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@blash: Would LOVE to shoot a Leica- although, on safari, FILM is not something I wanna lug around. 40 pics, at most, per roll? No- I'll do digital with thousands per card, tyvm. Plus do-overs.
Yeah, Leica's rocked... like Elvis in the '50's... #leicam7hermes
@Turbo Driver: Uh huh, you'll have do overs in the savanna when you miss that cheetah rippin' out the gazelle's jugular. Or when the elephant lets out a mighty trumpet and starts charging after you. Get real - there are no do-overs.
Oh and I'm sure that out of those 9,000 photos you took on a DSLR, not even 10% of them were acceptable for actual use, not to mention the time you need to spend out-of-camera tweaking the color and whatnot in Photoshop. With Velvia, it's great right out of the camera - amazing colors on a light table.
Again... actually go out, shoot a Leica (or hell, just shoot some proper-quality film like Velvia), THEN come back here to lambast film (and Leica). #leicam7hermes
@blash: Geez! Fanboys of the old school strike back! I've shot Velvia before, among other slide films, and I will agree with you that the richness of the image is second to none. However, it's still a slide... which means it deteriorates with time, takes space to store, is inconvenient to view or share with friends and you can't manipulate it afterward (unless you spend time scanning it in, and photoshopping out the dust specks). For these reasons, I'll take a pretty nice DSLR over a ultra-posh film camera any day of any week.
I will say though, this camera looks like a bajillion dollars... so damn pretty. And yes, there's still a lot to be said for slide film. I'm waiting for some camera manufacturer or enterprising software designer to come up with a way to emulate the color characteristics and behavior of slides for a RAW file. I know it has to be possible. How sweet would it be to have a list of your favorite films and be able to choose a grain and color profile on the fly to suit your objectives for a given shot? I think someday we will be able to have it both ways. Fujifilm should hire some crack software designers and get on that one. #leicam7hermes
@gloveofpower: There are Velvia profiles for Photoshop but it's not the same.
When digital beats film both on exposure latitude and on color, I will entirely dump my film equipment. But even then, film will still have a greater advantage over digital. Being able to spread out a ton of slides over a light table and be able to instantly gloss over each one at full detail is not something you can do with even a 30" 2560x1600 display. #leicam7hermes
@blash: Hmm, I wasn't aware that someone had tried this already. I'm going to go google that now... and I'm guessing you're probably right, it probably isn't the same. But I hope that as the years pass, digital emulation of the charms and quirks of analog equipment will continue to become more and more true to the original. I work a lot in the audio realm and the same is true there. There's tons and tons of folks out there who adore the warmth of analog but crave the convenience of digital. I think with enough persistence and time, the two will converge. We are witnessing the beginnings now, and it's exciting to see this technological shift.
As for light tables versus viewing software, I'm sure there's got to be something out there that would suit your desires in the digital realm, at least in terms of displaying a large amount of thumbnails and the ability to view them full size at snappy speeds. However, if part of what you meant included the appeal of the tactile experience of moving slides with your hand and using a loupe to magnify them, then yeah, there is nothing out there like that for digital. Maybe when a product like microsoft surface becomes more available/advanced... and a person like yourself starts vocally demanding a nice interface to emulate the feel of a light table. That would be pretty awesome. =)
@gloveofpower: Well put. Hopefully someday digital approximations of an analog curve can approach an accuracy that crosses being able to perceive a difference with a naked eye; and furthermore can be applied with efficiency to in-the-field capture and presentation solutions.
If you buy one of these you've got a serious problem...and did I mention I have some beach front property in Arizona to sell? Extremely rare. The property even matches your shoes. #leicam7hermes
@npd33: The photos themselves are much more reliant upon the film you use - i.e. great results can be had with either a $60 used consumer Nikon SLR or with a Leica. The glass makes a difference, but there's good Nikon glass and good Leica glass.
The Leica difference is more one of feel - for one, you're carrying around a body with a lens more the size of your thumb than your forearm, and for two, nobody creates a mechanical experience like Leica does. Leicas are more about having fun shooting than they are about precision (which rangefinders suck at) and finesse, while still getting amazing results. #leicam7hermes
"Usually we don't bother with stupid-high-end gadget editions"
uhhhh... what? how many swarovski crystal encrusted iphone cases, billion dollar yachts, and other $10,000+ leicas have you profiled? Oh ya, all of them..
@Homerjay is utterly alone.: Leica rangefinders are always beautiful. Overpriced, but beautiful. There's something to be said for that Soviet era aesthetic. #leicam7hermes
@Nathan Obbards: Well... Hasselblads are medium format cameras, which tend to be considered "more" pro than 35mm cameras, so their higher price is justified.
