The R-D1 Journey Begins, pointers please!

[tobinharris]

Just had an R-D1 delivered, what a beauty! It's a bit beaten on the surface, but that adds to the character 🙂

Reading this forum has been really helpful, thanks folks.

The camera came with a lovely 25mm Voigtlender f4. Not getting as much depth/bokeh as I'd like, but results are still vibrant and crisp.

I'm new to photography, so would love some pointers to good learning resources if anyone can share?

Am interested in getting nice shots indoor under low light.

The viewfinder is WIDE! Amazing how much you can fit in the frame. Think the rubber seal has come off, so a tiny bit uncomfortable.

Currently using AE mode with manual iso, aperture and focus (obviously!) Getting some nice results already, despite the focus taking some practice.

Have installed latest firmware and got the EpsonRAW software working, all good!

Loving it. Any noob tips about camera setup, handling and good books/resources much appreciated.

Tobin

 

[back alley]

congrats...i love the rd1!

go to cameraquest site and read rich cutler's info on the rd1.

luminous landscapes has lots of rd1 info in the guise of reviews on the camera and compatible lenses, written by sean reid, good stuff.

don't shoot and advance the lever too quickly, jams easily. trust the meter, works great for me.

get some extra batteries, the rd1 eats them quickly...try the 'lenmar' brand...about 15 bucks each but they last longer than the 5 buck ones. 'mdbattery' on ebay has them.

 

[kermaier]

Congrats, great camera! Here are my random tips:
You can replace the eyepiece ring either with a Cosina Voigtlander +0 diopter (the original for the camera, same as a Bessa R3) or a Nikon F2 ring.
I second the motion to get more batteries.
If you want low light, indoor shots, you'll need a faster lens than f/4. Try a 40mm (fits the 35mm frame lines perfectly) -- either the CV 40/1.4 Nokton or the Minolta 40/2 M-Rokkor (1980s vintage lens, you'll have to find one used).
Don't be afraid to use ISO 1600 on the R-D1, it's awesome for black and white.
I've found that colors, especially skin tones, can be too red under incandescent light, which I think is due to some infrared sensitivity. You might want to consider getting a UV/IR cut filter if you see that too. Also auto white balance sux under incandescent lighting -- I manually select the incandescent WB when needed.
I find that the meter systematically underexposes by 1/3 - 2/3 stop, so my exposure compensation dial is almost always set to +1/3 by default.
Use a lens hood whenever practical (not R-D1 specific advice).
Learn how to zone focus your 25mm with the lens stopped down to f/8 or f/11 -- an invaluable skill for street photography and fast-moving situations where manually focusing each shot critically isn't feasible.
Get in the habit of not chimping after each shot -- you'll miss fewer second shots and you'll develop better situational awareness. You can even force it by flipping the screen around to hide it.
Enjoy, and post some pictures!
::Ari

 

[tobinharris]

congrats...i love the rd1!

go to cameraquest site and read rich cutler's info on the rd1.

luminous landscapes has lots of rd1 info in the guise of reviews on the camera and compatible lenses, written by sean reid, good stuff.

don't shoot and advance the lever too quickly, jams easily. trust the meter, works great for me.

get some extra batteries, the rd1 eats them quickly...try the 'lenmar' brand...about 15 bucks each but they last longer than the 5 buck ones. 'mdbattery' on ebay has them.

Thanks so much! Those resources are very handy.

Good tip about the lever, I've slowed down a bit and it's not jamming now.

Have 2 batteries, might order another one or two once I feel the need.

 

[tobinharris]

Congrats, great camera! Here are my random tips:
You can replace the eyepiece ring either with a Cosina Voigtlander +0 diopter (the original for the camera, same as a Bessa R3) or a Nikon F2 ring.
I second the motion to get more batteries.
If you want low light, indoor shots, you'll need a faster lens than f/4. Try a 40mm (fits the 35mm frame lines perfectly) -- either the CV 40/1.4 Nokton or the Minolta 40/2 M-Rokkor (1980s vintage lens, you'll have to find one used).

SNIP

::Ari

Awesome random tips!


Will aim for the CV 40 in the next few months. Some of the shots on Flickr look amazing. Definitely more bokeh too.

Good tips on the white balance.

I'm still seeing that I'm blowing the whites a bit when I look in photoshop, worried that increasing to +1 exposure will make that worse? But, I also see shots are under exposed, I guess it's my iso/apateur selection?

With b&w, do u use the camera setting for that? Or is there a good technique for that in post processing?

Didn't even know zone focusing existed, how cool! Have been practising that this morning. It will take some time 🙂 Do you select desired distance first, then move focus ring, then set f-stop? I.e move from first ring to 3rd ring on the lens?

Thanks again for the help guys. All this makes the learning curve easier. Am avoiding chomping, read about that on Steve Huffs site too.

Tobin

 

[Johnmcd]

Welcome, I'm sure you will work out your own 'style' with this camera soon by here are my tips that may help.

1. Get a cv 40/1.4 for lowlight interior shots. Use wide open or F2.
2. 800 iso for all lowlight. 1600 is good for B/W but I think 800 is the sweet spot for colour.
3. Don't chimp. Wait until you get home. It's more exciting and shooting flows better.
4. I always shoot raw and use EpsonRaw as a plugin with Photoshop. It looks dated but has some great features for controling vignetting and its sepia setting is spot on.
5. Get more batteries.
6. Get a cv 40/1.4 🙂

Cheers - John

 

[umcelinho]

Welcome, I'm sure you will work out your own 'style' with this camera soon by here are my tips that may help.

