almoore Posted May 17, 2012 Share #21 Â Posted May 17, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) So much tonal range... Â I keep reading that this camera offers an extended tonal range, but again I'm seeing what appears to be a disturbing tendency towards utterly blowing highlights. Â You might well have gone for a deliberately high-key look, but it would be nice to see some images that actually display this notionally extended dynamic range. As of now there's a jarring discrepancy the stated characteristics of this sensor and the initial images. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted May 17, 2012 Posted May 17, 2012 Hi almoore, Take a look here My M Monochrom Test Shots. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
lars_bergquist Posted May 17, 2012 Share #22 Â Posted May 17, 2012 I am still waiting for those objective, controlled side-by-side tests, presented not on Flickr but at magnifications that do show the difference. Somebody (Sean Reid?) with access to the gear might do it, when the hype storm dies down. Then we may be able to judge for ourselves. Â This is just worsening my tinnitus. Â The old man from the Kodachrome Age Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
edmond_terakopian Posted May 17, 2012 Author Share #23 Â Posted May 17, 2012 I was afraid you'd say that ... Â Yeah, sorry!! ;-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
edmond_terakopian Posted May 17, 2012 Author Share #24  Posted May 17, 2012 I keep reading that this camera offers an extended tonal range, but again I'm seeing what appears to be a disturbing tendency towards utterly blowing highlights. You might well have gone for a deliberately high-key look, but it would be nice to see some images that actually display this notionally extended dynamic range. As of now there's a jarring discrepancy the stated characteristics of this sensor and the initial images.  The blown highlights are down to two things - my failure to expose properly and a badly lit scene! The set was made up as a demo for the S2 which was being shot with studio flash, so it wasn't lit the way I would have done it. Trust me, the camera doesn't blow highlights - we do!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
edmond_terakopian Posted May 17, 2012 Author Share #25  Posted May 17, 2012 I am still waiting for those objective, controlled side-by-side tests, presented not on Flickr but at magnifications that do show the difference. Somebody (Sean Reid?) with access to the gear might do it, when the hype storm dies down. Then we may be able to judge for ourselves. This is just worsening my tinnitus.  The old man from the Kodachrome Age  A quick preview with these shots you asked for:  The Leica M Monochrom Hands On Review | Photo This & That  :-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
almoore Posted May 17, 2012 Share #26 Â Posted May 17, 2012 The blown highlights are down to two things - my failure to expose properly and a badly lit scene! The set was made up as a demo for the S2 which was being shot with studio flash, so it wasn't lit the way I would have done it. Trust me, the camera doesn't blow highlights - we do!! Â Thanks for responding Edmond. Â I'm aware that photographers rather than cameras screw up exposures, but it's difficult not to note how frequently we're seeing an abrupt transition to blown highlights in the initial images from this camera. Especially given the hyperbolic claims of a supposed shift into a whole new world of image quality. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted May 17, 2012 Share #27 Â Posted May 17, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) Those Ian Berry shots show, even on internet jpegs, the thing that struck me first on the MM: the plasticity of the rendering of skin. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted May 17, 2012 Share #28 Â Posted May 17, 2012 Edmond... really is NOT a typo the 8000 ASA statement ? Looking at those splendid pics, I had thought it ought to be 800... fantastic details and skin rendering. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
almoore Posted May 17, 2012 Share #29 Â Posted May 17, 2012 Those Ian Berry shots show, even on internet jpegs, the thing that struck me first on the MM: the plasticity of the rendering of skin. Â Really? The thing that strikes me is that the Berry photographs appear to have been made with an M9-P. Â We see what we want to see. The Emperor's beautiful monochromatic suit is undoubtedly the finest he has ever worn... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattsy Posted May 17, 2012 Share #30 Â Posted May 17, 2012 What did Ian Berry think of it? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy D Posted May 17, 2012 Share #31 Â Posted May 17, 2012 Cheers. No filters and they were jpeg (didn't think to check the camera as I always shoot RAW! Oops!!). Minimal processing done. Really, really, lovely files. Â Very nice pictures. Can you provide provide full size versions on Flickr? Â Regards! Â Tim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotolebrocq Posted May 17, 2012 Share #32  Posted May 17, 2012 Very impressive pictures indeed and thanks for posting - I have to say that the other pics you posted of the same scene taken with the M9 on Flickr are also pretty damn good  Tony Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattsy Posted May 17, 2012 Share #33 Â Posted May 17, 2012 Those Ian Berry shots show, even on internet jpegs, the thing that struck me first on the MM: the plasticity of the rendering of skin. Â Isn't Ian Berry holding the MM? I don't suppose Leica Mayfair had two floating about. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
almoore Posted May 17, 2012 Share #34 Â Posted May 17, 2012 Isn't Ian Berry holding the MM? Â He is indeed, and as Edmond's captioning acknowledges: "Image shot on an M9-P and processed in Silver Efex Pro 2". Although to be fair to jaap Ian Berry is renowned within Magnum for the otherworldly plasticity of his skin. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil U Posted May 17, 2012 Share #35 Â Posted May 17, 2012 Illusory correlation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
almoore Posted May 17, 2012 Share #36 Â Posted May 17, 2012 I've given jaapv's 15:35 post a thank you because it might just be the most (albeit unwittingly) revealing comment ever made about a new camera. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lars_bergquist Posted May 17, 2012 Share #37  Posted May 17, 2012 A quick preview with these shots you asked for: The Leica M Monochrom Hands On Review | Photo This & That  Yeah, I had read that when I posted. But the comparison shots? Nowhere.  What we want to know is not that the Apo-Summicron is good – which we take for granted – but that it is actually thrice as good as the plain Summicron. Which is after all the oldest design in the entire M stable.  The old man from the Kodachrome Age Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter H Posted May 17, 2012 Share #38 Â Posted May 17, 2012 I'm very grateful to you for posting these Edmond, but for the sake of completeness I should add that my wallet isn't. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
haroldp Posted May 17, 2012 Share #39 Â Posted May 17, 2012 Not sure if they could; the Monochrom has so much detail and range partly because it doesn't need the Bayer filter in front of the sensor (someone more technical kindly correct me if I have this wrong!). Â You are essentially correct. At any level of sensor development removing the bayer filters will improve effective resolution, accuracy of luminance at each pixel, and sensitivity. Â In the future, if the industry goes to non-bayer sensors such as the current Foveon, or some of the non-bayer sensor designs Nikon is patenting, then the monochrome sensor would probably keep it's sensitivity advantage but lose the others. Â The key question is at what level of refinement will it no longer matter. Â Regards ..... H Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
philipus Posted May 17, 2012 Share #40  Posted May 17, 2012 I am still waiting for those objective, controlled side-by-side tests, presented not on Flickr but at magnifications that do show the difference. Somebody (Sean Reid?) with access to the gear might do it, when the hype storm dies down. Then we may be able to judge for ourselves. This is just worsening my tinnitus.  The old man from the Kodachrome Age  LFI 4/2012 has MM+M9 comparison shots from a test scene at various ISOs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.