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Can you tell which one is the M8, 5D, or D200?


harmsr

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You've lost me - is Guy allowed 6 guesses?! :D

 

Actually, for me the burning question from this kind of thing/online 'test' is: is the 5D a total bargain, or is it really worth selling to pay twice as much for the M8? .

 

Yes, suse, the 5D is a total bargain. Everyone should have one, and almost everyone does have one. But the M8 is almost as good (noise) or maybe better (resolution) in a kit about 1/3 the size and weight. I can carry a body and 6 lenses in a small 3 1/2 # bag. Try that with the 5D!

 

Rex

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I happen to agree with Suse that red is the way to go - gotta love the 911 in fire engine red!

 

Rick

 

 

Sorry, Rick. The red car would be strictly for camera tests only. :p

 

The last time I let a guy drive me in a red sports car, I wore a hat and glasses so that people wouldn't recognize me. Think I belong to the European less-is-more school. It's probably why I've still got the 5D. :rolleyes::D

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The test actually illustrates the real value of the M8. Its advantage is in size, build and the rangefinder focusing.

 

Image quality at any typical print size is essentially identical from one pro grade digicam to the next. It takes massive enlargement or serious pixel sniffing to discern any difference that can not be managed in post processing. (ie the highlight detail). A dead giveaway is the out of focus areas on the full frame camera however.

 

Victor, you don't need to be so nasty...no need to turn this into photo.net.

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The test actually illustrates the real value of the M8. Its advantage is in size, build and the rangefinder focusing.

 

Image quality at any typical print size is essentially identical from one pro grade digicam to the next. It takes massive enlargement or serious pixel sniffing to discern any difference that can not be managed in post processing. (ie the highlight detail). A dead giveaway is the out of focus areas on the full frame camera however.

 

Victor, you don't need to be so nasty...no need to turn this into photo.net.

 

Dan - You are dead on. As I commented the M8 won for me due to IQ plus size and form factor.

 

Carsten - The 5D probably would do better with good primes like Leica glass. The issue is I rented the camera with a "good" lens and tried it that way. My problem with primes is that Canon does not have a good reputation for wide angle primes. Leica primes are not fast to work with on an EOS body. They don't stop down automatically as the Leicas are mechanical and the EOS body controls everything electronically.

 

The D200 (for the SLR shots that I do) is much better ergonomically, and performed well enough when using the Zeiss primes. Relative to the 17-55 2.8 DX, I owned that lens and sold it due to its size and performance. The Zeiss primes out perform the 17-55 DX by a wide margin. The D200 body also functions very well with manual lenses. (see Sean's review for well written details)

 

The Z4 being "crap". Well maybe the standard Z4 is underpowered as a true sports car. However, did you notice the "M" badge on this one. It is powered by the engine from the M3 plus completely different suspension and braking. Additionally, the rear differential gearing in this one has been changed for a little more torque multiplication. Now I'm just waiting for the Dinan supercharger package to be released in Jan. '07. 450 HP in a 3200 lb. car sounds like fun to me.

 

I did do a lot of color shooting this weekend with all three cameras. The D200 with Zeiss glass is staying for the SLR work and the M8 is staying for everything under 70mm.

 

You guys are correct that these do not have any artistic merit, but it is easier for me to see tonal range, highlights, shadow detail, and rendering in this type of photo vs. being distracted by color. The color shots this weekend played out the same way. The M8 came out on top in my opinion.

 

Elvis? I'm not sure what you are talking about. The reflections in the car are from other items in the garage and my other vehicle.

 

Best,

 

Ray

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This proves my point about Digital.

The differance does'nt warrant the cost.

 

In Australian Prices,

 

Leica M8 7.000$

Canon 5D..4.400.$

Nikon D200. 2400$

 

I prefer the Nikon, as one D200 = 3 - M8's.

 

Sorry Leica.

 

Ken.

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These were all exposed the same, 2.8 aperature for all, focus was the curve line on the side mirror, all were processed in C1, WB was set to the same for all images, crops were done on the Canon & Leica shots to approximate the same FOV as the Nikon.

 

I had this in an earlier post.

 

Best,

 

Ray

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Sean,

 

Ha ha, no the roadster is not up for a prize. It is my new toy car. The Vette is just too uncomfortable to drive on the street anymore. 617 HP to the ground and almost 1g on the skid pad can quite literally fatigue a person for any extended period of driving. It was time for a little more finese in a fun handling car.

 

Best,

 

Ray

 

PS. Keep up the good work on the reviews even though some always find a reason to complain or have 20/20 hindsight vs. expressing their own honest and logical opinions as you do in a timely manner to help others.

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just a couple of questions... is it the analog or the digital version of the Z4?

 

is it a standard windshield or the 486 coated one?

 

:)

 

Great pictures by the way... we will have to meditate on camera price tags

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all were processed in C1

 

The hints were: tonal range and highlights.

 

I think that the M8 handled those the best and it was the third photo.

 

You used C1 to get those images from RAW files. In that case the test is really, what you managed to get out of these RAW files with a given RAW software at unknown settings. Tests like these, if taken seriously, are like opening up a can of worms - what RAW conversion values were used? Were they left at default values, or somewhat tweaked? If left at default values, maybe the C1 defaults for Nikon or Canon are not the right ones. Also It has been said that C1 is not so hot for Canon RAW files, DPP or ACR do much better.

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Well,

 

This was an amusing quiz. The winner is clearly the canon 5d : -). The most people "recognized" the canon look but couldn't distinguish the famous leica-look/print which is supposed to be to be delivered by the M8 (i've noted about 25 votes of which the canon was acurate with 11, leica 7 an d the nikon with 3 votes) and people so talk about much on this forum. Obviously the canon was very easy to pick and I don't mean in terms of dynamic range etc but simply it had the greatest DOF. You can clearly see that in the red knob on the garage door but it also on the parts/details of the garagedoor. They are much more blurred. I don't know whether this will also effects the dynamic range in the sense that the spot on the garagedoor would more be blurred in the canon picture, perhaps so?

 

Anyway it was a nice quiz (as I see and not a test) and now lets all make pictures with your favorite camera, whether that is the canon, m8 or nikon or whatsoever, we all just want to make pictures for living, fun etc.

 

john

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