Raw or Jpg with your M with Fotos

[jeri]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

2 hours ago, o2mpx said:

Remarkably consistent, with a couple of exceptions, Leica users are on raw and not users of Fotos. My guess is if the question was posted in the SL or perhaps Q forums, likely similar responses. So Leica’s work on fotos, lux grip etc are to appeal to a new audience? D-lux shooters?

I could only speak for myself. For many years I have used Nikon, Canon and Leica cameras (film and digital). And although in the last decade each of the above companies (Nikon and Canon) has tried with their flagship cameras to shorten the bottleneck in the process of transferring the photographed files from the memory card to the processing software on the computer, none of them provided me with a simple, efficient and effective tool for transferring files, as the Leica Photos app can provide. In this respect, discovering Leica Photos was, for me, like touching the moon...

[Chris W]

I typically only shoot raw.

Having just bought an M11 I have decided to select DNG plus JPEG in the menu. I'm liking the feature where the M11 sends jpegs to your phone in the background. A couple of times a day I'm looking at my phone to see how my images are looking - really mostly for composition.

FOTOS can also import DNG files. With my M10 I only shot raw, but on trips I would upload one or two images to my phone, process them with Capture One Mobile and either upload to instagram or (more likely) airdrop them to my partner. At the end of the trip all the raws were transferred to my home hard drive to be properly post-processed and archived.

[didier]

2 hours ago, Gateway77 said:

As above really - I always shoot RAW, but I do use Fotos occasionally when I'm away just to get an image onto my phone to send to family etc.

I do the same for SL and Q.

The RAW files are so good to work with that using JPEGs seems somehow unsatisfying.  A bit like eating a good steak without seasoning.

This is exactly what I do. I work my DNG files at home on my Mac. But FOTOS is useful to send a few pics quickly (I go through LR mobile app as written previously).

I like the FOTOS app, I find it useful and, with every generation of camera, it is faster (I use it on my SL(601) where it is quite slow, but it is fast enough and reliable on the Q2r, M10M).

[don daniel]

I store L-DNG on the SD card and M-JPG in the internal memory of the M11. I use the Fotos app with activated background transfer and so that the location data is written directly into the files. Sometimes I also use the Fotos app to remotely trigger the camera.
Initial review of preview images on the iPhone can still be convenient. Sometimes, when I want to quickly share a larger file, I also download the M-JPG directly to the iPhone using the Fotos app. As a rule, however, I take the time to load the DNGs onto the computer or respectively onto the MacBook. I sometimes compare them with the JPGs that are then also included. You can always get more out of the DNGs. I then frequently delete the JPGs, but sometimes I keep them as well.

[Stef63]

I gave up on the Leica Fotos app a long time ago. Too frustrating to use. Maybe I’m wrong and today the app is more stable, but every 6–9 months I give it another short try—for example to load new firmware or for macro work. And still, after 30 seconds, it frustrates me again. I never shoot JPEG anyway, so the app brings little value. For all the features it offers, I either have no real use case or I already have a different workflow that just works.  

[Chris W]

I found it slow with my M10, but so far it's pretty zippy and smooth with my M11.

[Photoworks]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

17 hours ago, o2mpx said:

Curious how popular M shooters are on jpgs and Fotos workflow vs the more traditional raw with post edits. Thanks. 

JPG = shooting "P" with the M11 and trusting the results. Good for Blind people.

DNG+Edit= Using the power of the Lens Camera to get you a great looking file and be able to edit it in post to what your vision is

FOTOS app is always running on my phone, the images from all the different Leica cameras are tagged, and I hit the star on the M11 and it gets transferred to the phone in the background.
I have a small image to apply LEICA BRS look at 80% and give it to the person I just met. A modern Polaroid.

Otherwise, I have no use for the FOTOS app, it is too limited and frustrating.

if you look at this comparison between DNG and JPG, I don't understand anyone who wants to use a JPG as a final deliverable, even with editing!

