I want this

The girl with the Nikon bothers me more on her hands and jacket - blown skies are part of the game, but losing skin and clothing detail is pretty frustrating. Just read the photographer comment that he blew the exposures the first day, because he was relying on the rear LCD too much to judge exposure. So that one probably isn't the camera's fault anyway.

Apparently I'm getting a OM-D E-M5 for work (documenting construction projects) whenever the kit comes in to my local store.

blown away that Leica has had these in the hands of a number of photographers already without any legit information leaking or anyone being spotted

haha because its waterproof?

Partially. I wasn't keen on carrying my XPro-1 in my truck all the time and needed something that could make nice 12x18 prints. If the E-M5 gets jacked, I'm not out any money, at least.
I picked it because I want to try the Olympus 12 and Panasonic 25 for myself.

was there an ILP thread in which we argued basic digital versus film stuff? i don't have the vocabulary but still feel there are real broad differences in how each handles light (that feels like the biggest?), renders depth, &c.

the detail thing here is really interesting. sort of in the spectrum of those google videos in which you can infinitely zoom into any angle of a museum panorama.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um1FjRFzJWQ

X100: y/n?

The X100 is fantastic. The XPro-1 makes some improvements (sensor, quick menu, etc.), but the X100 is just the right size for what it is and the image quality is A+ since the whole camera is built around the lens's interaction with the sensor.

I downloaded one of the M Monochrom JPGs from Steve Huff's site and made some adjustments in LR4. Even the JPG is very malleable without losing detail, I imagine RAW is A+.
Would definitely sell everything to get one if they were 1/3 the price.

so uh... got any X100 pro tips? : )

:D

never having owned a DSLR idg the AF complaints; camera is snappy as all hell and super silent. MF + AFL is god mode. OVF is def going to be a learning curve; EVF is better than that on the wife's pana G3

need to learn how to lightroom now

turn on the corrected AF frame, turn off any power saves and turn on quick-start mode. Invest in a 95mb/s UHS-1 card, invaluable to the camera's responsiveness.

Gorgeous first few images on Flickr with the X100, Cozen.

thanks!

milo: done, done, and done. superfast SD card is on next month's shopping list

do you shoot RAW or jpg, milo? read the jpgs are stellar from the X100 so tempted to ditch RAW

(would that increase speed/write-time?)

I always shoot RAW, I want the full set of data for playing with in LR/PS - and as a personal thing, JPGs don't feel finished. Shooting JPGs will make write-times much faster, the files are ~1/4 the size.

JPGs from the mirrorless cameras (Fuji, micro-4/3, etc.) usually seem better than DSLR JPGs, I guess the assumption is that more people will be shooting them so they put more effort in.

Meant to say the JPGs are very nice even though I stick to RAW. If you want to shoot B&W JPGs, monkey with the settings - everything at standard makes for very flat files with almost no whites or blacks.

http://www.dpreview.com/previews/canon-eos-m/

can't believe the uk price. $799 = £560 including vat, not £750.

Pretty outrageous pricing. Panasonic Lumix GF-3 + 20/1.7 still some kind of high-water mark for this sort of camera system, I think, based on price.

Amazon US has been running some crazy Panasonic deals - basically, buy the 20 or 14 and get a free GF3 body. Must be clearing out inventory in advance of the GF5.

I don't want it, but the Sony full-frame compact w/ fixed 35/2 lens is a bold move. I'm shocked they didn't figure out how to include an EVF or OVF to really fuck up Leica's world, tho.

yes. and ovf and evf will be available at launch for an extra $450/600.

but... three grand to start? three thousand dollars? what's up with that?

FF SLRs start at $2200, this includes a top-shelf lens, etc., I guess

and its small

*everybody throws their leica x1 into the trashcan*

is it missing the point to bring up in this conversation all of the cool fixed focal length p&s cameras already out there that aren't digital?

http://japancamerahunter.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/0011534-811x1024.jpg

Not missing the point at all, IMO - enthusiasts have been pining for a true digital Contax/Canonet/Hexar AF since the first DSLRs. Micro-4/3 got closer, the X100 got closer still, there have been awesome small-sensor compacts, but this is the closest anyone's gotten to the fanboy's wet dream of a 36x24 sensor in a T2 package.

it's gorgeous, too. this is fixed lens though, right? boo.

The RX1's 35mm lens offers two control rings. The aperture ring offers click stops, but given the lack of an 'neutral' position on the ring we assume there is no mechanical connection to the aperture blades. Nevertheless the dial's operation feels very nice, with very well defined clicks, pretty much the same as on a mechanical lens.

The second ring lets you adjust the minimum focus distance, which basically makes it a macro-mode switch. The third ring, the furthest form the lens mount, is the focus ring. It's nicely dampened and moves very smoothly, but has no mechanical connection to the focus elements of the lens as the RX1 uses a focus-by-wire system.

=(

Leica M (M10), 24mp yada yada yada price of a good used Corolla etc.

suddenly so many cameras around that I want. The d600 and 6d both look pretty nice, too.

what are the differences between the M-E and the M9?

Got excited about the D600, remembered that I don't have £2,000 kicking about and I don't really *need* it.

m-e has same sensor as m9, doesn't have the EXCITING NEW "features" of the m10 (lol video), $1500-2000 cheaper?

see I would be down with the m-e if it was the same sensor as the m10

what's wrong with the m9 sensor, though? i think the m10 sensor is sorta chosen to optimize video... but i don't understand digital sensors so

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_4xHIqU4t8&list=UUVmgQawOcdeA9v9o0aukV7A

"here we have the leica menu: space age! new typeface!"

Probably not to optimize video, but CMOS makes video possible, where it wasn't with CCD. And since that's a new feature, they're selling it - presumably the idea runs along "Leica M = photojournalist history = documentary footage shot on the spot!"

I just assumed new sensor tech = better lowlight performance which is all I really want from a digital M

lol http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/20/fashion/leica-cameras-favored-by-celebrities.html?_r=3

As if the base model is not exclusive enough, Jonathan Ive, the Apple designer, reportedly will produce an ultra-limited edition (one unit) to be sold at a charity auction by Bono, the company announced.

def gonna buy that if it's < $250

lol @ that article btw. i don't quite have the energy to rewrite it as an indictment of leica weilding ilxors but just imagine it. leica as jewellery.

i just threw mine away in a fit of pique

I gave mine to my butler

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/09/20/fashion/20zLEICA3/20zLEICA3-popup.jpg

"nice voigtlander, newb"

BONO SELLS LEICA ACIEL SLLES ONOB