white prints but i also love plain vanilla C prints. Thats color prints from color negs. And Fuji process direct positive i love too. What if The shot of my lifetime has 5 billion times less information than other stuff I've shot that i don't even care about? I'd call that underkill! Why not shoot just shoot film? Instant gratification? Scan your Polaroids! By the way can you output digital pictures you take with digital cameras to slides? Just curious. If you did do they look any good? Mark Rabiner Portland, Oregon USA http://www.rabiner.cncoffice.com/ - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html