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Thinking of finally getting a DMR- good idea or not anymore?


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I am using the A850 and have 4 R lenses, 19mm, 28mm, 35-70 f4,0, 180 f2.8 Apo, converted to alpha mounts via Leitax. Works well. Along the way, I picked up a CZ 16-35 and a 70-400mm G lens. I have the DMR for 4 years before deciding to make the switch.

 

N.S. Ng

 

How do you like the colour and detail of the Sony with the Leica lenses?

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How do you like the colour and detail of the Sony with the Leica lenses?

 

 

The colours and details are slightly different from the DMR. The colors are slightly less vibrant, but tonally very natural. The details are there, but require more sharpening. In my tests, at 20" x 30" enlargement, the 24mpx sensor holds details better than the DMR. The DR is better with the Sony as well.

 

I used the A850 + R lenses extensively in my Namibia trip and I am very pleased with the results. Mind you the ff sensor will reveal weaknesses in the edge and corner performances of some Leica lenses that I did not see with the DMR.

 

N.S. Ng

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Hi John

 

I think you will find that the DMR is only compatible with the original format SD cards.

 

Is your camera running on firmware version 1.3? This allows use of 4Gb SD cards but not SDHC etc..,

 

Hope this helps.

 

Julian

 

Hi Julian,

Yes, thanks I had an old 4GB SD card that worked OK, but fell apart, so I've been searching. This one seemed to be SD only, but they may be kidding with the description. Good job I only bought the one to try!

 

John

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Hi Julian,

Yes, thanks I had an old 4GB SD card that worked OK, but fell apart, so I've been searching. This one seemed to be SD only, but they may be kidding with the description. Good job I only bought the one to try!

 

John

 

Hi John

 

I reckon you have an SDHC card there. I have always had good luck with Sandisk Ultras 2Gb from 7dayshop which are about £6 each.. I have 10, each will store 99 DMR dngs; plenty for me! I also like spreading the risk over many cards..., just in case it fails or I loose one.

 

Julian

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Guest jarski

SD-card and battery issue seem biggest drawbacks of going DMR these days.

 

now that R-system is discontinued for some time, Leica could give DMR firmware source codes to open source community for support latest and future storage card types ?

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Which entry level R lenses would be recommended on a budget .... should i be looking

 

at a 50mm F2 sum for example or some of the small aforementioned zooms.

 

Heres one 50mm http://www.reddotcameras.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=46_44&products_id=3198

 

Thanks....Brian

 

Brian. I like the 50 Summicron very much. Wonderful bokeh when shot wide open. The aforemention zooms are great to have for street work, but they are heavy. The 24 Elmarit 2,8 is a very special lens, but it takes real discipline to master the framing. It's very sharp & the colors it renders with the DMR are just amazing. It's a difficult lens to use well, but I love it.

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After a four month experiment, I just sold my DMR / R9 kit.

 

In the end, it was too heavy to carry around.

 

I could do most of what the DMR could do, with my M9 and I had a lot of overlap between the M and R lenses.

 

For pure SLR work, I'll stay with my R6.2.

 

...Vick

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After a four month experiment, I just sold my DMR / R9 kit.
The build quality, handling and technical features of the R9 system are so exquisite and superb. But next to an M9, the results just pale in comparison. It's such a pity that Leica dropped this system instead of providing us with a DMR upgraded to the level of the M9 or beyond. I would even have accepted the weight (and then some) under these circumstances. What a loss.
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Ben

 

I was at Fforbes a couple of weeks ago to buy an R9/DMR but decided

 

against it ... really based on its size and weight ... i found that when holding

 

it using the strap that the edge of the body tended to dig into my hand :confused: to

 

still i did not leave empty handed and bought the much smaller X1.

 

Brian

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The build quality, handling and technical features of the R9 system are so exquisite and superb. But next to an M9, the results just pale in comparison. It's such a pity that Leica dropped this system instead of providing us with a DMR upgraded to the level of the M9 or beyond. I would even have accepted the weight (and then some) under these circumstances. What a loss.

 

Results pale in comparison? Wow

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The Canons have a nasty smudgy AA filter on them that the Nikons don't have.