1. Get a cv 40/1.4 for lowlight interior shots. Use wide open or F2.
2. 800 iso for all lowlight. 1600 is good for B/W but I think 800 is the sweet spot for colour.
3. Don't chimp. Wait until you get home. It's more exciting and shooting flows better.
4. I always shoot raw and use EpsonRaw as a plugin with Photoshop. It looks dated but has some great features for controling vignetting and its sepia setting is spot on.
5. Get more batteries.
6. Get a cv 40/1.4 🙂

Cheers - John

John nailed everything. Although I just use LR3 for processing the RAW files.

 

[tobinharris]

Welcome, I'm sure you will work out your own 'style' with this camera soon by here are my tips that may help.

1. Get a cv 40/1.4 for lowlight interior shots. Use wide open or F2.
2. 800 iso for all lowlight. 1600 is good for B/W but I think 800 is the sweet spot for colour.
3. Don't chimp. Wait until you get home. It's more exciting and shooting flows better.
4. I always shoot raw and use EpsonRaw as a plugin with Photoshop. It looks dated but has some great features for controling vignetting and its sepia setting is spot on.
5. Get more batteries.
6. Get a cv 40/1.4 🙂

Cheers - John

Many thanks John. Really useful info.

Feeling I have to chimp at the moment - the 25mm lense is soooo far out of my framelines 🙂 But can't wait until I've got the feel for this, as I agree the fun comes with having the 'flow' and not stopping to view images all the time.

With PhotoShop + EpsonRAW, what's your workflow? Do you just open up all the images, process them with RAW, then tweak in PS? I find iPhoto so fast for workflow, but limited in that I can't sharpen certain areas. I also heard that epsonRAW makes a nicer job of the pics 🙂

 

[gekopaca]

IMO you should always shoot in raw, then develop with LR.

 

[--]

Congrats

Congrats

Many thanks John. Really useful info.

Feeling I have to chimp at the moment - the 25mm lense is soooo far out of my framelines 🙂 But can't wait until I've got the feel for this, as I agree the fun comes with having the 'flow' and not stopping to view images all the time.

With PhotoShop + EpsonRAW, what's your workflow? Do you just open up all the images, process them with RAW, then tweak in PS? I find iPhoto so fast for workflow, but limited in that I can't sharpen certain areas. I also heard that epsonRAW makes a nicer job of the pics 🙂

Congrats Tobin

1) I'll second the use of PhotoRAW. The tiff output is wonderful. I would love to be able to replicate that in LR to cut out one step but have not been able to. To be honest I have given up. PhotoRAW is that good.
2) In PhotoRAW try the Monotone option and play with "tint". Putting tint at minus 5 changes everything in a very spooky way.
3) A good lens to buy second hand is the 90mm f:4 Leica or Minolta that was sold with the CL or CLE. It is a very small lens and with a little practice you can learn to see the picture within the 50mm frame lines. It is usually fairly cheap.
4) And if you want some real "Leica" bling to go with your new camera then the Digilux 2 strap is very smart and slightly cheaper than Leica lenses 😀

Cheers,
Xpanded

 

[tobinharris]

Congrats Tobin

1) I'll second the use of PhotoRAW. The tiff output is wonderful. I would love to be able to replicate that in LR to cut out one step but have not been able to. To be honest I have given up. PhotoRAW is that good.
2) In PhotoRAW try the Monotone option and play with "tint". Putting tint at minus 5 changes everything in a very spooky way.
3) A good lens to buy second hand is the 90mm f:4 Leica or Minolta that was sold with the CL or CLE. It is a very small lens and with a little practice you can learn to see the picture within the 50mm frame lines. It is usually fairly cheap.
4) And if you want some real "Leica" bling to go with your new camera then the Digilux 2 strap is very smart and slightly cheaper than Leica lenses 😀

Cheers,
Xpanded

Cheers.

I'd not thought of changing the tint.

I need to learn what constitues a "good result", so I know what to strive for in post processing. It's difficult to work out if I want a "balanced" image, or sharp constrasty one. Or if it's subjective. One thing I noticed is that some of favourite images have true white and true black in there, none are just shades of gray. Perhaps that's a different forum post!

Lol. Thanks for the lense/strap advice. Is this eBay item an example of the 90mm Leica you mentioned?

 

[--]

No, it is the one called Elmar-C or Rokkor - not the collapsible kind [they may also work - I am not sure].

If you are situated in the UK then ffordes usually have a wide range of used ones.

...Xpanded

Update: there is a "strange" thing with PhotoRAW. Once you change a setting, say tint, then it "stays" there until you change it again. So when you open a new picture it will automatically get the same settings, which can be a little confusing at first.

 

[back alley]

40 and a 75 make an excellent combo as well.
i prefer a 75 on the rd1 to a 90...simply because, for me, it is easier to use.

 

[porktaco]

if you need a diopter - or anything really - cameraquest is great. i have a +1 that makes all the difference ever.

don't chimp unless you really have to

update the firmware

do your own presets in LR/PS

test the lenses you use for focus shift

learn to adjust the RF yourself. it's easily done following rich cutler's directions. if i can do it, you can do it. be an ass about calibrating the RF . inches make a difference, and if you do it with the lenses you'll use, you won't have to whine about focus shift (much).

shoot RAW

i can go into 1600 for color but not always.

get a small fast lens. 40/1.4 or 40 cron or 50 cron. you're welcome.

get more batteries and sd cards

learn to clean the sensor yourself. get a rocket blower, and then a wet kit.

 

[porktaco]

straps. very important. the left lug digs into my nose, so i use a gordy wrist strap and put cloth athletic tape in a little wad around the left lug.