What I don't understand is why they're using the M7 as the model for these special editions. If I were to get a classic rangefinder, I'd want it to be completely mechanical like the Leica MP. No need to worry about juice. #leicam7hermes
@DPYu: I dunno, the Leica M series has a long history of being used professionally and there are Magnum photographers who shoot exclusively with Leica, such as Bruce Gilden and, before moving to a cheap digital P&S, Alex Majoli. They tend to do limited production runs with whatever is the current camera of the day. It's a special edition, so it's going to be all bells and whistles. It's got batteries for the meter and I wouldn't be surprised if it had an a motor-winder built in as well.
@Jrsy Devil's Advocate®: on the Titanic, he saved the life of the crew by going under the door and pushing the button to open the airlock. He should be a national hero! And they didn't even have to dress up like women and children to get an escape pod... #leicam7hermes
I love how all the techie geeks and amatuers talk about how digital outperforms film, even MF or LF film. Then when you walk into Chelsea galleries to see what new artists are doing these days, it's pretty much all chromogenic and silver gelatin prints. A $4 roll of Tri-X still has greater dynamic range than an $8K Nikon D3X.
When scanned, slides from my dinky Bronica are well over 100 megapixels. A moot point though- optical prints still whip anything an Epson can spit out. Show me your best DSLR - I still win. Or, if you ever want to make a respectable print bigger than 5 feet, then there is absolutely no digital alternative to LF.
If time, quantity, and convenience are crucial, i.e., sports or photojournalism or wedding photography, then hands-down of course digital wins. But if you're out to make some art, and then actually print that art versus pixel peeping on your monitor, then it's film all the way.
In regards to this article - I would never pay 14 grand for an M7. Aren't regular edition M7 kits less than half that price?
@applesanity: I love how film geeks and lomosexuals talk about how film is still relevant and far superior to today's digital cameras. If you walk into an advertising agency or portrait studio, it's pretty much all dye-sublimation prints from full-frame or medium format digital. A $2700 5D Mark II using AEB hs dynamic range than a $200 film scanner.
When scanned, slides from your dinky Bronica are well over 100MP and take forever to scan per roll. A moot point though, professional dye sublimation prints still whip anything a film photographer could do that wasn't swimming in money for processing costs. Or if you ever want to make a respectable print bigger than 5 feet, there is absolutely no digital alternative to LF...except for digital LF, or maybe even digital MF.
If pretentiousness, elitism, and aggravation are crucial, then hands-down of course film wins. But if you're out to make some art, and then actually print that art versus choking on chemicals or paying out the ass for someone else to do your processing, then it's digital all the way.
In regards to this article - I would never pay 14 grand for an M7. Aren't Mamiya or Hasselblad digital backs about the same price? #leica
It looks amazingly similar to a camera my friend's dad brought home after WWII. I shot two rolls of Kodachrome 25 with it, and to this day, I swear that's some of the nicest glass I've ever used. You're talking upper-end medium format results with a 135 camera. #leica
The only advantage of digital is the convenience. Shooting with film requires way more talent, but gives you results that digital just can't compare to.
Seriously, when we are all stuck to megapixels and stuff like that, remember how analog mediums are scalable. Seriously, we need better technology, which is scalable, something like vector graphics. Too long we've been limited by megapixels and resolutions we need to be way more infinite. #leica
@naman34h: I hear this a lot and it is just wrong. Film has a maximum resolution, it is not unlimited. Furthermore, depending on the speed of the film, the grain of film can be worse than digital. Digital cameras will be higher resolution than film very soon.
@naman34h: I partly agree with you, but the old argument about film dominating digital is passe. In fact as The Lab mentions, digital is head to head with film these days. For each category where one bests the other, it loses a different category.
And I say that as a man with a freezer full of Delta and Velvia that I wouldn't trade for all the tea in China. #leica
@The Lab: Actually, the latest MF digi backs outperform most MF film. I'm talking the very upper crust though. And they are slowly creeping at the LF arena of quality.
As for small format (35mm), some of the 24MP+ cameras outresolve most films, and sadly, most lenses.
That said, both modes of capture have some excellent results now. And give me the golf ball grain of 1600 B&W film. Digital will never touch the random clumpings of silver produced by this. #leica
@szrimaging: Thanks for adding the much needed factual support.
One thing to think about is that those golf ball grain pattern is a pattern that can be closely approximated with an algorithm so if you could always apply that with an advanced photoshop filter, if that were your thing. If the filter were designed well enough, it could easily make "digital noise" that was indistinguishable from analog noise, which is what the grain is.
