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Help me do something drastic?


bcorton

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Greetings,

 

I have an R9 kit that I have loved, but I'm considering selling it and using the proceeds for a digital solution for my M lenses (in the form of an ME, an M 240 or maybe even just a T).

 

Am I nuts?

 

What is the best way to sell off an R kit? Any suggestions? (Kit is as follows: R9/DMR, Vario Elmar 21-35, Vario Elmar f4 35-70, Vario Elmar f4 80-200, 2 batteries, various filters, telescope eyepiece, 90-degree finder.)

 

Thanks,

Brent

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Doug,

Thanks! That's just the kind of advice I needed.

 

Pete,

I know, it seems crazy to sell the R lenses if I'm considering an M 240. But I'd like to be able to use my M lenses digitally (I miss the fast apertures, the ease of focus with wide angles in low light, and the compactness). But to do so, I need to generate the cash somehow. It has been an expensive year and I can't really afford to just spring for an M otherwise.

 

Peter,

Gear hoarding is something I understand, and I may well just keep what I've got, waiting until I can save up enough for a new M-type. I know I would regret selling the R outfit. I thoroughly enjoy using it—the viewfinder, the 16 bit/channel files, the metering. And I like the feel of it, although I do long for something more compact for travel. On the other hand, there is something in me that wants to pare down my equipment. I don't photograph as much as I used to. And I fear the days of the DMR are numbered. Some day it's going to quit working—or maybe not? I'm a casual user; perhaps it will last another decade—or maybe not?

 

I haven't decided finally, but wanted to investigate the possibilities.

 

Thank you all for your thoughts. Speak reason to me.

Brent

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If you're not using the R kit why keep it? The R9 is going to continue to depreciate, and if the DMR does quit it's a worthless doorstop (well, maybe worth something as a parts donor, if anyone actually repairs them). If you already have M lenses, I might keep the 80-200 but definitely sell the rest.

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Ah, but the R kit is what I use the most. As it is my only digital kit, it is the most convenient. That is why I hesitate about selling it: I know what results it gives me. To me the M, ME, and T are unknowns.

 

However, I do long for something with better high ISO performance, and I would like to use my M lenses. I think the M is probably out of the running due to the shutter speed limitations at high ISO (I'd like to do nighttime landscapes with stars). Does anyone here know how the dynamic range and overall image quality of the T or ME compare to those of the DMR?

 

Thanks again,

Brent, the undecided

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Brent,

 

I have an R9, with DMR and an extensive set of R lenses. I also have an M9 and a M (240), and M lenses. And I also have film only R and M cameras, accumulated over the years. I use both systems, R and M, film and digital.

 

The M with the R-Adapter M and the EVF is a very imperfect "R solution". I used it on a recent trip to the Bolivian altiplano to get some close-ups of flamingos at Laguna Colorada with my 280mm f4.0 APO-Telyt-R, but only because I knew that most (98%+) of my photos would be taken with the M system cameras and lenses.

 

I will soon be leaving on a safari/cultural trip in India, where I will be bringing the R9 and DMR for the safari part, and the M (240) for the cultural part. I simply cannot imagine going on a safari and looking for tigers with the M-240 and R-Adapter M and EVF. I will NEED the R9 with the optical SLR viewfinder and SLR responsiveness, not to mention the auto-diaphragm!

 

My advice is to keep your R stuff and add the M stuff as your budget allows. But your budget may be significantly different from mine.

 

After having sold my Contarex gear, which I had used for several decades, to fund my start-up Leica R system, I regretted it. I should have kept the Contarex gear and just bought the Leica gear. I am not selling anything any more.

 

Guy

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Thanks Guy,

 

Yes, everyone's circumstances are different—and subject to change. When I was photographing more regularly, the wife and I wouldn't have minded my just buying the M. (She surprised me with my first M6, and still occasionally offers to buy me more photo equipment.) But realistically, with the family situation as it currently is and with me only able to photograph now and then, it is hard to justify such an outlay without some consolidation of already underused equipment.

 

Perhaps I could squirrel away funds a little at a time toward an ME or a T and get one in a couple of years. We'll see. Or maybe the wife is already plotting another surprise. I certainly know what you mean about missing equipment once its gone. And I so hate to let the SLR go. It is just so nice for landscapes.

