Testing my new RD1 - what settings do you use?

[Johnmcd]

Hi,

I have been thinking of getting an RD1 for as long as I have had my R3a. And now the wait has ended! As with others that have just bought one, I am also a little worried about what may happen if I have any problems apart from alignment which I can do by myself.

Since yesterday I have been taking all sorts of shots to see what works best. As with any new machine, some have worked out and others haven't. The shots below are all taken with a 40mm 1.4 Nokton.

I hope to eventually work out a 'standard' film setting that best suits the camera and my tastes.

I eager to see what settings other users have found suit them the best.

Cheers,

John

 

[Epimetheus]

Nice pictures!

I always shoot raw with auto white balance and ignore all other settings.

 

[Gid]

Nice pictures!

I always shoot raw with auto white balance and ignore all other settings.

The same for me.

 

[Johnmcd]

Thanks. Even after a very short time experimenting, RAW seems the way to go. What I have found though is some very noticeable edge effects in some photos. Neither my 20D or GRD P&S exhibit this phenomenon. Is this because of the Sony CCD that is shared with the D70?

The 100% samples below show it around the doors. Shooting RAW seems to help as can be seen in these two crops. One was shot as a jpeg, the other RAW then converted within CS2 using the Epson plug in.

I have also noticed considerable moire patterns in the jpgs at 400% (I know, pixel peeping). But seem ok when converted from RAW.

BTW, is the Epson plug in better than the native CS2 RAW converter or any other converter for that mattter?

Cheers,

John

 

[Gid]

I have tried Lightroom (ACR as per PSCS3), but I prefer the results I get with Epson Photoraw, particularly in B&W - there seems to be more depth to the B&W images (possibly greater DR). As to artifacts, I haven't seen any, but I haven't been looking for them. I print to A3+ (18"x12" actually) and the prints are very good. The size you need to look at on screen (for an approximation of what a 300 dpi print will look like) is your screen resolution divided by 300 expressed as a percentage - for example, if your screen resolution is 100 ppi, then view your image at 100/300 = 33%. If it looks good on screen it will look good in print. Pixel peeping is the road to paranoia 😱

 

[Johnmcd]

Thanks.

I've also been fiddling with Capture 4 (Beta) and it does a good job also. I know I shouldn't pixel peep - but at present I'm trying everything before I settle down to a work flow that suits.

Already one of the best things about the RD1 is the LCD - when it's folded away.

Cheers,

John

 

[cleo7613]

John, all working out?
Carl

 

[Johnmcd]

Hi Carl,

So far, so good. What do you think of the pics? You were right, the 40mm is fine and I am really enjoying that focal length on the RD1.

I'm still though, very much in the discovery mode at present 🙂

Thanks again for the pleasant transaction.

John

 

[cleo7613]

John, nice shots - looks like you've got the framing spot on as well - did your colleagues realise it was a 'real' camera you were using... best regards carl

 

[Johnmcd]

John, nice shots - looks like you've got the framing spot on as well - did your colleagues realise it was a 'real' camera you were using... best regards carl

Thanks Carl,

It did confuse at least one guy who asked was it digital or an old film camera. When I said it was digital, he asked why I was rewinding the 'film' on.

Today I bought a Sandisk Extreme card. While I was looking for them on display the salesperson said that those cards were over with the high end DSLR's and if I had one. I replied that I actually had a RD1 - a digital rangefinder. He hesitated only a second or two then said, 'Oh, ok. With the new cameras you should be able to get 5 fps with the Extreme card'. He had no idea about what a rangefinder was, let alone the RD1.

I think he thought I was a little weird - and perhaps he is right... 🙂

John

 

[Epimetheus]

I have the cheapest and slowest 2GB card on my R-D1 and I newer run out of buffer. It’s a nice thing that you don’t really need fast and expensive memory cards.

 

[mn4367]

The same for me.

And also for me. You'll also often find in the forum the tip that when working wth AE setting a 1/3+ or 2/3+ correction gives better results. My experience in many cases was the same so far. The R-D1 tends to underexpose a bit to retain the highlights.