etrigan63 Posted November 3, 2007 Share #1 Posted November 3, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Today's event at Dale Labs in Hollywood, FL was quite a treat. A small group of us were allowed to play with the entire new line of Summarit lenses on a whole bunch of M8 bodies. Justin and Roland from Leica were there to explain everything and as a bonus, those of us who brought their M8's got upgraded to the latest firmware 1.110! We got to meet some our fellow Leicaphiles and we had a splendid time. Many thanks to David, Dale Justin & Roland for a very excellent event! Rest of the album is here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted November 3, 2007 Posted November 3, 2007 Hi etrigan63, Take a look here Leica Demo Day - Dale Labs. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
TEBnewyork Posted November 3, 2007 Share #2 Posted November 3, 2007 So, tell us about the new lenses.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shootist Posted November 3, 2007 Share #3 Posted November 3, 2007 Anything new in the newer firmware other then recognition of the new summarit lenses? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rondeb Posted November 4, 2007 Share #4 Posted November 4, 2007 those of us who brought their M8's got upgraded to the latest firmware 1.110! Ok. Let's hear about the new firmware please!!!!!! Best! Ron Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
etrigan63 Posted November 4, 2007 Author Share #5 Posted November 4, 2007 The firmware, beside recognizing the Summarits, is supposed to improve AWB performance and reduce noise at high ISO. I haven't had a chance to test the high ISO stuff yet, but the AWB is a bit better. The Summarits are built like 4 little tanks. My CV lenses seem flimsy by comparison. The design philosophy behind them were to push the performance envelope using readily available materials (common parts between lenses, no exotic glass, no aspheric elements) with an eye to reducing manufacturing costs but not sacrificing performance. Justin told us a funny story about the Summarits. Originally they were to be listed as f/2.4 (which is what they truly are), however, Mr. Steven Lee (President of Leica) who is of asian decent, asked that they be listed as f/2.5. The number "2" in Chinese numerology means "easy" and "4" means "death". "Easy Death" was not looking too good for him so he changed the to f/2.5 ("5" in Chinese numerology means "freedom" - I checked). We were not allow to shoot images with the new lenses on our cameras (they were pre-production without lens codes) however they provided 4-5 M8 bodies to play with. All the lenses have a short focusing throw - 90 degrees from minimum focus to infinity. The focusing action is silky smooth on all four lenses. The 75 & 90 do not have focusing tabs. Lens hoods are add-on accessories. The cameras in the first pic are sporting the 35mm on the left and the 75mm on the right. They are truly some sweet lenses. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rondeb Posted November 4, 2007 Share #6 Posted November 4, 2007 Thanks Carlo. I certainly look forward to checking out the new line. Would you mind trying out some high ISO stuff for us and posting your results? Thanks again, Ron Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEBnewyork Posted November 4, 2007 Share #7 Posted November 4, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Normally I get postcards about demo days. Anyone know of one in the near future in NYC? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
etrigan63 Posted November 4, 2007 Author Share #8 Posted November 4, 2007 As requested I have taken some test shots and uploaded them to my Flickr account. The image is nothing to write home about, but we are taking about noise here, not composition. All shots taken with my 75mm Color-Heliar f/2.5, wide open, handheld. No filter installed. Shot RAW, adjusted WB, and converted to full size JPEGs using Bibble Pro 4.9.8e. No noise reduction used. ISO 640 This image is quite usable. To me it almost looks as good as ISO 320. ISO 1250 Big improvement here. I can now reasonably consider ISO 1250 for shooting. ISO 2500 This is very, very good. Has a film grain feel to it. I suppose the only way to improve this in-camera (short of another firmware update) is to use a Noctilux. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffwros Posted November 4, 2007 Share #9 Posted November 4, 2007 Thanks for sharing, Carlos! I'm looking forward to using 1250! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertwright Posted November 4, 2007 Share #10 Posted November 4, 2007 that does look improved, I wonder what contribution bibble is making-is the noise reduction better than C1 or Lr? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
enboe Posted November 4, 2007 Share #11 Posted November 4, 2007 There was also a demo day today, 11/3, at Paul's Photo. They also had the set of 4 summarits. Definitely Leica quality, also not yet coded. I didn't ask to shoot photos as I believe in letting the development team finish their product before evaluating it. I especially liked the tiny little notch on the 35 & 50 lens hood, and the corresponding notch on the lens barrel. Positive indexing, and almost invisible. The slip-on rubber hood cap for the 35 & 50 looks quite robust. Think of it like a hybrid of the 24mm hood and the 35mm/2.0 rubber hood. I expect this design won't be lost as often. Pricing for the hoods is projected to be in the $100 range per the rep. Eric Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
etrigan63 Posted November 4, 2007 Author Share #12 Posted November 4, 2007 Bibble uses Noise Ninja for noise reduction and it was set to OFF. You are seeing straight out of the M8 with only a little WB adjust. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
etrigan63 Posted November 4, 2007 Author Share #13 Posted November 4, 2007 There was also a demo day today, 11/3, at Paul's Photo. They also had the set of 4 summarits. Definitely Leica quality, also not yet coded. I didn't ask to shoot photos as I believe in letting the development team finish their product before evaluating it. Eric Nor did we. Any shots taken were on Leica provided M8's and not on our stuff. Our lenses were test production quality (post-pre-production?) and uncoded. Still, they felt extremely solid and the images I took with their cameras were excellent IQ-wise (my photo skills notwithstanding). Side-note: Eric, do you watch the current episodes of Doctor Who? There was a recurring character called The Face of Boe. Thought you might find that entertaining. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted November 4, 2007 Share #14 Posted November 4, 2007 Summarit Hood Prices: the latest issue of LFI is quoting €125 for the wide-angle hood and €80 for the tele-hood. Take off sales tax and convert to USD: $150 and $97. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jklotz Posted November 4, 2007 Share #15 Posted November 4, 2007 As requested I have taken some test shots and uploaded them to my Flickr account. The image is nothing to write home about, but we are taking about noise here, not composition. you need to straighten your desk ; ) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bayerische Posted November 4, 2007 Share #16 Posted November 4, 2007 It's looking real good! Anyone know Leicas release date for the new FW? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertwright Posted November 4, 2007 Share #17 Posted November 4, 2007 Bibble uses Noise Ninja for noise reduction and it was set to OFF. You are seeing straight out of the M8 with only a little WB adjust. this is looking like a full stop difference from what we have now. I am very excited. makes me wonder how they did it? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
okram Posted November 4, 2007 Share #18 Posted November 4, 2007 Can you show some 100% files? (of the sharpest part of the picture) I wonder how much detail is lost due to new NR. What I like about M8 now is how much detail is kept at high iso, compared to my 1DS2... M8 shows more noise, but also more detail and better color/exposure gamut, so in the end, looking at corrected prints, noise is equal now (1.107) wih the two...(maybe not at 2500/3200 iso, I heavent tried...) M Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
etrigan63 Posted November 4, 2007 Author Share #19 Posted November 4, 2007 I will provide links to the originals as they are too large for the forum http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2330/1850331598_2257d9d7d3_o.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2159/1850336792_4806dec5a9_o.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2144/1849521297_ec1c9cabe1_o.jpg BTW, that is my wife's desk. Mine is messier. The release is imminent. Justin told us that the firmware I got was release level code and just waiting to be uploaded to the servers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
okram Posted November 4, 2007 Share #20 Posted November 4, 2007 I think C1 pro would do a better job noisewise...(especially 4beta) Thank you... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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