Dmr

[mgcd]

After all the repetitive threads, I just wanted to start a thread about something that was NOT related to Leica's latest digital rangefinder offering. My DMR continues to give me superlative quality that keeps it at the very top of the professional digital heap, with no hassles whatsoever. No filter issues, no IR issues, no reliability issues, just exceptional image quality, all in real 16 bits, enough to make any rangefinder blush... Boring isn't it?

[telyt]

Originally Posted by mgcd

No filter issues, no IR issues, no reliability issues, just exceptional image quality, all in real 16 bits, enough to make any rangefinder blush... Boring isn't it?

This kind of boredom I can live with

[pascal_meheut]

Same for mine except that sometimes, the electric contact between the R9 and the DMR is not good and the picture is not written on the card...

Also, it is still big, heavy, slow, & hard to focus in low light...
But images are second to none indeed...

[EH21]

Yes nice to hear....I've not had any problems what so ever with my DMR and was getting worried that I might after reading about all the M8's going down all the time. It works and works well.

[Gary Brook]

I don't know what the availability of new DMRs is around the world since Leica announced them being discontinued, but I was in Sydney last weekend and saw a new-in-box example for sale at a dealer closing its doors. For those who might be interested the dealer is G&V Imaging in George Street and the (discounted, supposedly) price was $8,200AUD. There was an R9 and several other esoteric items, all at 15% off RRP. I have no interest in the business or these items other than as a casual observer. Regards,

Gary
Canberra.

[tummydoc]

Originally Posted by mgcd

No filter issues, no IR issues, no reliability issues, just exceptional image quality, all in real 16 bits

Like Billy Joel said, "only the good die young"

[bill_green]

You know, I was all set to sell mine, and I still probably will because right now what I need is a really great point and shoot and I think the M8 will fill that need for me. As much as I love my R8/DMR, the weight means the camera stays at home. I'm not shooting professionally right now, and where I might be inclined to grab an M8 and a couple lenses and go for a run, that won't happen with the DMR. It is a camera that I hate to carry, but love to use. For some reason I get more pleasure from shooting with it than any other camera system I have owned. I wish it were lighter, faster (5 fps) and had better battery life, but it is still a sublime camera.

[graham_mitchell]

The R10 has the potential to be a real knockout. The DMR never seemed to make its mark on the pro DSLR crowd but an integrated full-frame 22MP R10 with al those lovely lenses could stretch the IQ lead over Canon to a point where it can no longer be ignored.

[faneuil]

Love my DMR. It with the 60mm macro still knocks me out for portraiture.
Sure hope a firmware upgrade will appear.
Short of that, I will buy the R10.

Eric

[stuny]

Bill -

Instead, since you enjoy the DMR so much, consider keeping it and getting a real point and shoot (Leica/Pana) to carry everywhere. I won't part with my DMR or my D2, but my tiny FX-07 (C-Lux-2) goes everywhere with me. Most of the photos on the 5th & 6th New York photo gallery pages of our site were shot with that camera.

[mojo73]

I am very happy with DMR as it is. I will be even happier when the 1.26 firmware is released. Even though it is a sports camera, it is interesting that the new Canon EOS 1d MK III was upgraded to 10 megapixels and not more.There may be more problems in packing circuits that tightly on to a sensor.

Mark Weston

[jeffwros]

Mine is in Jersey getting a new circuit board installed to cure the Error 02 issue I had. Looking forward to getting it back in a few weeks.

[stunsworth]

Mark, I'm guessing the 10 mb limitation in the Canon has more to do with the amount of data that's being moved around when it's using the motordrive at top speed. Could be wrong though, that's just a guess on my part

[rubidium]

Indeed I'm getting superb results with, and no hassles from, the R9/DMR. Nor are my senses complaining about the 280/f4 purchased subsequently.
Jim

[albertknappmd]

The DMR is certainly "the camera you hate to carry but love to use" as stated so succinctly above.... I too am waiting for the uber-camera, the R10. Will continue to lug the DMR around until that time. Will also continue to experiement with the M8 as it seems to be able to fill many gaps....

[dfarkas]

As much as I am enjoying shooting the M8 recently, I still love the DMR. For me, with the right lenses, the weight is not an issue.

On my last trip to Germany for the LHSA annual meeting, I brought along the R9/DMR with 28 Elmarit, 35 Cron, 50 Lux, 90 APO, and a 2X APO extender. I could have left the 50 at home for the amount of time I used it, but would have loved to have the 19. Either way, all that fit into a medium-sized shoulder bag, which was not very heavy. My idea was to carry small, light primes instead of larger, heavier zooms. I carried the camera everywhere and didn't have that nagging neck/backache I get from carrying a Canon arsenal. Not to mention, I like the results better as well.

With our Leica/Porsche trip coming up in few weeks, I am contemplating what to bring. I'm not sure what the right mix will be, but I am 100% sure the DMR will be returning with me.

For me, the DMR is still best in class. When I look at 20x30s I've made from my DMR files, I am still blown away by the look, feel, color, and tonality expressed in them. The whites are super-clean, the blacks are rich. Skin tones are dead-on, colors pop off the paper, and details are frighteningly sharp and crisp. Yes, my M8 shots are great at 20x30 also, but there is a different feel to them. Not better or worse, just different.

The DMR doesn't handle high ISO and never goes north of ISO 200, my M8 is practically glued to ISO 640. The DMR with lenses is admittedly large, the M8 is tiny and light. The DMR draws looks and glances. So does the M8 . R lenses are incredible, as are M lenses. The DMR is slow and is in dire need of a firmware upgrade. The M8 has the benefit of a few years of computer advancement and constatnly updated and improved firmware. Framing with the DMR is precise and accurate at all distances. Rangefinders are inherently innacurate for framing. The R system excells at telephoto and macro. M, not so much. Well... you get the point.

The reality is, I still grab the DMR when I need to shoot "work" or even serious "play." The M8 is my take everywhere I go camera. I shoot pictures of the baby by a single lamp or walk down the street in the evening, capturing small moments in time. The DMR gets to do the heavy lifting with all-day shoots in the hot sun with lighting gear. Or on its day off, to shoot macro shots at the botanical gardens with 100 APO macro or birds with the 180 APO. When I tested the M8 back in August, I did use the camera for outdoor fashion and in-studio portraiture. Yes, it can be used for that, but an SLR is so much better suited and faster to work with in those situations, mostly due to focus and framing issues.

At the end of the day, I love them both. I will take both systems with me when I travel. The R10 should prove to be a huge success for Leica and I anxiously look forward to it, but the DMR is the best we have for the next few years and it takes as good pictures today as the day it was introduced.

David

[Simon Gleave]

My DMR is in for repairs and I am missing it incredibly. My M8 fills a gap but is a different camera and doesn't to my mind give the the macro work or portraits that I like. Anyway I am really just waiting for the R10 at which point the M8 will probably be relegated to the wife for her holiday snaps.

I have no problems with the weight as its much lighter than my telephoto lenses anyway. I still find the colours and definition to be amazing. My favourite lens being the 90mm asph.

[albertknappmd]

I have one thought about the R10... May the photographic Gods in Solms update the flash program from the 19th to the 21st century. Leica-Metz axis is obsolete.....