now what does a professional photog do ...

[Guest black_jack]

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... whos DMR now gets lost, stolen, broke or who just needs a backup system for an important photo shoot?

 

[ ] change to Canon or Nikon

[ ] take a prolonged vacation until we get the R10

[ ] try his luck at eBay

 

[robsteve]

I suppose you could try calling Leica professional services and get a loaner. Keep in mind that there are very few moving parts on the DMR, really just the buttons and dials. It would be more likely to have a body problem, and getting a R9 is not that tough.

 

When the meter cells in my R9 went last May, Kindermann, Leica's Canadain service, fixed it in a day. I noticed the metering problem on a Wednesday afternoon, couriered the R9 to Kindermann that day, had a fixed R9 back on Friday morning, the day before I was neeeding it for a trip. While the R9 was in service, I had fitted the DMR to my R8, so I had a backup plan. When I travel with the DMR, I pack the R8 just in case. It is sort of like having half a spare digital

[ptomsu]

I would take that as a sign of god and change to Canon .....

[billh]

Buy one of these and use your Leica lenses -

 

http://www.imx.nl/photosite/comments/c031.html

 

You can obviously use the Canon lenses too, for those times when AF is advantageous. Their 85 f1.2 is beautiful, and the 300 f2.8 IS is a spectacular performer. Also, you can use an M8 much of the time. I have used it perhaps 90 percent of the time since it arrived, and only use the 1Ds2 and 1D2 when I need long lenses - much of that has to do with the incredible weight difference.

[rsolomon]

if someone is ready to buy a R9&DMR let me know offline -- i may be ready

[Jamie Roberts]

Ok, so I'm glad you asked this, since this happened to me a week before a big wedding and right after I bought the DMR (my fault; a bad arca-type tripod plate slipped right on off my RRS head and bang went the DMR and my 35 R Lux. Yay).

 

Kindermann Canada fixed the lens in half an hour while I waited, and shipped the body, which had suffered damage to the mount they couldn't fix, to NJ.

 

Exactly one week later, I had my camera back, calibrated, fixed, no charge for shipping or any repairs, even though they were my fault thanks to the exceptional Passport Warranty. The DMR portion was checked by Leica and had no faults.

 

So that's as exceptional a professional experience as I've ever had, and I'm a Canon CPS member too. They're good, but if I had damaged my Canon stuff by accident, they'd have charged me for it. And given there was a border between me and Leica, they did an astoundingly fast job.

 

One more thing: no pro I know doesn't have a backup system, and potentially even a backup to that. If I hadn't worried about the DMR module taking a hit, I'd have just bought a spare R9 body... but I honestly was waiting for the M8 anyway.

 

In truth, I have a 5d backup body with a bunch of Canon zooms that will more than do in a pinch, and a lot of my R lenses work on Canon bodies Now with the M8, I have three cameras I use personally, and my partner shoots with two 1d2s.

 

So a pro is covered, and frankly, we use all those cameras for different things. In a thunderstorm, just the 1d2s are used, along with weather-sealed lenses. But most often I'm shooting primes with the DMR with the 5d as a super fast zoom / hi ISO body.

 

Finally, if all three systems were stolen, or something like that, just before a big job, and my partner lost his 1d2s (you see how low-probabilty this gets) well, you can always rent something for the event, then worry about the gear later (in truth, the gear doesn't matter as much as the person holding it, IMO).

[Rolo]

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"... whos DMR now gets lost, stolen, broke or who just needs a backup system for an important photo shoot?

 

[ ] change to Canon or Nikon

[ ] take a prolonged vacation until we get the R10

[ ] try his luck at eBay"

 

Happened to me in November when I dropped my Canon 1D MkII N DSLR at a wedding and cracked the top plate. Was OK to finish the wedding, but once it went back to Canon they kept it 6 weeks.

 

I used my alternative equipment, including my Leica M's, to keep going until the 1D was returned and back in action. There was no problem with that as I like most other paid photographers am perfectly comfortable with other equipment and don't rely on one set of critical kit. I'm happy to shoot a wedding with a DSLR, a Leica M, or indeed a Rolleiflex. The results might be slightly different, but they will not be of lesser quality; in fact quite the opposite, apart from the number of choices.

 

Having only one DSLR is not my preference, but I'm patiently waiting a rise in my confidence in the reliability of the M8, which will be soon competing for a place in my bag with with a 1Ds MkIII. Can I suggest you need a fall back system if you don't have one.

 

Rolo

[andybarton]

... whos DMR now gets lost, stolen, broke or who just needs a backup system for an important photo shoot?

 

[ ] change to Canon or Nikon

[ ] take a prolonged vacation until we get the R10

[ ] try his luck at eBay

 

 

Use his second DMR?

 

[sdai]

Use his second DMR?

 

 

Right on ... Andy ... reading this board makes me wonder if Leica should open a wholesale shop like Costco.

[jlancasterd]

Surely a professional will already have a back-up DMR? If he doesn't they are beginning to trickle onto the S/H market - Ffordes https://secure.ffordes.com/index.htm have just listed one 'boxed with two spare batteries' for £2,250 on their website

[Riley]

I do not have a DMR, but I am a working photographer, I shoot real estate

 

I keep 2 completely independent sets of gear

an LC-1 and Wide, with a Metz 54

and an Olympus with ultra wide 11-22 and FL-36 flash

various other lenses and bits, flashguns, a rack of batteries, but thats my working kit

 

my strategy is, if one system has a particular deficiency I have the other to lean on

both systems do my job very well, I prefer the LC-1 for use because its easier

but the Olympus has virtues too, and I have spent quite some time working the exposure up to a good quality. The LC-1 seems to do the same role at the drop of a hat.

But I have the need to maintain the same look to my images

 

My gear is insured, and is commonly available, I worry about breakdowns more than theft, because Im rurally located, and crime is less of an issue

[Guest stnami]

... don't do wedding cameras tend to fall towards terra firma...

[Jamie Roberts]

... don't do wedding cameras tend to fall towards terra firma...

 

Imants... ah this is why pros also have insurance

[sean_reid]

My M8 backup cameras are an R-D1, Canon 5D and Canon 30D.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[blovitch]

The R8 is a good backup to an R9-DMR setup.

 

There are some pictures floating around on here somewhere of what happened to my R9 when I dropped it in the middle of a job.

 

Even my digital medium format kit is backed up by an ageing but useful 500ELX, and if all else fails I always carry a Minox M3 digital )

[Guest guy_mancuso]

One option that has not been mentioned which surprises me . RENT one , I did rented a R9 for the weekend as a backup. All Pro's have backups and if they don't they should be shot on site and maybe not with a camera. LOL

 

Only joking

[Guest stnami]

What most are advocating is the use of multiple camera systems

[Guest guy_mancuso]

Yes as nice as the M8's are they do have there usefull limits. Shift lenses, Tele's and Macro are some of them. So many folks have another system also. Me I have the DMR but some like Sean and others may have a Canon or Nikon . Honestly i just don't think there is one do all system anyway.