Some R-D1 concerns

[J. Borger]

On static subjects I can get more than 60% shots inn focus with My RD-1 + 75 Lux wide open.
To be fair itdoes not seem to make much difference to me if the subject is at 1 m or 3 m

Of course with moving subjects it is quite different.

If you look at my gallery 2 of the portraits have been taken with the Lux wide open, and 2 at f2.0

Thanks for the beautiful samples Fransesco.... they convinced me to keep the lux until the M8 comes out. And perhaps try again for fun at the R-D1 .... static subject is of course manditory with the shallow dof! But for critical shooting the number of succesful shots is too low ... i would not rely on it on my best friends wedding
Do you use the 50 framelines with the 75 lux and think in the box?

Han

 

[LCT]

The base length of a rangefinder always matter in my modest experience.
It would not be fair to let believe that a 90mm lens can be focussed accurately at f/2 on the R-D1. At such an aperture/focal length we are far beyond the limits of the RF capabilities.
BTW there is no significant difference between a 90mm lens at f/2 and a 75mm one at f/1.4 as far as DoF and RF accuracy so we get the same chance to succeed or fail when we shoot at full aperture with both IMHO.
Best,
LCT

 

[sreidvt]

For what it's worth, my experience (assuming a properly adjusted R-D1 RF with little play) is the following:

Leica 35/1.4 - consistently accurate
Leica 50/1.4 - consistently accurate
CV 50/1.5 Nokton - consistently accurate

50/1.0 Noct. - focus not reliable or consistent
75/1.4 Noct. - focus not reliable or consistent

As I wrote when I first tested them, I think the 35 and 50 1.4 Leicas hit a sweet spot for the R-D1. They're very fast and focus well on the Epson. 50 Nokton is great as well.

Cheers,

Sean

 

[rvaubel]

they convinced me to keep the lux until the M8 comes out. And perhaps try again for fun at the R-D1 .... static subject is of course manditory with the shallow dof! But for critical shooting the number of succesful shots is too low ... i would not rely on it on my best friends wedding

Han

For critical shooting, I would never try my 85mm F2 on the RD1. I thought we were talking "Art". Although I do it all the time, the success rate is so low that I relegate wide open shooting of a long lens to the fun and games
department. Although, when it works the results can be very good. My point is, it is fun to try. Don't rule something out because the mathematics of the baseline say you have to. Luck pays a big component in a successful shot anyway.
For more practical applications, I would echo Sean's recommendations.

Rex

 

[fgianni]

Thanks for the beautiful samples Fransesco.... they convinced me to keep the lux until the M8 comes out. And perhaps try again for fun at the R-D1 .... static subject is of course manditory with the shallow dof! But for critical shooting the number of succesful shots is too low ... i would not rely on it on my best friends wedding
Do you use the 50 framelines with the 75 lux and think in the box?

Han

About the wedding, take 2-3 frames refocusing and you will be OK!

Yes I use the 50mm framelines, seems to work reasonably well, to focus and then look an external viewfinder would be unworkable.

 

[fgianni]

One extremely important thing when focusing a lens like the 75 lux wide open with the RD-1 is that the rangefinder calibration needs to be spot on, even vertically.
If the vertical alignment is even a tiny little bit off, you lose the POP effect when you achieve focus, and a 60-70% success rate becomes easily a 25-30%