M9 and Epson P7000

[drteitelbaum]

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I must be insane. I shelled out something like 800 bucks for the Epson, threw away the box, and took it home. I shot with my M9 and - I know you figured where I'm going with this ---the Epson can't read it. I heard that the P5000 couldn't read the M8, but who would think that this many years later Epson still can't figure out how to read DNG! We should all band together and boycott them or something. Or is there a technical reason why they can't do it?

 

Does anyone recommend any particular viewable, portable back-up device for Leica DNGs? What about Hyperdrive?

 

BTW, I know someone will suggest just shooting in JPG/RAW...but that takes longer to write, and burns through memory and batteries quicker. And why should I have to deal with that just to see them on the viewer, anyway?

[stunsworth]

Are you sure it can't copy them? I only ask because I have a P2000 that will copy M8 files but not display them. Not that I've used it for ages - very slow and cheaper to buy cards these days.

[drteitelbaum]

Sorry- my mistake. Clarification: it will back them up. But it won't display them. But why would I pay that much for such a big, heavy, feature-laden beast if all I could do is back them up?

[Jager]

I use a MacBook Air with an SSD drive. Works great for temporary storage while traveling and has the added benefit of being able to run Lightroom, Photoshop, etc., for light editing, if needed. And it's really quite small.

[nryn]

Sorry- my mistake. Clarification: it will back them up. But it won't display them. But why would I pay that much for such a big, heavy, feature-laden beast if all I could do is back them up?

 

The short answer is I don't know why you'd pay that much.

 

But honestly, the Epsons have never read M RAWS, and there are a handful of RAW formats out there it doesn't read. I have an earlier Epson P-unit from my Canon days and loved using it--upgraded the drive and everything. And on the few occasions I don't bring a computer with me, I bring the Epson instead and yes, I either forego viewing altogether or shoot JPG/RAW. And everything is fine.

 

Not being malicious when I say this, but some light research (even on this forum) would have told you as much. Epson has apparently been pretty unambiguous about the fact that they won't support the M8s, anyway.

 

You wouldn't want the Epson supporting M9 raws, though. It'd take forever to display an image. It did when I used Canons.

[RockyIII]

On the Epson website, they do not specifically list Leica as being supported by the P-7000 Photo Viewer, but they do say it will display the jpg preview image embedded in DNG files.

 

Rocky

[caparobertsan]

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There is a one which read and display M8 DNG file. I use colourspace O. It did the job perfectly. But I think Now I carry laptop everywhere and if not I take enough SD card/ They are so cheap and If I have many 8GB sd card it is enough for most of trip. If run out just buy extra card.

But this is their site: HyperShop - The Official Online Store for HyperMac + HyperDrive

AND they are so quick fixing things : http://www.hypershop.com/HyperDrive-COLORSPACE-O-Firmware-Updates-s/44.htm <- I had sent email about M8 shutter speed info. They fixed it!

[Arif]

There is a one which read and display M8 DNG file. I use colourspace O. It did the job perfectly. But I think Now I carry laptop everywhere and if not I take enough SD card/ They are so cheap and If I have many 8GB sd card it is enough for most of trip. If run out just buy extra card.

But this is their site: HyperShop - The Official Online Store for HyperMac + HyperDrive

AND they are so quick fixing things : HyperDrive COLORSPACE O Firmware Updates <- I had sent email about M8 shutter speed info. They fixed it!

 

I use both the colorspace and the Epson-P7000 (does not hurt to have separate backups) and feel that the colorspace was a better device for backing up including the Mx DNG files. I have he 250G version and the size/weight is better as well. The Epson is really nice if connecting straight to the printer etcetera but for travel, colospace is the better choice in my opinion as well.

[noah_addis]

Sorry- my mistake. Clarification: it will back them up. But it won't display them. But why would I pay that much for such a big, heavy, feature-laden beast if all I could do is back them up?

