sgy1962
Well-known
There is a short (2 page) review of the R-D1 in the July/August issue of Photo Techniques. It was reviewed by Jeff Dorgay, who is, apparently, a long time digital photographer out of Portland, Oregon USA.
He reviewed the camera with two Leica lenses, which he had on loan: 35mm Summilux ASPH and the 90mm Summicron APO.
The positives:
"The test pictures I took with the R-D1 were of the highest quality I have ever seen with a 6MP camera."
"With the Leica lenses, even the high-quality JPEG images were stunning."
The negatives: "Leica-sized price tag"; "annoying" advance lever; "hard to read" iso and shutter speed.
Interesting comments:
"Because the film-rail-to-pressure-plate gap is much tighter on Leica cameras than other brands, their lenses already have a flatness of feild similar to that of most other lenses that are designed as 'digital specific'"
"To get the full potential of the R-D1, you really need Leica lenses...."
Nothing about the B&W capability of the camera. The review ends by calling the camera a niche product.
I've read several reviews of this camera -- Leica Fotographie International; Luminous Landscape on the web; Erwin Puts on the Web; Photo.net on the Web; The Digital Journalist, and some others -- and they all seem to focus on different pros and cons and few are very comprehensive.
He reviewed the camera with two Leica lenses, which he had on loan: 35mm Summilux ASPH and the 90mm Summicron APO.
The positives:
"The test pictures I took with the R-D1 were of the highest quality I have ever seen with a 6MP camera."
"With the Leica lenses, even the high-quality JPEG images were stunning."
The negatives: "Leica-sized price tag"; "annoying" advance lever; "hard to read" iso and shutter speed.
Interesting comments:
"Because the film-rail-to-pressure-plate gap is much tighter on Leica cameras than other brands, their lenses already have a flatness of feild similar to that of most other lenses that are designed as 'digital specific'"
"To get the full potential of the R-D1, you really need Leica lenses...."
Nothing about the B&W capability of the camera. The review ends by calling the camera a niche product.
I've read several reviews of this camera -- Leica Fotographie International; Luminous Landscape on the web; Erwin Puts on the Web; Photo.net on the Web; The Digital Journalist, and some others -- and they all seem to focus on different pros and cons and few are very comprehensive.
S
Socke
Guest
But niche product is correct.
What I find interesting is the argument for Leica lenses due to flatness of field.
Contax and Leica R lenses perform better on a Canon 1ds than Canons own lenses, could that be due to the film flatness in Contax and Leica SLRs?
At least Yashica and Kyocera went to great measures to get the film as flat as possible.
What I find interesting is the argument for Leica lenses due to flatness of field.
Contax and Leica R lenses perform better on a Canon 1ds than Canons own lenses, could that be due to the film flatness in Contax and Leica SLRs?
At least Yashica and Kyocera went to great measures to get the film as flat as possible.
sevres_babylone
Veteran
Considering he only tried the camera with two Leica lenses, I found his comment about only achieving full potential with Leica lenses to be curious. It may well be true, and I appreciate the lens comparisons done by Sean Reid, and in the various comments in this forum. I can't afford Leica lenses at this time, and have been happy with my CV lenses. To the extent that the review discourages people from buying the R-D1 unless they already own Leica lenses or can afford to buy them on top of the R-D1, the review does a disservice.
Thanks for the summary of the review, though. I'll check out what else is in the issue before plunking my money down.
Thanks for the summary of the review, though. I'll check out what else is in the issue before plunking my money down.
S
Sean Reid
Guest
sgy1962 said:
Well, I think that's whathisname at Luminous-Landscape did a pretty thorough review. <G>
The writer of the new review is wrong in his comment about the camera *needing* Leica lenses to reach its full potential. There are many wonderful Leica lenses but to make a comment like that exhausts the exploration of lens drawing before its even begun.
Cheers,
Sean
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sevres_babylone
Veteran
I finally had the chance to read the review at my local newstand (o.k. local chain box bookstore), and I was a little unfair in my comment. The reviewer calls it a great camera. He also puts the price in perspective by comparing it to an M7 price -- not a big difference. Moreover, although he does make the comment about needing Leica glass to reach the camera's potential, he does point out the availability of low(er)-cost screw-mount lenses on eBay. All in all, a very favourable review, and in fairness to the reviewer, he appears to have been space-constrained. A bit puzzled by the reference to 100 ISO though.
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