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

[lct]

15 minutes ago, Photoworks said:

if you look at this comparison between DNG and JPG, I don't understand anyone who wants to use a JPG as a final deliverable, even with editing!

Some of us have known an era when digital cameras could not produce raw files. I had only jpegs and tiffs on my Digilux 1 in 2002. Then we used to do "poor man's raw" i.e. working in post on jpegs converted to tiff. After having used various raw converters for 20+ years i'm now reverting to my old technique thanks to the colors of the M11 i like much. YMMV.

Edited August 31 by lct

[jaapv]

A TIFF file out of camera is a raw data file, also on the Digilux1. A DNG is nothing more than a wrapper around a TIFF file. Converting a JPG to TIFF does not make it raw in any way, not even a poor man’s. 

[DigitalHeMan]

Like others have said, I too shoot DNG in the camera, but have configured it to download every photo as JPG to my phone as I take them. I hardly ever look at the back of the M11, but if I stop for lunch or coffee I’ll review the images on my phone, and share some with my family. 
 

it’s also a kind of insurance - if there was a technical problem or the camera was lost or stolen, at least I would have the memories on my phone, albeit not in DNG. 

[pgh]

I always shoot raw and edit in capture one. But sometimes I ALSO shoot jpg and use Fotos when a quick sharing of a few images is helpful or necessary. Fotos can do a nice job in a pinch. (I only use m10 cameras and I gather it’s even better with the m11).
Yes jpg is not the ultimate in IQ but that is not always needed. 

[DadDadDaddyo]

I shoot RAW, but the Fotos app has a lot to offer in its areas of strength.

Some of my output is initially bound for Instagram, workshop group sharing (even long after the workshop), for example. Downloading the low-res shot, maybe a fast tweak in Lightroom, Fotos offers a fast, convenient path to sharing a shot.

But that's a completely separate workflow to the "traditional" digital photography workflow. If it's bound for printing, I'll give a shot the full treatment. 

It's nice that you can have either or both. 

[DigitalHeMan]

3 hours ago, pgh said:

I always shoot raw and edit in capture one. But sometimes I ALSO shoot jpg and use Fotos when a quick sharing of a few images is helpful or necessary. Fotos can do a nice job in a pinch. (I only use m10 cameras and I gather it’s even better with the m11).
Yes jpg is not the ultimate in IQ but that is not always needed. 

Maybe you know this already and I'm repeating something you know, but don't need to shoot in JPG in the camera in order to transfer out to Fotos in JPG.

[marchyman]

Fotos for firmware updates and once in a rare while remote shutter release.  I like LARGE screens and doing anything photo editing related on a phone is pretty  much a no go for me.  Age and eyesight might be a contributing factor.

[jaapv]

Actually, if I want a photo on my phone, I use the phone to take it. Saves a lot of hassle. 

[costa43]

I only shoot DNG. I find it really hard to edit on a phone due to the small screen and fiddly controls so I don’t bother with the Fotos app unless I’m updating firmware. 

[Photoworks]

8 hours ago, jaapv said:

A TIFF file out of camera is a raw data file, also on the Digilux1. A DNG is nothing more than a wrapper around a TIFF file. Converting a JPG to TIFF does not make it raw in any way, not even a poor man’s. 

I suppose you can generalize on all the TIFF flavors, on the other hand, DNG is more than just a TIFF

[pgh]

3 hours ago, DigitalHeMan said:

Maybe you know this already and I'm repeating something you know, but don't need to shoot in JPG in the camera in order to transfer out to Fotos in JPG.

Yes, but it’s faster to work w jpgs. Also use them for editing on certain occasions.

[pgh]

2 hours ago, jaapv said:

Actually, if I want a photo on my phone, I use the phone to take it. Saves a lot of hassle. 

How do you make your phone output a Leica dng with a 50mm focal length that you can properly use on your computer later though? If you do that indeed share knowledge. 

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[jaapv]

 Huh? Why should anybody want to do so?? For use on a phone, phone quality is ample. Do you seriously imply that you can only post Leica snapshots on Facebook?