[Leica] Canon Anything vs. DMR

[pwerner at bluewin.ch (Peter Werner)]

It might also be interesting, IMHO, to learn the opinion of people who
actually own and have used the DMR for some time. What makes them opt
for the DMR, how are they satisfied in day-to-day work? I invite other
DMR owners to post their experiences. Here my own :


1) I have an array of R lenses and R bodies, a SL2, R8 and R9

2) A year ago I switched to serious digital with a DSLR (Fuji S2 taking
my Nikkor lenses). I was not very satisfied, especially with the dynamic
range and the color rendition. The results could not compete with my
film-based Leicas

3) Second experience: a Panasonic Lumix FZ20 with the 2.8/36-432 Leica
vario Elmarit zoom lens + image stabilizer. I loved the results in terms
of color rendition and the image stabilizer. But this Lumix has some
limitations which made me look further:

- Sharpness. Prints larger than 8x10 are not as sharp as I would like

- Viewfinder. The LCD viewfinder of the FZ20 does not allow you to
manually focus the camera with precision. While this is not a problem
using auto-focus for landscapes, people, etc. it makes it unfit for
macro photography

- Noise level too high at higher ISO settings.

4) Enter the Leicanon option. In order to use my Leica lenses I bought a
20D and adapter rings. I could now make pictures that I was satisfied
with in terms of sharpness. Big drawbacks (for my use)

- Small viewfinder making it difficult to focus with precision. 80% of
my macro photos where out of focus unless I used very small apertures
(1:16-1:32). I felt I was taken back to the 60ies and the Exactas,
before full aperture focusing and metering became available.

- Exposure was often off. At the small apertures I had to use, the TTL
exposure meter of the 20D was no longer reliable, I got a lot of under-
and overexposed pictures. Of course, you could make a test shot, look at
the histogram and then take more shots with different settings:
Complicated, time-consuming and very frustrating. In the meantime, the
bee that I was trying to capture had flown away.

- Most disturbing of all: I did not like the color rendition of the
Canon. The Panasonic FZ20 colors where much better. The Canon colors
seemed harsh and unnatural. The colors I got with the same lenses on
film where much more to my liking. Some might argue that you could
correct this in Photoshop. It took me sometimes hours of trying but the
results did not satisfy me. You can see examples of the problem on
http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00BflF

4) Next step: I booked a one-week seminar at the Leica Academy in
Germany, where I could use the DMR for a full week and compare it with
my Leicanon. Finally, full satisfaction:

- a clear viewfinder that allowed to focus with precision and see the
aperture setting in the viewfinder itself.

- Correct exposures with meter readings that were, most of the time,
right on the dot, even at high magnifications in macro work.

- Full-aperture metering: No need to change the lens aperture after
focusing

- Very user-friendly handling: No need to consult the manual (and
forget) adjustments buried in deep menu layers; simple and
straightforward to use.

- Most important of all for me: color rendition that I liked and that
compared favorably with the results I got on film.

- The sharpness was excellent, better than the 20D, but that had not
been one of my problems, I do not usually print larger than A3 (11x16)
and at that magnification, the Canon was already sharp enough.

I could buy a DMR last week and will post more experiences and pictures
with the production model on my web site, www.leicaphoto.net . At first
sight, the results are not significantly different from the
pre-production model I used in the seminars.


Peter Werner
www.leicaphoto.net

> -----Original Message-----
> From: lug-bounces+pwerner=bluewin.ch@leica-users.org [mailto:lug-
> bounces+pwerner=bluewin.ch@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of Gib Robinson
> Sent: Wednesday, August 10, 2005 01:18
> To: LUG
> Subject: [Leica] Canon Anything vs. DMR
>
> Tina,
>
> [you wrote]
> > With RAW files any subtleties of tone or sharpness can be adjusted
when
> they are developed.
>
> I love using RAW (I only shoot RAW) but, to my eye, the 20D images
don't
> have as much subtlety of tone (low mid-tones & below esp)  as I want
for
> outdoors. I don't think that simply upping the MP count will do it. I
> suspect it has to do with the extra filter and maybe with other
decisions
> that Canon made about electronics & CMOS. I've seen a couple of prints
> from
> a DMR that were very impressive & the staff at Calument really does
think
> the DMR produces a better image than the 1DS Mk II. They've seen both,
> used
> both & printed from both. I'm not saying they're right but I can't
dismiss
> their conclusions either. I want more proof: "Ocular Proof" as Iago
was
> fond
> of saying to Othello. Would I rather wait till October and pay 2.5K
for a
> body that would match the DMR? You bet; but I'm not yet convinced the
next
> gen. Canon will get me there.
>
> --Gib
>
>
>
>
>
>
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