[LRflex] Re: I am new here

  • From: David Young <dsy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Mon, 05 May 2008 19:16:23 -0700

At 05/05/2008, you wrote:
Fellow R Shooters:

Just a little note to introduce myself. My name is John, I have lived in Philadelphia all of my life. I work for the philadelphia police dept as a photographer supervisor. We do prisoner processing, some of the public event stuff and we handle the still photography for graduations and promotions. We are responsible for developing all of the film that police shoot during investigations, that is whats left of it. On the job we use Nikon digital and film cameras and every once in a while a medium or large fromat.

Personally I shoot everything from 35mm to 8x10. I do most of my work in 35mm with Leica M and R cameras. I have been at this hobby/profession for about 40 years. rvrn though I love M cameras for their simplicity . I find myself more attracted to the R cameras there is jsut something about looking through an incredible peice of glass and composing on the ground glass. I have done over 600 weddings, a lot of portraits. still lifes, and scenics. But, what I enjoy the most is going to carnivals and public events. Just taking photos of people having fun.

I am finally ready to give digital a try,( personally i dont think it will last, LOL) I am thinking of getting one of the new Canon Rebel XSi nad an adapter and using it with sof this Lieca glass I already own. are there more than one kind or brand of adapter out there.

Thanks
John


Hi John!

Welcome to the zoo!

Six hundred weddings! Wow! You're a braver man than I, that's for sure!!!! (What did I expect? You're a cop!)

As for "giving digital a try", there are really only two options... the Canon and the Olympus models. Other cameras (Nikons, Pentax and others) all have too large a distance between the film/sensor plane and the lens mount to allow space for an adaptor which still allows for infinity focus.

I've been using Leica glass on the Canon 20D & 30D for the last three years. Also had an R8 with DMR, but that's "had" and it's a long story you don't need/want to know. However, if you can find one and if you've go the coin, it's a superb piece of gear in the right hands. (Take a peek at Doug Herr's site... www.wildlightphoto.com to see what can be done with the DMR.)

Now back to Canon's and Olympi .. (Olympusseses???)

Viewfinders fall into two categories... the Poromirror (sometimes called pentamirror) finders and Pentaprism finders. Poromirror finders use a series of front surface mirrors to reflect, direct and correct the viewing image. However, mirrors lose light at every air/glass surface, so they are a dimmer, darker view. However, they are also lighter, and cost less, so you'll find them in the Rebel series of Canons and the Evolt series of Olympus cameras.

The Canon 20/30/40D models (and up) as well as the Olympus E3 all use pentaprism finders, as do all the true Leica reflex cameras. These use a single, large block of glass to direct the light to the eyepiece. As they have only two air/glass surfaces, the result is a brighter finder. However, they are larger and heavier, as well as more expensive.

The above is a simplification ... much more is involved, but the differences in view are surprisingly large. I suggest you go to a store and look through them all, before you decide.

The viewfinders on the 20D & 30D are heavily optimized for AF, and not the best for manual focus. I understand that the 40D is better, but I have not tried it. Caveats are that the meter tends to overexpose when the lenses are stopped down. Unless you shoot at f11 and smaller, this is usually correctable in PS or other graphics program. I tend to shoot wide open, or just one stop down, so I've rarely found this to be a problem. I am told the Olympus cameras share this drawback, but to a lesser degree. I now own an E3, but have not used it enough with Leica glass to confirm this, as my adapters have only just arrived.

The finder in the Oly E3 is the main reason I went to Oly, instead of upgrading to the 40D. It is the nearest thing I've found to the R8 finder ... very clear, very bright. For manual focus, a delight. Of course, it's more expensive, but if you plan on buying any Canon or Oly glass, to supplement your Leica glass, the in-body stabilization makes Oly lenses less expensive, as you're only buying the IS mechanism once. It also allows you to add IS to your Leica glass!

Adapters: You can find adapters at almost any price range ...but they really fall into just two categories. The inexpensive ones from Shanghai (or where ever, in China) and the Novoflex, from Germany. The Novo is much more expensive than the Chinese made ones, but is far better built, with the R-mount bit rumoured to be made by the same outfit which supplies Leica. Amongst the Shanghai specials, I've not found much difference.

Variations: The adapters with focus confirmation chips. These chips can be purchased alone, or already mounted (epoxy) in an adapter. (Check Oh-Boy.)

Canon Adapters: The focus confirm adapters all seem to work fine with the Leica to Canon adapters. The focal length confusion which confounds some of the Olympus adapters (up next) is not a problem for the Canons, as they have their IS built into the lens.

Olympus Adapters: The common, low cost Shanghai AF confirm chip is a bit large, and some Leica lenses with a protective "lip" around the rear element will not focus to infinity. The lip hits the chip, and this prevents full movement. See: http://www.furnfeather.net/Temps/OlyFC_chart.htm . Another problem, at least with the Shanghai chip which I have, is that it tells the camera that the focal length is 55mm and this cannot be changed. Thus, the Olympus in-body Image Stabilization will not work right, for other focal lengths. True, the Oly can be set to any focal length, via the menu, but this setting will only take effect if the body does not detect an OLY lens. However, the adapter convinces the body that an Oly lens is attached, even when it's not, so that the Focus Confirmation will work! Catch 22.

The Russian made "Dandelion" chip is programmable, and you can have it tell the body any focal length and max aperture, from 1 to 65,335 mm an f1 to f9.9. I just got one today and it seems very easy to program, though I am still working out some minor bugs. More on this, as I figure it all out. However, when all is right, it is possible for me to hand hold the Telyt 400 with surprising results! As well, the Dandelion chip is thinner and smaller; and so it allows infinity focus with the lenses which have the protective lip.

I'm sure others will chime in with the bits I've neglected to add here. But these are the basics of Leica glass on other bodies. If there's anything we miss ... just ask!

I look forward to seeing some of your work ... for here, we all love to share our photos.

Welcome again, John!

Cheers!

David (Zoo-keeper) Young.




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David Young,
Logan Lake, CANADA

Limited Edition Prints at: www.furnfeather.net
Personal Web-site at: www.main.furnfeather.net
Stock Photography at: http://tinyurl.com/2amll4

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