 

Good question. I guess it pays to do a little research before buying. Boycotting epson because one of their products doesn't support your particular camera format is probably not the answer.

 

I carry a macbook and two Seagate FreeAgent Go hard drives, so when traveling I have everything on three drives. It's really not that much to carry and in any event it's much smaller than my bags of film used to be. The current Macbook pro laptops even have an SD card slot, though unfortunately I got my macbook before that feature was offered.

 

I've considered a netbook to save space, but I just can't bring myself to get a windows-based machine. I may either buy more cards for short trips or pick up a couple of colorspace drives for times when a laptop is not practical.

 

I really wish apple would come out with a 9- or 10-inch laptop.

[AlanJW]

I have given up on Epson P's for review and backup. I am a Mac user but for $400 I got an Asus netbook that weighs only a couple of pounds and has a 160G drive and a SD slot. Pop the card in and copy the files to a temporary directory. I haven't tried running Photoshop (i'm already maxed out on my PS license) but PS Elements will run albeit a bit clunkily. I can review at my leisure, always have things backed up, and can get on the Internet when I need to as well. The whole setup is less expensive than an Epson P7000 or a Hyperdrive and more versatile to boot. When Apple finally decides to make a 2 lb netbook I will be one of the first standing on line and will give one of my kids the netbook; for now this is what works for me. YMMV.

[brill64]

epson will never offer a firmware upgrade or display dng files which is what you're going to shoot on your leica 95% of the time. if you have the patience to shoot dng+jpg just so you can display the jpg image on your p7000 then good for you otherwise don't sweat it, try to sell it on ebay asap and buy something that can, the hyperdrive, for example. there will be plenty of nikon and canon users looking for this kind of storage device that will display their raw and nef formats

[RockyIII]

if you have the patience to shoot dng+jpg just so you can display the jpg image on your p7000 then good for you otherwise don't sweat it

 

Doesn't every DNG have a jpg preview embedded in it when shooting in DNG only mode? That is different from DNG+JPG, isn't it?

 

Rocky

[Noel Holland]

Oh dear, I feel the hurt, been there done that.

 

Unfortunately card reader/viewers are re-knowned for not keeping up with current camera formats. Why support new formats via firmware when they plan to bring put a new version of their device?

 

I agree with the suggestion of using a Macbook Air or a Netbook. I have an MBA which is stripped of everything except imaging software to max out available space. Unfortunately I then clog it up with PS, Lightroom, Nik Plugin Suite, OnOne Plugin Suite, HDRsoft Photomatix and Autopano Giga. That laptop lives in the back of my Hadley Pro which acts as my photographic grab bag.

 

The Air is good for weight, it's a good kilo lighter than the 13" Macbook Pro. However the 13" MBP has a built in SD card reader, MUCH larger hard drive and 7ish hours of usable battery life to only 2 > 2.5 hours on the Air. Hence the Air is more for a weekend trip where I know I'll be able to reach some form of charger.

 

However neither are cheap and quite bulky. If I was currently in the market for a light solution where I could view the images I would go with the Jobo Giga Vu Sonic which does list Leica DNG files as compatible. Note that I'd still want to test one in the shop before buying to make sure it was M9 DNG compatible and not just M8 DNGs they are referring to. I have the older Giga Vue Extreme and can attest to the advantages of being able to backup the image tank contents to an external drive directly via USBTG instead of via a laptop.

 

At the end of the day, having had a image tank fail on me halfway during a two week safari in tanzania, the only realistic solution when packing space and weight is an issue is to take LOTS of mid sized cards (large cards are a false economy and increase the damage if a single card fails).

[wlaidlaw]

I steal my wife's MacBook Air for when I want to travel light and not take my 13" MBP, which is small but quite heavy. However, M9 uncompressed DNG's are going to fill up the spare space on the 64GB SSD quite fast. I think I will have to update the SSD to a 128GB one. I suspect the price of these will fall quite soon (they are about £300 at the moment). I use Adobe Bridge as a viewer.

 

Wilson