May I ask some beginner questions?

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Marin3r

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Hello everyone, I'm experiencing what so many people here describe. I'm a former, long-time Leica R user who just can't stop snapping away with my new R-D1s. I'm particularly impressed by the ability to see what's about to enter the frame, whether it's a car that will block the perfect shot or a toddler that will create the perfect shot.

But, I'm an SLR guy and don't know much about rangefinders or digital, so I hoped you'd tolerate a couple of basic questions:

1. Is there a "right" way to hold the rangefinder, particularly for vertical shooting? My usual SLR way, right hand on top and left hand on the focus, tends to block the rangefinder. I see in some people's little ID pictures that they hold it right hand underneath, but that seems uncomfortable. Any thoughts?

2. When I set "RAW + JPEG," I only see a RAW image file. Should there be two files, one of which I can look at right away in iPhoto and the other I can process later with Elements?

3. I don't see how to undo vignetting in the Elements Plug-In. I'm using the 15mm/4.5 lens, which has significant darkening at the corners.

Thanks so much : )

Sanjay
Cambridge, Mass.

PS: the photos attached... the café shot--who put that toilet there just for me?--was taken at night, CV 50mm f1.5 1/60th. The other Tina Modotti-like shot was taken pointing up at a gym roof, then turned upside down for better artistic effect. Same lens.
 

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Welcome! Here are some attempts at quickie answers for you:

1) Whatever way works best for you is fine -- I actually find I switch off between right-hand-up and left-hand-up without thinking about it, depending on the circumstances. For action shooting, I usually hold the camera right-hand-up because that makes it easier to operate the shutter-cocking lever quickly. There is a tendency for my left thumb to obstruct the small rangefinder window when I'm working this way -- you just have to train yourself to keep your hand more toward the bottom of the camera, rather than directly under the lens, to keep it out of the way.

That said, for shots that require critical focusing, I sometimes unconsciously choose to hold the camera with the right hand underneath, so the left hand is free to turn the focusing ring however necessary. Fortunately, the R-D 1 is lighter than the average SLR, so two-handed support isn't as necessary to hold it steady.

2) Normally I shoot raw only, rather than raw+JPEG, but I tried it just now and it IS supposed to work exactly as you describe -- two files of each shot. I'm attaching a screenshot showing how my memory card displays on my Mac (I assume you're using a Mac since you're using iPhoto.) If you're not seeing this, something must be wrong -- you might want to check your camera settings to make sure it's still set to raw+JPEG and didn't come "unstuck" accidentally.

3) Sorry, I'm not so familiar with Elements, so I don't know if you're invoking the Epson PhotoRAW utility or using something built into Elements. If you're using the Epson utility, vignetting correction is accessed by clicking the "Special" button in the lower left corner of the main window. Once you're in Special, the vignetting correction appears in the lower left corner of the window; to use it, choose your focal length in the pop-up menu, then adjust the Intensity slider to get the desired amount of correction.

If Elements uses the Adobe Camera Raw plug-in to read your R-D 1 files, you'll find the vignetting control under the Lens tab. Adjust the amount and midpoint controls to give the amount of correction you want.

If you have any other questions, just ask! Lots of avid R-D 1 users here.
 

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Right hand to the side and left hand underneath to support the camera. I have the palm of my left hand under the body leaving the fingers free to focus. You can also tuck your elbows into your sides in this position. I find this the steadiest way to hold a camera once you get the hang of it.
 
Sanjay,

Welcome to a great place and contrats on a wonderful camera.

1) When I am focusing in the wrong way as my wife calls it, my left hand twists under the bottom of the camera. Not pretty but it works well. I do this too when I'm using SLRs so I'm use to it. Some times for smaller lenses, ones with finger focusing tab or ones that I can tweak with a finger I use a finger on my right hand to focus.

When you focus a rangefinder you do not need to rock the focus the way you do on an SLR, you just dial to it. This was the instructions from Leica years ago in the Leica School of Photography or some such training.

2 & 3 I am not sure as I do not own a digital RF, yet.

B2 (;->
 
Marin3r said:
3. I don't see how to undo vignetting in the Elements Plug-In. I'm using the 15mm/4.5 lens, which has significant darkening at the corners.
Click to expand...

Exactly as described above - use the Special tab in the plug-in (there are not that many differences between the plug-in and the stand alone software.

You may want to buy a grip. I got a used Nikon (Soligor) grip recently and it improves handling very much.

Cheers,

karspoul
 
Marin3r said:
...I don't see how to undo vignetting in the Elements Plug-In. I'm using the 15mm/4.5 lens, which has significant darkening at the corners...
Click to expand...
You just need to install the Epson Raw Plug-in the window of which will pop-up automaticaly when opening your .ERF file with PS Elements. Then click on 'Special' and choose the focal length and intensity you prefer. I choose generally 0 intensity and 2 focal lengths ahead of that of the lens personally. For example 75mm for this Summilux 35/1.4 pic. Never tried the CV 15 though.

