New M8.2 owner... complete workflow change

[woody]

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Well, last Friday I finally pulled the trigger on a new M8.2 and am developing my digital workflow (pun intended). I picked up a new M8.2 (black) and Elmarit 28 ASPH last week. What an amazing camera and lens. I still have my M3 and M7. Switching to shooting with the M8 is seamless.

 

Now I need to do some serious learning on the new workflow. I've had a hybrid workflow for a few years, but only did scanning and posting. Now I want to get files good enough to print. What I'm working on now:

 

1. Gotta calibrate my monitor. I'm going to buy the Spyder2 unless someone guides me elsewhere. I have done 99% B&W my whole life and am colorblind (just the main kinds, not achromatic). Every time I've calibrated my iMac with the built in tool it comes out different! Working with color is by far my biggest growth area.

 

2. Gotta figure out how people on this forum create such great B&W images from their M8's. I've gone through old posts and have some things I'm going to try. I use Lightroom/PS and don't really want to buy any other expensive plugins.

 

3. Need a printer. I'm not sure if I need one just for B&W or if there's one good enough for B&W and color. I want to be able to produce prints good enough to sell and ones that look as good as those from my darkroom (which is now boxed up ).

 

On a different note, I'm trying to decide if I need a half-case for it. A friend of mine (who bought an M8.2 a few weeks before me) asked what the half-case protects. I didn't have much of an answer. But those Luigi cases look great and I'm guessing improve the grip.

 

BTW, one of the catalysts for me buying the camera was seeing the Robert Frank exhibit in DC. His photos are not all crisp, focused, balanced, etc. But what struck me is that he seemed only concerned with getting the shot. Spin and shoot. Don't worry about longer shutter speed, a shaky photo is better than no photo at all. If you stand there focusing all day someone may change their behavior. And I got to thinking, what will help me get the shot? I can do fine with the M7 I know, but I think the M8 provides a lot more flexibility with varying exposures and (I'm surprised) auto advance.

 

Anyway, I don't really have any questions. Like all new M8 owners (or Leica owners in general) I'm excited to get out and take some pics with the new gear. I'll post some soon.

 

Peace.

[smiway]

Woody,

 

Enjoy your M8.2. I'm a little jealous since I only have an M8. I'm thinking of trading it in and getting an M8.2, but I'm not sure it's worth the additional money to upgrade.

 

Wayne R. Smith

Edited April 24, 2009 by smiway
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[dpattinson]

Woody,

 

The Epson inkjet printers are very good for B&W and colour. The Stylus Pro 3800/3850 comes highly recommended and prints up to A2 (17"). I have a small R800 (A4) which is maybe 5 years old now - but the quality is fine.

 

For B&W conversion, I use either a PS action I found in this forum (do a search for 'gorman' and you should find it) or the built in CS4 filter. Both are effective, the PS one allows you to tweak some colour balance sliders which can work nicely for portraits. The gorman action is good fro bringing out micro-contrast.

 

I bought a Spyder as well. Some people recommend the ColorMunki because it will create a profile for your printer as well. However if you buy a current Epson printer, you will get pretty good canned profiles for any commercial paper - and you can always get a profile made for you anyway.

 

I don't use a half-case, but I have the grip. As i usually carry my camera in my right hand with the strap wound around my wrist, the grip makes it much easier to carry by my side. I prefer to have less in the way of changing batteries and cards.

[woody]

Thanks for the tips David. I do think I will probably spend the money on a printer instead of a case. And Wayne, I was first going to get an M8 instead and save the $ for the lens, since they take the same pictures, but then I says what the heck (except I didn't say heck) and got the M8.2 for the shutter and vulcanite. I was also going to get a used (demo) model for $1k less, but was nervous about getting an electronic device used.

 

One thing I'm not sure of is why Lightroom adds adjustments to my DNG files automatically when importing. It seems to want to boost the brightness and contrast quite a bit as well as sharpness and some other things. Wondering if I should accept those or start from scratch.