Photograph and Camera talk
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It is quite different from a SLR. Menus are so simple which allows you to strictly concentrate on your composition.
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careful there finn have you seen the price of leica glass? I love it and all but I wouldn't get into the leica stuff on a whim. and there are no zooms, effectively nothing but (excellent) prime lenses
if you buy smart (used) however the stuff holds its value well so you can buy and sell and try different stuff out
go check out rangefinderforum.com if you're really interested
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thanks for the hint jaco and you're right about the price you have to pay for a leica that's why I ain't getting one for atleast a year or two! I'm still a student as you may know so first there is graduation, then finding a good job with great paychecks at the end of the month, then there are important things and after that there's the leica…when I should have enough spare money lying around that is!
so still a lot of time to read reviews and all...:) -
I just have to play a bit of a devils advocate about rangefinders:
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Framing is less accurate than ttl/evf-cameras, so if your style of photography depends on accurate framing, this might be a problem.
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If you shoot wider than 25-28mm or longer than 75mm (and personally, even with a +1.25 diopter, 75mm is pushing it) a rangefinder might not be your cup of tea.
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the M8 and the M9 are both plagued by relatively low quality LCD-screens. Which this might not seem very important, I find it far harder to check if I have gotten focus just right on a M9 than on a nikon d700.
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While Leica cameras are mechanical marvels with amazing tight tolerances and a feel that is hard to describe with words, sadly, they aren't that good with electronics, I got tired of waiting 4-5-6 seconds after pressing "play" to get a picture up on the screen. This kind of sluggishness plagues the system imo.
For me, getting a high end mirrorless (sony nex-7) proved to be a smaller, lighter and better solution to the mobility/compactness question.
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I just have to play a bit of a devils advocate about rangefinders:
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Framing is less accurate than ttl/evf-cameras, so if your style of photography depends on accurate framing, this might be a problem.
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If you shoot wider than 25-28mm or longer than 75mm (and personally, even with a +1.25 diopter, 75mm is pushing it) a rangefinder might not be your cup of tea.
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the M8 and the M9 are both plagued by relatively low quality LCD-screens. Which this might not seem very important, I find it far harder to check if I have gotten focus just right on a M9 than on a nikon d700.
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While Leica cameras are mechanical marvels with amazing tight tolerances and a feel that is hard to describe with words, sadly, they aren't that good with electronics, I got tired of waiting 4-5-6 seconds after pressing "play" to get a picture up on the screen. This kind of sluggishness plagues the system imo.
I asked my friend the other day why he prefers his Leica M9 over his Canon 5dMkii and he just said,"it feels like a real film camera, which I love, but it's actually shit." For him, it's purely the feel and aesthetic of it that makes him use it. The glass is obviously great, but paired with a horrible sensor, the body doesn't really do it justice. This is coming from someone who shoots everyday, professionally.
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I just have to play a bit of a devils advocate about rangefinders:
-
Framing is less accurate than ttl/evf-cameras, so if your style of photography depends on accurate framing, this might be a problem.
-
If you shoot wider than 25-28mm or longer than 75mm (and personally, even with a +1.25 diopter, 75mm is pushing it) a rangefinder might not be your cup of tea.
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the M8 and the M9 are both plagued by relatively low quality LCD-screens. Which this might not seem very important, I find it far harder to check if I have gotten focus just right on a M9 than on a nikon d700.
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While Leica cameras are mechanical marvels with amazing tight tolerances and a feel that is hard to describe with words, sadly, they aren't that good with electronics, I got tired of waiting 4-5-6 seconds after pressing "play" to get a picture up on the screen. This kind of sluggishness plagues the system imo.
I asked my friend the other day why he prefers his Leica M9 over his Canon 5dMkii and he just said,"it feels like a real film camera, which I love, but it's actually shit." For him, it's purely the feel and aesthetic of it that makes him use it. The glass is obviously great, but paired with a horrible sensor, the body doesn't really do it justice. This is coming from someone who shoots everyday, professionally.
Indeed, the feel of it is just amazing, it feels like compact, solid brass and it looks great, as an accessory to a leather jacket and a motorbike? Perfect.
And in good light, the image quality is good as well, but when I shot semi-professionally, 90 % of my stuff were dark, badly lit metal concerts, aka: I needed iso 6400-12800, even with my 58/1.2.
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all true I think, leica made fabulous glass and great film cameras and could not survive as a business on that alone, the m8 and m9 are mainly for people who need a digital body to put their collection of film lenses on
the experience of shooting a Leica I find very enjoyable but if I got into them again it would be to shoot film
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there's a huge market of used d700 out there check fredmiranda.com, getdpi.com, photo.net classifieds, rangefinder forum classifieds, keh.com, you're sure to find one
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there's a huge market of used d700 out there check fredmiranda.com, getdpi.com, photo.net classifieds, rangefinder forum classifieds, keh.com, you're sure to find one
perfect mate…thanks a lot for those!...
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Rafa I have a Nikon 105 2.8 VRII macro if you are interested box warranty included only used 1 time for a product shoot.
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Rafa I have a Nikon 105 2.8 VRII macro if you are interested box warranty included only used 1 time for a product shoot.
I'm interested mate, but at first I want to get the D700 and the 24-700…then, if money allows it...I'm going for the 105!
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Let me know I need to sell it within next 2 weeks
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If you're thinking of jumping the Nikon ship, the 5D is a great alternative to the D700–even the original still looks great. Unless you're thinking 5D mark III or a cheap used Mark I, i'd probably stick with the D700 for autofocus reasons. Can't go wrong with either brand these days. Once you go FF after a crop body, you'll never want to go back.
Then again, a used 5D Mk II might be a good bargin if you're into video. It seems like that's the standard for my film student friends on a "budget".
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thanks a lot for your opinion dave…
atm i´m really thinking about leaving Nikon and jump on to Canon. i´m after a Canon 5D MKII and the 24-70mm 2.8L lens as my every day gear at first...i think this should do the trick as long as i´m not able to cop another lens (thinking 70-200mm 2.8L or sth.similar)...what do you (or others) think of this idea mate?
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thanks a lot for your opinion dave…
atm i´m really thinking about leaving Nikon and jump on to Canon. i´m after a Canon 5D MKII and the 24-70mm 2.8L lens as my every day gear at first...i think this should do the trick as long as i´m not able to cop another lens (thinking 70-200mm 2.8L or sth.similar)...what do you (or others) think of this idea mate?
Canon 5Dmkii or mkiii with a 24-70 2.8L is an amazing everyday combo.
I'd get a 50 1.4(yes, 1.4) or 85 1.2L next. The 85 is the best canon lens IMO.
Then, the 70-200 2.8, which remember is really fucking heavy.
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Canon 5Dmkii or mkiii with a 24-70 2.8L is an amazing everyday combo.
I'd get a 50 1.4(yes, 1.4) or 85 1.2L next. The 85 is the best canon lens IMO.
Then, the 70-200 2.8, which remember is really fucking heavy.
thanks a lot for the fast reply shane…
so i think i´ve found a nice deal already...1730USD for 5D MKII body + E-6 battery grip with ~12.5k shutter releases
how does that sound?…maybe i can even lower the price!
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Good Deal but you should be able to find one with a lower shutter count, not that it really matters, but still. Two of my friends have 5D mkii's with +175k shutter counts and still going strong!
Also, although I love the grip, I'd recommend not using it unless you need to shoot for long periods of time, since there's an extra battery in the grip. It gets heavy, comparatively, really fast.