 

Strange....Sean Reid states that the D700 has a stronger AA filter than the Canon 5D (and 5Dii, I believe). I have no vested interest in either system, nor am I making any judgment about compatibility with R lenses; just found this observation curious.

 

Jeff

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  • 1 month later...
These seem to be good 4GB SD (not SDHC) cards at a reasonable price. I managed to do an extensive Ebay search last night to see availability of such cards. The other ones I mentioned earlier seem to be SDHC after asking the sellers.

★ NEW SD 4GB Card Memory Secure 4 G B Lifetime Warranty - eBay (item 220589424892 end time Apr-09-11 04:15:48 PDT)

 

Did you ever purchase the SD cards and did they work properly on your DMR?

 

Thanks

Richard:)

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Doug (and everyone)--a few points of clarification...

 

First I want to start out by saying that selling my DMR was a financial necessity for me, but it's the only piece of gear I personally regret selling. Why? Because the files are so damn good, especially the colour at low ISOs.

 

For focusing, the Nikon D3 I have is practically as good a VF as the DMR--yes, it's true, and I had the luxury of comparing them over time. The D3 VF has the coverage (and it's full frame) and it's very bright for an AF camera, only very slightly less contrasty and bright as the DMR, which is saying something. I was impressed, especially coming from Canon full frame (1ds2) where focusing manually was next to impossible, regardless of the screen in the camera.

 

So focusing manually, with the D3 at least, isn't much of an issue. It's a high ISO dream camera, and ergonomically it's nicer in the hands than the DMR (and lighter I think).

 

From a focus-confirmation perspective, both the D700 and D3 have tracking AF mechanisms for moving subjects that actually work. They will follow a target exceptionally well, and it's quite astonishing to see this work in the VF. The D3 has 51 focus points spread very well across the FOV.

 

I haven't seen if the 3d focus tracking works with MF lenses (as confirmation only, of course), but I'd like to. Of course, I don't shoot the same things Doug does, but I don't focus and recompose, and I understand the benefits of manual focus. If there's an AF camera capable of excellent MF costing less than a new car, then it's the D3 / D700.

 

Anyway, the problem for me is not focusing or the speed or the view of a D3. It's the colour. I just can't reproduce the colour of the DMR with the D3, no matter how hard I try. It may be that I haven't put Leica glass on the D3 (I'm sure that contributes) but the files themselves are just not the same in terms of colour.

 

As for sharpness, if anything, the D3 has more AA than full frame Canons, so Andy and I disagree on that (the D700 is essentially the same as the D3 in this regard). However, they are, like Canon, perfectly capable of sharpness with the right processing.

 

But it's that DMR colour palette that I miss most, to tell the truth. Short of an S2 or a Phase back, I'm not sure where to get it these days.... Oh--and not being able to use my 19mm Elmarit on the Nikon is a real drag too...

 

BTW--any suggestions are welcome. I wish Leica would hurry up with its "R solution"... :(

 

I recently purchased a Canon 1d Mark IV as my R solution. I am very glad I did! It's not full frame but 1.3x similar to the DMR. I get 10 fps, a nice bright image with a variety of focusing screens, and in manual mode, I can set fix my speed and aperture ie wide open and the exposure settings can vary by the auto ISO setting. High ISO capabilities make it quite functional for low light situations. Again, I am very pleased with my purchase.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Did you ever purchase the [4 GB] SD cards and did they work properly on your DMR?

Thanks

Richard

 

Hi Richard,

just in case that you are still interested in 4 GB SD (not SDHC) cards, here is my experience with such cards:

- I used 4 GB SD (not SDHC) cards of the brand 'Formel 1' with the M8, for 2 years before the M8's firmware was upgraded to SDHC.

- I did not check these 4 GB SD cards in the DMR,

- With the M8, these cards worked flawless (even better than my Panasonic and SanDisk 2 GB SD cards - perhaps because they were a bit slower?).

- Problems with these 4 GB SD cards occassionally arose only AFTER the M8's firmware had been updated to SDHC (so I stopped using them in the M8, as all other SD cards).

- Technically, the 4 GB SD (not SDHC) cards appear to be two 2 GB SD cards integrated into one housing.

Best regards,

Telyt2003

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