@bobofish: @The Lab:
Oh well I got a little carried away, all I really wanted to say is that considering the advantages of film, digital should be MUCH better, and we're not progressing fast enough. #leica
Leica is like the Hasselblad of 35mm cameras. there lenses are so unbelievably sharp. even a 30 year old lens made my leica still costs about 3 grand. And as Jacobestes states: they are super tough. i have a leica M3 that my grandfather has. it is still the best camera i have. save for my 50D.
FILM KICKS DIGITAL ASS ALL THE WAY!!! #leica
Two questions - who uses film nowadays and where would you develop it? All our local photo developing joints are, well, nonexistant (the drugstore I would NORMALLY go to get prints done just switched to full-on digital only through a crappy kiosk).
@dragon: ONE: 1: Lots of people.
2: most CVSs, Walmarts, Walgreens, and Targets if you want crappy prints. There are also places to send your film to be developed fairly inexpensively, such as Dwayne's Photo. #leica
@dragon: ONE: The black and white crowd still loves film - digital can't reproduce the tones you get from the B&W process. Also, film has made a small comeback with the art crowd, mostly in the cheap plastic camera category.
You get it developed at a local camera shop, or you mail it off to one of the developing houses around the country, or you develop it yourself in your home.
That being said, anyone purchasing one of these is doing it for collector's reasons. Film cameras are insanely cheap these days. You could get any of the best film cameras ever produced, in mint condition, for less than a few grand. Most of the higher-production cameras (e.g. Nikon as opposed to Hasselblad) don't sell for more than $200. #leica
@dragon: ONE: There are some compelling reasons to use film, one of which is completely absent in this case (quality/price ratio is thrown off here). You can get an excellent 35mm camera for just a few dollars (I paid $2 for a Yashica T4 once), and not have to cry if it's damaged. Let a small child use it. The cheap digitals made for kids are barely worth pointing at something.
There are still 3 different places in my small town to get 1 hour film developing, and a half dozen others who offer 2 day service. I still shoot loads of film despite having excellent digital cameras. Scanning takes extra time, but I can still get better results from 35mm than digital, though I admit that there's better equipment out there than mine.
While color has gone very digital, you won't find that nearly as many B&W fans use digital. For some reason, B&W photographers still strongly prefer film. I love B&W film, and I develop it myself in my bathroom using about $30 worth of equipment. #leica
@dragon: ONE: Film is probably dead among the masses, but there are still a strong group of photography enthusiasts that use film. I actually just placed an order for a 35mm rangefinder, since I'm finding that I enjoy film photos alot more than digital ones. In looking around, it seems like Meijer, Costco, Sam's Club, and Wolf Cameras all still process 35mm film. #leica
@dragon: ONE: people who buy $14,000 camera don't go to drugstores to get the film developed :) it's more of a collectors camera...probably will end up in a showcase in a million dollar home as a conversation piece #leica
@dragon: ONE:
For example, i am a leica photographer too. Shooting even commissioned and payed stuff on film .. Developing was never and will never be a problem, since i do it myself ..
And if you ask my why im shooting on film, i can give you a simple answer: Because my clients want me to .. #leica
@dragon: ONE: I use film for my photography... especially color because its impossible to get to the same quality in digital and I'm assuming if you're willing to pay $14,000 on a Leica then you either have access to a dark room or are willing to send your film out to be developed #leica
If you're buying a $14,000 camera - I'm assuming you already have your own darkroom.
And if not, you wouldn't be getting your film developed at the drugstore - you'd be going to specialty camera shops and telling them how you want it done. #leica
@TheCrudMan: That shot alone can be used as a great pro-film example. The depth of field control of 35mm film is far more versatile than prosumer digital SLRs with their APS-C size sensors. A digital camera would have far more in focus, which has its place, but it's pretty hard to get this kind of isolation with digital. Non-SLR digitals have tiny sensors and would have far more depth of field. #leica
@SagarikaLumos: You skirt the issue there. The issue for depth of field isn't what is recording the light, but the size of the sensor. 16mm film would get about the same dof as APS-C. FF35 sensors get about the same as 35mm. So on and so forth. If you are going to compare the two, compare them for like sized sensors. Besides, digital capture can be done in 4x5, so just think of the dof you could get there. #leica
@szrimaging: That far outstrips the depth of money that it takes with film. As I said in my initial post, film's advantage right now is in the price/performance ratio, which is bent out of shape by the fact that the Leica in question is $18,000.
