Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/11/03

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Subject: [Leica] Re:M8 DNG vs DMR DNG
From: hoppyman at bigpond.net.au (G Hopkinson)
Date: Fri Nov 3 17:37:56 2006

Ted, it is a big subject and it is confusing. All of the format stuff is 
relevant to the M8 and a basic understanding is relevant
and essential, because that's what the camera produces. Unlike a neg or 
slide, you need a computer program to see your image. 

Here are the essentials as seen by me.
The M8 will give you pictures as a compressed file of lesser quality. It is 
called a jpg. The files are smaller but do not include
as big a range of tones and there is some loss of quality to make the file 
smaller. That is some information is thrown away. The
camera has also made its own decisions regarding colour saturation and 
colour temperature for example. So less control.

The other format that the camera will give you is called a raw file. The 
advantage is that you have better control and quality, at
the expense of bigger files. The image has a much larger tonal range no 
information is thrown away and this is the choice if you
want the best possible quality. Also, if you alter the image with an image 
editor, it will record your edits but also keep the
original information intact. The camera has not made the same compromise 
changes to your image as it does with a jpg.
Finally dng is the type of raw file that the M8 uses. It is a format meant 
to be used by multiple brands of camera and is supposed
to not rely on one company for a program to read the files. That is, if 
company XYZ goes broke, you are not stuck with 5 thousand
pictures that you can't read because the company's software is not available 
any more. Other formats require you to pay for and use
the camera company's software to read all of the information in the file. 
Usually software supplied by camera companies is harder to
use and /or not as powerful as software made by specialist image software 
companies.
With an M8 in your hands you can shoot some jpg pictures and some dng 
pictures and decide what is suitable/most important for you. I
don't know what you used to print your pics when you tried out the M8. If 
you have a method then you are laughing. Just try the two
formats and decide what suits your circumstances/priorities.

I hope that helps. I'm happy to help anyway I can. I'm sure that other posts 
will be offered.
Cheers
Hoppy

-----Original Message-----
From: lug-bounces+hoppyman=bigpond.net.au@leica-users.org 
[mailto:lug-bounces+hoppyman=bigpond.net.au@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of
Ted Grant
Sent: Saturday, 4 November 2006 10:54
To: Leica Users Group
Subject: Re: [Leica] Re:M8 DNG vs DMR DNG

You see the problem with digital is an example right here with all this: 
dgn-dgr-DGN-RAW- LIKE A DOG LIKES HIS MEAT! Plus all the rest of the 
meaningless letters unless one is educated.

Quite frankly for the not better educated folks, all this stuff is scary as 
hell! :-(

I know how to take pictures and I think I've done that fairly well over the 
past half century, but we developed film we understood, made prints wherever 
the darkroom had to be set-up, a motel washroom or our home or office 
darkroom and we did our thing. Simple, no brainer photography! But we knew 
what we were doing!  KISS

Then along comes digital a wonderful manner of doing our loveable picture 
taking and we get into all this jabberwally stuff of three letter things 
that are completely meaningless. Quite frankly mind boggling!

If this stuff has absolutely nothing to do with the use of a Leica camera 
I'd really appreciate it if you folks would take it some place else. Or if 
it has absolutely nothing to do with me learning how to take better pictures 
please take it wherever! It probably has, but well what the hell. :-(

I know I'm not the smartest brick on the block with all this stuff but you 
guys scare the hell out of me that I am really loosing something very 
important in my life as a photojournalist about picture taking! Please try 
to look at it through the eyes of someone who understands taking pictures, 
not a university degree of ............................ Sorry!

ted


Ted Grant Photography Limited
1817 Feltham Road
Victoria BC  V8N 2A4
250-477-2156 


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In reply to: Message from tedgrant at shaw.ca (Ted Grant) ([Leica] Re:M8 DNG vs DMR DNG)