EpsonRD1_Plugin_02.jpg
 
Many thanks, all!

Many thanks, all!

OK, this time RAW + JPEG worked. And the vignetting correction worked perfectly too (I bought the camera from Japan, and don't speak Japanese, so the instructions weren't helpful to me!)

I practiced the new grip, and the one-sided focusing, and think I will get used to them.

But a strange thing happens when I close my color ERF file after fixing the vignetting: it reopens in Photoshop Elements (I'm using version 4.0) just fine, but with an extremely strong green/cyan cast--so strong that in some shots, even if I turn both green and cyan saturation down to -100, it's still there! The accompanying JPEG files look great, with no green cast.

The black and white files look fine. Any ideas what's happening? I'm using the "film" in the "standard" setting, and it's natural light that comes out green--incandescent light looks fine.

And yet other newbie question, if you don't mind: is it possible to use a circular polarizer with a rangefinder? I imagine that if you add a tactile marker so you know which way it's turned it would work fine. Is that what people do?

You are a most helpful group of people (and a bunch of extraordinary photographers--I'm loving looking through the galleries).

Here's another nice thing about this camera. It looks so odd, particularly with a silver lens and an accessory viewfinder, that people seem much less threatened by it. They seem to like to have their picture taken by the alien device.

Sanjay
 
No problem at all. Either type will work fine. The challange is making sure the orientation when you look through it is the same when it is on the lens. Some filters have numbers on them that allow you to do this. I have heard tell of these being found over in Japan, but few other places.

A more expensive solutions have two filters, one for the viewfinder, the other for the lens. When you turn one the second follows. I never wanted to plunk down the bucks as few of the lenses I use take the same filter size.

B2 (;->
 
Marin3r said:
...when I close my color ERF file after fixing the vignetting: it reopens in Photoshop Elements (I'm using version 4.0) just fine, but with an extremely strong green/cyan cast...
Click to expand...
Never seen such a strong cast so far but i use PSE 2 only.
Anyway try this if you wish:
When your .ERF file reopens in PSE 4, save it as a TIFF or PSD file after unchecking the 'Embed Color Profile' case like in the screenshot below and close the file. Then reopen it in PSE.
Do you still see the color cast? If so it might come perhaps from the color profile of your computer and/or the color setting you've chosen in PSE.

EpsonRD1_SaveAs.jpg
 
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Marin3r said:
...when I close my color ERF file after fixing the vignetting: it reopens in Photoshop Elements (I'm using version 4.0) just fine, but with an extremely strong green/cyan cast... I'm using the "film" in the "standard" setting, and it's natural light that comes out green...
Click to expand...
Better choose the right 'Basic' setting as well.

EpsonRD1_plugin_basic.jpg
 
I use both left hand and right hand on top, though mostly right hand on top.
 
RFF is a treasure-trove of information.

RFF is a treasure-trove of information.

LCT, thank you for the Apple-Help-Menu style screen shots : ) I tried as you suggested, and unfortunately the green cast was still there. (I also played with the "basic" lighting settings, to no avail.)

But... Lightroom! I've never used this particular abbreviation before in my life: OMG. What a nice looking program. I downloaded a 30 day trial this morning. I won't trouble you with questions about it here before doing an archive search and reading its instruction manual. The .erf files opened beautifully, looking somehow better than the associated JPEGs. That's a relief, not to need to use the plug-in, and even more of a relief not to worry that something is wrong with my new camera's color-handling abilities.

Great to know people use polarizers successfully. I won't have any trouble indexing it so I know where it is, and i have a nice collection of sizes.

So now I face a terrible choice... spend my morning on the river doing my planned 20 mile kayak marathon workout, or spend it goggle-eyed in front of Lightroom. Argh! Then, this afternoon I'm headed for Zeff photo, to do my first-ever digital kiosk printing.

A Happy Friday to all,

Sanjay
 
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Jim Watts said:
You might want to fork out for Martin Evening's excellent book "The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Book" on Lightroom. The best guide I know to the program with many useful hints and tips. Well worth the money.

There are also some useful articles by Ian Lyons here: http://www.computer-darkroom.com/home.htm
Click to expand...

Agree. I bought and returned a few others before I found Evening's book. Make sure you register your book and download the 1.1 update, which is also excellent.
 
JNewell said:
Agree. I bought and returned a few others before I found Evening's book. Make sure you register your book and download the 1.1 update, which is also excellent.
Click to expand...

Latest free update is to Version 1.2, which I assume is also the current 30 day trial version.
 
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