I could compare like sized sensors, but it makes more sense to compare like sized money. FF35 sensor cameras are far above what most people will pay, never mind digital MF. #leica
@SagarikaLumos: Well, if you shoot a LOT of film, like 5 plus rolls of film per week, and process at a place like A&I, then your price difference is made up in a year or two. Not to mention the cost of scanning the film. In the sort term film is cheaper, in the long term, digital is cheapest.
Digital MF is really the realm of pros, where you save money, not to mention time, by running the digital.
And to get the resolution out of film, you would need to drum scan, or other similar scanners. A drum scanner is over 10k last I looked, and pretty sure a company like NancyScans charges a pretty high amount per slide that they scan. Really, cost to performance wise, digital is a bigger bargain now than ever before. #leica
11/16/09
On a gadget blog? When was the last time ANY other maker put a FILM camera on here?
I got all 'cited bout a Leica digital camera coming out, and it turns out to be a FILM camera?
Who uses these things anymore? And for FOURTEEN LARGE for a FILM camera?
WTH?
Wolf #leicam7hermes
11/17/09
No?
Go shoot a safari with a Leica and some Velvia and then come back. #leicam7hermes
11/17/09
Yeah, Leica's rocked... like Elvis in the '50's... #leicam7hermes
11/17/09
Oh and I'm sure that out of those 9,000 photos you took on a DSLR, not even 10% of them were acceptable for actual use, not to mention the time you need to spend out-of-camera tweaking the color and whatnot in Photoshop. With Velvia, it's great right out of the camera - amazing colors on a light table.
Again... actually go out, shoot a Leica (or hell, just shoot some proper-quality film like Velvia), THEN come back here to lambast film (and Leica). #leicam7hermes
11/17/09
I will say though, this camera looks like a bajillion dollars... so damn pretty. And yes, there's still a lot to be said for slide film. I'm waiting for some camera manufacturer or enterprising software designer to come up with a way to emulate the color characteristics and behavior of slides for a RAW file. I know it has to be possible. How sweet would it be to have a list of your favorite films and be able to choose a grain and color profile on the fly to suit your objectives for a given shot? I think someday we will be able to have it both ways. Fujifilm should hire some crack software designers and get on that one. #leicam7hermes
11/17/09
When digital beats film both on exposure latitude and on color, I will entirely dump my film equipment. But even then, film will still have a greater advantage over digital. Being able to spread out a ton of slides over a light table and be able to instantly gloss over each one at full detail is not something you can do with even a 30" 2560x1600 display. #leicam7hermes
11/18/09
As for light tables versus viewing software, I'm sure there's got to be something out there that would suit your desires in the digital realm, at least in terms of displaying a large amount of thumbnails and the ability to view them full size at snappy speeds. However, if part of what you meant included the appeal of the tactile experience of moving slides with your hand and using a loupe to magnify them, then yeah, there is nothing out there like that for digital. Maybe when a product like microsoft surface becomes more available/advanced... and a person like yourself starts vocally demanding a nice interface to emulate the feel of a light table. That would be pretty awesome. =)
11/18/09
11/16/09
11/17/09
[www.arizona-leisure.com] #leicam7hermes
11/16/09
11/17/09
The Leica difference is more one of feel - for one, you're carrying around a body with a lens more the size of your thumb than your forearm, and for two, nobody creates a mechanical experience like Leica does. Leicas are more about having fun shooting than they are about precision (which rangefinders suck at) and finesse, while still getting amazing results. #leicam7hermes
11/17/09
11/16/09
uhhhh... what? how many swarovski crystal encrusted iphone cases, billion dollar yachts, and other $10,000+ leicas have you profiled? Oh ya, all of them..
I'm not sayin, i'm just sayin
11/17/09
11/16/09
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11/16/09
What I don't understand is why they're using the M7 as the model for these special editions. If I were to get a classic rangefinder, I'd want it to be completely mechanical like the Leica MP. No need to worry about juice. #leicam7hermes
11/16/09
[www.robgalbraith.com] #leicam7hermes
11/16/09
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When scanned, slides from my dinky Bronica are well over 100 megapixels. A moot point though- optical prints still whip anything an Epson can spit out. Show me your best DSLR - I still win. Or, if you ever want to make a respectable print bigger than 5 feet, then there is absolutely no digital alternative to LF.
If time, quantity, and convenience are crucial, i.e., sports or photojournalism or wedding photography, then hands-down of course digital wins. But if you're out to make some art, and then actually print that art versus pixel peeping on your monitor, then it's film all the way.
In regards to this article - I would never pay 14 grand for an M7. Aren't regular edition M7 kits less than half that price?
