Digilux 2 owners' opinion on X1

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Lazarus,

 

Very unfortunately my observations overlap with yours. However I am sure we all wish to (and believe will) see much better examples very soon.

.

 

here are some of what i believe show that "leica look" these photos do not belong to me but to another member " jsrockit "

 

My Leica X1 case on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[jsrockit]

here are some of what i believe show that "leica look" these photos do not belong to me but to another member " jsrockit "

 

My Leica X1 case on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

 

Those are Harry Leim's photos, not mine.

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[wilfredo]

Wilfredo,

 

This IS the 'optical spirit' I mentioned within my earlier post in the thread. It is there in all of your 4 excellent examples. Particularly the calligraphy photograph. Thanks for sharing.

 

And very unfortunately most of the X1 shots I have seen so far lacks this 'optical spirit'.

.

 

Kamil,

 

Thank you. I like your term "optical spirit." One of the things I like most about the D2 is that my shots with it require virtually no PP. I think X1 shots can probably get that "optical spirit" look with some PP. One thing the X1 has going is higher resolution and lower ISO noise, but from what I've seen thus far, in most instances, not all, I still have a preference for the D2 and M8 files.

[len_gee]

Wilfredo,

 

This IS the 'optical spirit' I mentioned within my earlier post in the thread. It is there in all of your 4 excellent examples. Particularly the calligraphy photograph. Thanks for sharing.

 

And very unfortunately most of the X1 shots I have seen so far lacks this 'optical spirit'.

.

 

What the heck is "optical spirit"?

Can you elaborate please?

Is it similar to the "Leica glow"?

 

Thanks.

[kamilsukun]

What the heck is "optical spirit"?

Can you elaborate please?

Is it similar to the "Leica glow"?

 

Thanks.

 

Len,

 

The optical spirit of a Leica lens in my humble opinion is the reason and the reflection of the unique pleasure we have looking at a good Leica photograph which overlaps with the pleasure we have looking at another good Leica photograph.

 

The bokeh, the sharpness distribution, the angle, the footprint, the way lens draws the picture, the perspective, the design of the interaction with the sensor(s) and even the way light envelopes the objects "the Leica glow" may not be enough to define it enough.

 

The main ingredients of lens manufacturing such as the schematic design, the material, the main methods and subtle details governing the material handling, stocks, cooling and pasting and possibly many other fine traditions of the whole process are resulting the images of Leica lenses.

 

All these factors altogether produce a lens which evolved into a "legend" and the addiction to it we all know is far beyond a simple brand addiction. Numerous engineers, technicians and administrators have spent and are spending years to keep this legend going.

 

Beyond all the factors mentioned above the discipline and state of mind of the staff is a result of the heritage radiated from the walls of their manufacturing facilities.

 

This spirit is so vitally important that many gigantic companies chose to be partners with the relatively small but traditional optical companies in the past decades. Sony-Zeiss, Samsung-Pentax, Panasonic-Leica are only few examples of this vitally essential exchange of know-how.

 

At this point referring a Leica image only with some common tags seem a bit unfair to me and I would like to call it the 'optical spirit'.

[jbgeach]

If I may add a word about m8 at iso 2500. If you are shooting B and W, it looks just fine at 2500. Willl post some examples, but I have no qualms bumping the iso to 2500 and just putting it in B and W mode.

 

 

Also, the printed pics look great. If you pixel peep, not the best, but everyone I show the prints just loves them.

[Digitom]

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...

The optical spirit of a Leica lens in my humble opinion is the reason and the reflection of the unique pleasure we have looking at a good Leica photograph...

 

The bokeh, the sharpness distribution, the angle, the footprint, the way lens draws the picture, the perspective, ... "the Leica glow" may not be enough to define it enough.

 

...All these factors altogether produce a lens which evolved into a "legend" and the addiction to it we all know is far beyond a simple brand addiction. ...

 

At this point referring a Leica image only with some common tags seem a bit unfair to me and I would like to call it the 'optical spirit'.

 

 

Well, I say, I agree what you mentioned about the biokeh and the "Leica glow". And the thread "do D2 pictures have a distictive look?" with more then 600 posts shows that there is something true about this!

But: are we not going to be in the danger of mystifying a little bit?!

 

Because: vice versa - it seems that one is able to say if a photo was taken with a Leica camera? Really? I think that is not possible in general. And it would be unfair also.

 

So - looking to that theme with some kind of "science" there is nothing behind all that talking of "very special", "bokeh" and so on. But - there is a simple point of statistic: it is possible to take a very good photo with a very cheap camera (technical and content aspect), but the probability is significant more low, then with a camera which has e.g. very good lenses. Another thing is, that Leica in general is a high price product (with excellent quality). A buyer of a Leica is IMHO someone who wants to look into the subject of photography very expressive (I do not look at the people who only takes Leica into the vitrine or walking around for posing).

 

I mean: these expressive users are no "mass market" user. So what we see is maybe the result of this experience, resulting in very special photos. And when one see that photos, maybe there is some explanation of "bokeh" and "Leica glow" arising, which was not the real reason for these distictive look. But it is sure, that one get more freedom in his photographic development when he/she knows that the possibilities of a Leica camera can not easy be exhausted. The Leica cameras gives the possibilities to grow, they challenge! And THIS is really a fact, which is founded by excellent cameras and excellent lenses. So these wonderful cameras are the basic assumption for technical good photos.

The rest is personal motivation.

Edited April 1, 2010 by Digitom

[kamilsukun]

But: are we not going to be in the danger of mystifying a little bit?!

 

Thomas,

 

The phrase 'spirit' is not more than the expression present in the popular term 'zeitgeist'. The 'geist'.

 

My intention is never up to the point of mystifying the properties of Leica lenses at all.

 

I fully agree to the fact that good photographs may be produced by many cameras if the circumstances allow.

 

It is usually quite difficult to tell if a photograph is made by a Leica.

 

But the probability of telling the photograph is not made by a Leica could be higher sometimes.

 

And, maybe vice versa.

.

Edited April 6, 2010 by kamilsukun