 

Enjoy your safari.

Brent

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... it is hard to justify such an outlay without some consolidation of already underused equipment. ...

Wife: "Why do you need all those cameras?"

Husband: "Why do you need all those shoes?"

 

Pete (whistling to himself innocently).

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Let me offer the perspective of a very new Leica user: I decided to acquire R8 bodies and two R lenses just for film use, keeping my Nikon rig for digital. Since over 80% of my film usage is B & W, I go out with the Leica equipment with a "black and white mindset." Also, using the slimmed down Leica kit makes me concentrate on the proposed image, not the equipment! So far (about six months) it is working.

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Brent,

 

If you like using a SLR, then you will miss your R9/DMR. RF and SLRs complement each other, but each have their strengths.

 

Having tried briefly the R-M adapter on a M240, I can tell you that it's nothing like my two DMRs (R9 & R8). There is no way I could shoot a gig or motorsport with my 180/2 or 280/4 using an EVF and the M240.

 

In terms of your R glass, you have the best in terms of value for money v performance. The 21-35 is a great WA zoom (I have often thought about buying one myself). The 35-70/4 is excellent and the 80-200/4 is like a baby 70-180 (yes, it's that good).

 

If you're looking for a digital M, I would think about buying a M9. Now that Leica has said that it will fix sensors with the laminating fault FOC, the M9 becomes a sensible used M option. Alternatively M240 prices are dropping, as people are expecting a new M in the next 12018 months.

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About a year ago I was faced with a similar dilemma when planning the kit I'd take on a safari trip to S Africa. I settled on a Sony A7R as a second body (as I couldn't afford an M240 and it and the EVF and R adapter weren't readily available then) that I took with the DMR. I found the Sony with a 280 and 2x converter got a lot of use when photographing mammals. It had two advantages - better high ISO performance (1/1000 sec, f4 or f8 when the converter in place, and floating ISO) for animals in dark or shady places and the ability to crop from the big 36mp files.

 

It was slow to focus using the 10x factor through the EVF - great for mammals that stood still but I missed a lot of moving mammal and bird shots because they didn't stay still long enough! As others have found, focus peaking isn't that sharp where it matters with long telephoto lenses. I don't think the SonyA711 or the M240/MP with EVF will be any different.

 

I still have an M8 with MATE I use in towns - rangefinder focusing is quick and accurate and the camera light to carry and relatively unobtrusive. I haven't tried the Sony with M lenses because I don't have an adapter, yet!

 

Where I'm taking landscapes, macro shots of flowers and insects, or where the light is good then the R9/DMR with 21-35, 28-90. 100 macro, 180 or 280 is the kit of choice because the image quality and colours are unsurpassed - and the file size is big enough to print at A3 without difficulty. Focusing using the optical facility, sometimes with a 2X right angle finder, is great. I'll be keeping the R9/DMR as long as I can.

 

Would I buy an MP, and the EVF and R adapter? If I win the lottery...

 

Best wishes,

 

Graeme

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Attachment to the DMR, at this late date, is more romance than logic, unless it handily pays your bills (and then it's days are still numbered). Listen to "bocaburger" becauae if you ever have any hope getting something for it, the time is now.

 

The M-P and EVF...an R platform? Seems like a misbegotten idea now, with its primitive EVF. The a7II with its higher rez EVF, viewfinder focus peaking and 5-axis IBIS makes it perhaps THE finest solution for R glass--or any manual focus SLR lenses--as of early 2015. At US$1699, pretty damned hard to beat.

Edited by james.liam
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Hi James,

I am no longer a professional photographer. At this point in my life, all of my camera attachments are more about romance than logic. I've no doubt that yourself and bocaburger are correct in your assessment of the DMR's worth. I also should have sold off my Rollei 6008i outfit before it became worthless.

 

What can I say? When it comes to cameras, I guess I'm a bad capitalist.

 

All the best,

Brent

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Attachment to the DMR, at this late date, is more romance than logic, unless it handily pays your bills (and then it's days are still numbered). Listen to "bocaburger" becauae if you ever have any hope getting something for it, the time is now.

 

Consider that 'bocaburger' on another forum dissed the DMR before anyone had ever tested or used one. Agree about the a7II.

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