11/16/09
When scanned, slides from your dinky Bronica are well over 100MP and take forever to scan per roll. A moot point though, professional dye sublimation prints still whip anything a film photographer could do that wasn't swimming in money for processing costs. Or if you ever want to make a respectable print bigger than 5 feet, there is absolutely no digital alternative to LF...except for digital LF, or maybe even digital MF.
If pretentiousness, elitism, and aggravation are crucial, then hands-down of course film wins. But if you're out to make some art, and then actually print that art versus choking on chemicals or paying out the ass for someone else to do your processing, then it's digital all the way.
In regards to this article - I would never pay 14 grand for an M7. Aren't Mamiya or Hasselblad digital backs about the same price? #leica
11/16/09
11/16/09
11/15/09
Seriously, when we are all stuck to megapixels and stuff like that, remember how analog mediums are scalable. Seriously, we need better technology, which is scalable, something like vector graphics. Too long we've been limited by megapixels and resolutions we need to be way more infinite. #leica
11/16/09
#leica
11/16/09
And I say that as a man with a freezer full of Delta and Velvia that I wouldn't trade for all the tea in China. #leica
11/16/09
As for small format (35mm), some of the 24MP+ cameras outresolve most films, and sadly, most lenses.
That said, both modes of capture have some excellent results now. And give me the golf ball grain of 1600 B&W film. Digital will never touch the random clumpings of silver produced by this. #leica
11/16/09
One thing to think about is that those golf ball grain pattern is a pattern that can be closely approximated with an algorithm so if you could always apply that with an advanced photoshop filter, if that were your thing. If the filter were designed well enough, it could easily make "digital noise" that was indistinguishable from analog noise, which is what the grain is.
#leica
11/16/09
Oh well I got a little carried away, all I really wanted to say is that considering the advantages of film, digital should be MUCH better, and we're not progressing fast enough. #leica
11/15/09
11/16/09
Its a Hermès tax added in addition to the Leica tax.
There is not a tangible technical difference between this body and the plain ol' M7.
Its just a fashion accessory not a tool for photographers at this point.
For people that would rather look pretty taking pictures then taking pretty pictures. #leica
11/15/09
11/15/09
FILM KICKS DIGITAL ASS ALL THE WAY!!! #leica
11/15/09
11/15/09
11/15/09
2: most CVSs, Walmarts, Walgreens, and Targets if you want crappy prints. There are also places to send your film to be developed fairly inexpensively, such as Dwayne's Photo. #leica
11/15/09
You get it developed at a local camera shop, or you mail it off to one of the developing houses around the country, or you develop it yourself in your home.
That being said, anyone purchasing one of these is doing it for collector's reasons. Film cameras are insanely cheap these days. You could get any of the best film cameras ever produced, in mint condition, for less than a few grand. Most of the higher-production cameras (e.g. Nikon as opposed to Hasselblad) don't sell for more than $200. #leica
11/15/09
There are still 3 different places in my small town to get 1 hour film developing, and a half dozen others who offer 2 day service. I still shoot loads of film despite having excellent digital cameras. Scanning takes extra time, but I can still get better results from 35mm than digital, though I admit that there's better equipment out there than mine.
While color has gone very digital, you won't find that nearly as many B&W fans use digital. For some reason, B&W photographers still strongly prefer film. I love B&W film, and I develop it myself in my bathroom using about $30 worth of equipment. #leica
11/15/09
@SagarikaLumos: I took this picture just a couple of weeks ago with a camera I paid less than $10 for and a roll of free expired film.
Long live film! #leica
11/15/09
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For example, i am a leica photographer too. Shooting even commissioned and payed stuff on film .. Developing was never and will never be a problem, since i do it myself ..
And if you ask my why im shooting on film, i can give you a simple answer: Because my clients want me to .. #leica
11/15/09
11/15/09
If you're buying a $14,000 camera - I'm assuming you already have your own darkroom.
And if not, you wouldn't be getting your film developed at the drugstore - you'd be going to specialty camera shops and telling them how you want it done. #leica
11/15/09
@SagarikaLumos:
Nice! #leica
11/15/09
11/15/09
Sadly I'm also too poor to even consider owning a Leica. #leica
11/16/09
11/16/09
I could compare like sized sensors, but it makes more sense to compare like sized money. FF35 sensor cameras are far above what most people will pay, never mind digital MF. #leica
11/16/09
Digital MF is really the realm of pros, where you save money, not to mention time, by running the digital.
And to get the resolution out of film, you would need to drum scan, or other similar scanners. A drum scanner is over 10k last I looked, and pretty sure a company like NancyScans charges a pretty high amount per slide that they scan. Really, cost to performance wise, digital is a bigger bargain now than ever before. #leica