M8-up with the best

[jaapv]

I think this one (I lifted it from another thread) deserves a discussion of its own:

This lady was posted before,even the link to the DNG files, so copyright was conceded by the owner,as far as I know. It was dismissed as OOF. I don't think so; I reworked from the DNG file, and I think it is in focus. Sorry I cannot give it full size, but at full pixels it is not bad at all. I'll do a 100% crop later.
And here it is:

 

[Nachkebia]

Wow This Is Superfantasticamazing!

 

[jaapv]

It is for file-quality, not judging the plane of focus. But you are right, a 100% crop like this shows up how much DOF one loses at extreme enlargements(to hark back to another discussion) Your observation also shows up the precision with which this camera renders bokeh (yes- Vladimer- I know it is the lens😉 but it still has to be rendered.)
I have the impression that the colour balance is slightly too red-yellowish. I only converted the file in Lightroom and did no adjustement, and then ran Focal Blade for sharpening..
Other files are perfectly neutral btw.

 

[Nachkebia]

White balance? 😀 make sure lightroom does not apply auto correction stuff 🙂

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

No, Jaap is not interested in an M8 at all.

 

[jaapv]

White balance? make sure lightroom does not apply auto correction stuff

As far as I know it doesn't.I pulled the TIFF from the program at the first opportunity. I do not like the program anyway, far too automated for my taste. But I dont have any other RAW converter that accepts DNG.

 

[Nachkebia]

Btw, I am exchanging Nikon FM3a with Zeiss ZF 50mm, plus Nikon F6 with MB-40 and couple of nikon glass in M8, anyone interested? 😀 ah and I can through in Nikon F65 with it! 😀

 

[jaapv]

No, Jaap is not interested in an M8 at all.

M8 😕 Is that a new BMW car??😀

 

[Jim Watts]

It is for file-quality, not judging the plane of focus. But you are right, a 100% crop like this shows up how much DOF one loses at extreme enlargements(to hark back to another discussion) Your observation also shows up the precision with which this camera renders bokeh (yes- Vladimer- I know it is the lens😉 but it still has to be rendered.)
I have the impression that the colour balance is slightly too red-yellowish. I only converted the file in Lightroom and did no adjustement, and then ran Focal Blade for sharpening..
Other files are perfectly neutral btw.

There is an interesting article on Luminous Landscape re DOF in the digital age:
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/Digital Focusing.shtml

 

[Toby]

Jaap as far as I can tell the file is pretty much the same quality as any other pro DSLR. Surely the point of the M8 is you can use M glass on it. So if you have £6000 of leica glass it isn't rendered obsolete if you work for an agency or whatever that stops accepting film. There's not much in the electronics side that's really unique, it's an adapted kodak sensor but who knows if that won't end up in a digital Ikon or Bessa eventually. I think it's a nice camera but I wouldn't trade my canon L zooms for it because it lacks the flexibilty of AF and zooming. Although the theoretical image quality is better the lost shots you can get with a slower and less flexible system will more than negate that advantages of potentially superior image quality. I used to be friendly with Steve Mayes who was head of Network Photographers in the nineties and has helped with the judging for world press photo he told me once that the biggest improvement he ever saw in contact sheets amongst his professional collegues was when Canon first introduced the Eos (Steve himself has an M6 that's always around his neck). I think pixel peeping at files is fine as far as it goes but if you invested in a system you pretty much stick with it unless you really want to spend a lot of money in one go. The M8 is pretty much a no brainer if you are a wealthy amateur with a bag of leica glass but to me it's pretty much like buying a Ferrari if you drive a Taxi for a living - its use is limited in the professional world

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Jaap:

No it is not a BMW...

 

[Nachkebia]

 

[J. Borger]

What i see in this sample and all other samples sofar (including those at Seans Site) is that i am glad i kept some pre-asph/ lower contrast lenses ..... because .. just as the R-D1 ... the files get too contrasty real easy ... look at the lip...
Otherwise a really good looking sample!

 

[telenous]

Jon's and Vlademir's front covers demonstrate admirably that the M8...

...is like a beautiful woman...

...but built like a tank!

😀

 

[Nachkebia]

J. Borger : Contrast is just a option in image settings, you can set to minimum and you wont have any kind of contrast, just a middle tone 🙂

 

[x-ray]

The M8 is pretty much a no brainer if you are a wealthy amateur with a bag of leica glass but to me it's pretty much like buying a Ferrari if you drive a Taxi for a living - its use is limited in the professional world

Exactly. It's going to be a fine camera but other than RF focusing and smaller it has no advantage on the current crop of pro equipment. The limitations are many with the range of focal lengths for RF and no zooms or AF. I think it's going to be a tough sell to the pro market when a canon 5d or 1DII produces as good or better files for less money and for slightly more the 1DsII can be purchased.

I won't say Iwill not buy one but I'm in no rush. As a pro I have to think about where my money should be spent. Will the M8 give a return vs a new canon 1DsIII at 22mp and proven performance with a vast range of fantastic glass?

Looking at the posted image I don't see anything about it that's different from any other dslr. Any decent dslr and good lens can do a close up and show eye lashes. I just don't see anything special about the image quality. I'm not tryint to be negative but just realistic.

 

[ywenz]

It is a nice looking sample, but is it extraordinary? Nope, I can get the same output from my 20D + fast prime.

 

[rxmd]

Jon's and Vlademir's front covers demonstrate admirably that the M8...

...is like a beautiful woman...

...but built like a tank!

Yeah, and that the images have this plasticky digital look but you can take the M8 into a warzone with you.

Philipp

 

[Toby]

It is a nice looking sample, but is it extraordinary? Nope, I can get the same output from my 20D + fast prime.

And so can I - at a saving of £4000!

 

[jlw]

Before you get too excited about overall image quality, it might be a good idea to compare to some other 10-megapixel cameras.

Of course, I'd rather shoot with an RF than an (ick!) SLR, so as long as quality is usable I'm fine.

But it would be incautious to conclude that the M8 is head-and-shoulders above other cameras in terms of file quality without examining some other files.