Crisis: P&S takes better pictures than my Leicas

[spydrxx]

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If it is giving you what you want, and the Leica/s you've been shooting with for years aren't...don't get obsessed by it. If, after a while, the novelty wears off, or you come back to using the Leica, fine, if not, fine also. Leicaphiles drive themselves into frenzies, thinking their gear is the be all, do all...but that just isn't so. Different tools for different jobs....at least that is how I justified to my wife years ago my using medium format gear (SLRs & TLCs) along with Digital P&S, my trust Leica gear, and lots of other film RF and SLRs. In the end...the creativity and technical capabilities of the photographer usually far outshine the gear they use.

[AlanG]

It´s all about the reaction speed to capture instantly the moment you find worth shooting.

And the camera is totally silent too, which can be priceless.

 

You've just about sold me on this model. I too like using p&s cameras as they aid spontaneity. My first digital was an Olympus 2 MP C2000z and I got a lot of very nice images from that camera. I was thinking of getting a Nex 7 which is a fascinating device but I really don't think it fills my need of a small camera that I would have with me a lot.

 

Do you have the clip on electronic viewfinder?

[alw]

 

Do you have the clip on electronic viewfinder?

 

The camera has a slot for a viewfinder (and a plastic clip to cover it). I plan to get an optical 28mm finder for it.

 

There is a time and place for everything. Naturally I´m not giving up Leicas, but I reserve them for more deliberate and slower type of shooting.

[erl]

Surely you´re not saying that only Leica can produce "sensational" images?

 

No I am not. That would plainly be ridiculous.

 

What I am saying is that the other camera that the OP has (a Leica) will require more training to master than his P&S.

 

P.S. Neither am I saying that it is the camera that makes "sensational" images. That is up to the photographer. The camera is just a tool. Better tools allow for better work.

[swamiji]

How should I put this?

 

The Leica is a manual camera, if a picture is good or bad, it's up to the skill of the photographer. Making statements like "Crisis: P&S takes better pictures than my Leicas" only tells me the Photographer lets the camera take the picture, as P&S's contribute much more to taking the picture than a Leica M. Manual cameras are not for the weak of heart. If a P&S works for you, then by all means use them and enjoy, but don't blame your Leica. It is simply bad form for a craftsman to blame his tools....

 

It's the Photographer who takes the picture... NOT the camera... If that was not true, then why are we here? I know in a DSLR and P&S world this is forgotten, as many think that if I only get the next generation of camera, my photographs will improve. What improves my photographic eye, is practice... not megapixals... Auto anything, is a style of shooting nothing more. Each photog chooses what works best for themselves.

 

P.S I could make similar statements about any one who says camera A takes better photo's than camera B. It just with a manual camera it's more apparent.

[NZDavid]

I don't like the term P&S now that all digital cameras are mini computers. I just call them compacts.

 

Many are extremely capable and do most things you need, such as the D-Lux 5 or your Olympus.

 

But does it take better pictures? Of what? Try these: Portraits in low light. Shoot at medium to high ISO. Get some really large prints made (any subject).

 

If the results are not sufficiently convincing, then perhaps you don't need your M.

[Archiver]

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For about a year I carried my M9 everywhere and used it for all my personal work. Then I got the Ricoh GXR with two aps-c modules, and it changed everything. Frankly I LIKE autofocus and the ability to frame exactly in a LCD, or shoot more quietly than the M9. I started using the GXR at least as much as the M9; often as a complementary camera, then as a substitute when I wanted even lower profile and weight.

 

The M9 will always deliver when it comes to absolute image quality, shallow depth of field and the choice of lenses, but sometimes all I want is a sturdy, discreet aps-c compact with good AF and excellent image quality.

 

I attended a wedding on the weekend and used the M9 and GXR about equally. In that case I didn't use the AF modules, but the M-module, so I could exchange lenses between the cameras. In some ways I wished I'd had a M8.2 or another M9 as the second camera due to the GXR's shot-to-shot lag, but mostly things turned out well. Your Leica and Oly can work together.

[alw]

Maybe I should yet clarify this further:

 

I´m here talking about street photography, not low light or portrait photography. Sure, many shoot street succesfully with Leicas, but I find myself constantly worrying about the exposure and focus as things can change pretty quickly. Pre-focusing and using small apertures helps, but behind the next corner things change again and anything can pop up unexpectedly.

 

Of course it´s the photographer who takes the picture, that´s why I find p&s so liberating as it allows me to concentrate on seeing instead of fiddling with control knobs.

 

I´m not blaming Leica for this just as I´m not blaming my Mamiya 6x6 for not coping with fast action. The tool is just not right for me for this type of work.

[erl]

As long as you are 'sorted' about the difference between the photographer and the tool, you should be laughing.

 

OTOH, to quote you: Aaargh, I´m in crisis! Convince me that Leica & film are still the way to go!

 

You seem to be confusing film with digital. This raises the question of the 'medium' you need to sort out.

 

You need to sort out the difference between the photographer, the equipment and the medium.

[Ecaton]

I recently bought a cheapish Olympus XZ-1 point & shoot-compact and I´ve been in love with it ever since. The reason is simply that I get much better pictures, visually, out of it than I´d get with my M-Leicas when shooting street. The reaction speed is so much faster the instant I see something interesting focusing/metering-wise.

 

Aaargh, I´m in crisis! Convince me that Leica & film are still the way to go!

 

Send me all your m gear. In exchange I'll return you two brand new XZ-1s, a white and a black one with all the factory accessories you might want to wish for:D

[alw]

[/i]You seem to be confusing film with digital. This raises the question of the 'medium' you need to sort out.

 

It was a mistake to mention film, that´s not the problem as I could as well be using a film p&s as long as the reaction speed is sufficient.

[kanzlr]

the XZ-1 is an amazing litte camera. I thought about it myself a few times already...no need to feel guilty

 

But then, I also like what I produce with my Olympus XA or my Kodak Retina...A camera just has to work for you, whatever camera that is.