Thoughts of 'apostasy'

[ijporter]

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I've used Leica since 1984 and have had my R6 since 1989. I use a 21f4, 28, 50f2, 90f2, 180f3.4 and Extender 2x and the package has served me well for all that time. Although I've taken tens of thousands of photos during those years, it is still all in pristine condition. I love the Leica mindset of excellence, but I'm finding the cost of film, processing, scanning, slide mounts, slide sheets & rods (not to mention the time spent mounting the slides and the weight of it all when bushwalking for days) is becoming too much and I'm thinking that going digital is now an inevitability rather than a possibility.

 

But what am I to do? The R10 may be 2 years away and compatibility with my older R-lenses is not guaranteed. I could sell it all and buy a Nikon D300 or a Canon EOS5D with an adaptor to use my R lenses, but I don't know how it would be to use them at their working aperture and the 5D and D300 bodies are quite a bit heavier than the R6. I can't afford a M8 and lenses. I'm attached to the Leica and selling it would be like losing my right arm. One possibility is to buy a Digilux-3 and use my 90 and 180 on it, but I'm not sure about the Digilux.

 

What are people's opinions who have experience using R-lenses on the Digilux 3?

 

I know there won't be many who would advocate changing to Canon or Nikon, but I'd like to explore options so that I might stay within the Leica 'family' and not become an 'apostate'!

 

Ian Porter

[lemalk]

Hi Ian -

There are some good examples on this forum from user pebetz.

Here's one of the threads that gave a good idea of what the Digilux 3 is capable of with R glass: http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/other/29487-digilux-3-some-used-r-lenses.html

 

Look for more of pebetz's posts to see other fantastic examples.

 

I've been using my Digilux with a 50mm f2 'cron and an Elmarit 135mm with some great results. Your mileage may vary, but the design of the Digilux 3 and the great glass has at least put the M8 lust in hibernation mode for the near future.

[Guest malland]

If I were you I'd change and never look back, which is what I have done. I shot my last frame of film with my M6 in June 2006 before I got the Ricoh GRD, which was followed by the Leica D-Lux-3, the Ricoh GX100 and now the Ricoh GRD2, which is one of the best cameras for street photography that you can get. I shot for over 18 months with small sensor cameras because they gave me some of the look of "35mm aesthetic" that I like. Indeed, the GRD2 is such a good camera for street photography that it is, in my view, the type of camera that Leica would have produced were it an innovative company.

 

A month ago, the day before leaving on a business trip to Namibia, when I learned that I'd be able to take off ten days and "go on safari" — just a fancy phrase that means visiting game parks — I looked at the Nikon D300 and was dazzled by it's sophistication — you can customize just about anything — and its responsiveness: no shutter lag, immediate and accurate autofocus, a rapid and quiet, well-dampened mirror with no mirror slap and unnoticeable viewfinder blackout. This ain't your father's Nikon F. I bought it with two excellent lenses, the 17-35mm f/2.8 and the 70-200mm f/2.8 VR. The latter is a spectacular lens and the vibration reduction really works: I can shoot at 1/100 sec at 200mm and the picture looks like it's been shot from a heavy tripod. To produce equipment like this requires huge R&D funds, which is something that Leica will not have.

 

I'm attached to the Leica and selling it would be like losing my right arm

Come now, get a grip! <grin>

 

As I don't believe in making posts such as this one without some examples here are a few pictures:

 

 

 

Ricoh GRD2

 

 

 

Ricoh GRD2 with 40mm EFOV tele-converter | ISO 400

 

 

 

 

Nikon D300 17-35mm f2.8 at ISO 800

 

 

 

 

Nikon D300 70-200mm

 

 

 

—Mitch/Paris

Flickr: Mitch Alland's Photostream

[Guest malland]

...and here's one more:

 

 

 

Nikon 300D 70-200mm f/2.8 | ISO 800 | 200mm [300mm EFOV] f/2.8

 

 

I don't think that this forum should be limited to four pictures per post — posting pictures should be encouraged rather than hampered.

 

—Mitch/Paris

Flickr: Mitch Alland's Photostream

[lemalk]

I don't think that this forum should be limited to four pictures per post — posting pictures should be encouraged rather than hampered...

I'm with you 100% there.

 

Mitch - I'm not into bird pictures, but that sample you posted is phenomenal. Great work.

[Thomas Edwards]

...imho, the kit lens with the digi3 is superb...add the new 25mm summilux and it is that much better...throw in the forthcoming 14-150mm lens and you have an extremely competent dslr...and, to top it off, you can still use your r lenses...

 

...of course this assumes you would wish to continue with leica and to invest in the new 4/3rd lenses...

[ijporter]

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Thanks for all your inputs - the quality of the D300 is very impressive, but does anyone have examples to post of R-lenses on the Digilux-3 or a comparison between the Canon L-lenses and the Leicas?

 

Ian

[stunsworth]

I don't think that this forum should be limited to four pictures per post — posting pictures should be encouraged rather than hampered

 

It's a compromise. Andreas pays all the bills for supporting this site, he get's to make the decision.

 

If you don't feel 4 photographs is enough post them in multiple messages as ...Part 1, ...Part 2 etc.

[Guest malland]

...Mitch - I'm not into bird pictures, but that sample you posted is phenomenal. Great work.

Thanks, lemalk. I'm not into bird pictures either: my wife made me do it.

 

—Mitch/Paris

Flickr: Mitch Alland's Photostream

[stunsworth]

I could sell it all and buy a Nikon D300 or a Canon EOS5D with an adaptor to use my R lenses, but I don't know how it would be to use them at their working aperture...

 

They work just fine, you soon get used to focusing wide open, and then stopping down before pressing the shutter - or at least I did. I used a 5D and Leica glass a lot before the M8 was launched, haven't used it since <grin>.

 

To be honest if you can't afford an M8 now, I doubt that you'll be able to afford an R10 when it's released, so my advice would be to buy a Nikon or Canon now and have the use of the camera.

 

Personally I'd ignore the four thirds cameras, they seem to be pretty much a dead end IMHO.

[lct]

Nikon makes some good stuff (i'm a nikonian as well) but at few exceptions AFAIK their lenses are not on par with Leica's. Now one can use a Nikon body with Zeiss lenses for sure and it is perhaps something i will do if Leica does not lauch a DSLR to my likings. But so far i keep my R lenses the same way as i did with my M's and i've never regretted it so far.

[ijporter]

Thanks again for the advice, which is much appreciated. Part of my problem is that I know that if I leave the Leica system, I'll probably not be able to afford to buy back into it - although I could buy a M8, I don't have any M lenses and I couldn't afford to buy the M8 and lenses together. In the early 80s I used to use Nikon (F3 and Nikkor lenses) but when I saw Helfried Weyer's (?) 'Around the World in 80 Minutes' in 'Leicavision', I saw a quality of image I'd never seen before and eventually (being single then) sold my Nikon gear and bought Leica. Digital has clearly come of age, but I feel like I'm locked into an expensive anachronism while I still have my current gear.

A possible solution could be for me to keep my current Leica equipment and buy a Nikon Coolscan 5000 - then I can scan all my old trannies and negs whilst simultaneously reducing my expenses to those of film and processing - while I wait to see what the R10 delivers!

 

BTW - when I said about 'losing my right arm' - I'm left handed!

 

Ian