Well, of course more images allow you a finer result. 3 Shots are the basic requirements. The question is do you want higher than high-end results? :-)
But i agree that cameras should be MUCH more flexible in terms of bracketing. The giant market is moving very fast in terms of megapixel, but a little slow in those small but very useful features. IF they companies wanted to offer that could easily be done via an updated firmware, but i'm afraid that's against marketing-laws of selling the newest model instead of upgrading the "old" ones.

That Leica is not available in NL? That's scandalous, we're neighbours. Just throw it over the border how hard can that be?

Neighbour smithz, as I understand the situation, my Leica-Panasonic is manufactured in Japan. And the super expensive Leicas like the M6 or 8 or whatever are made in Deutschland.

Neighbour smithz, as I understand the situation, my Leica-Panasonic is manufactured in Japan. And the super expensive Leicas like the M6 or 8 or whatever are made in Deutschland.

Don't you guys have some kind of an underground railroad system to get around the restrictions of the EU? I thought all this "come togetherness" of the EU was precisely to open up the borders and make trade seamless. How hard can it be to get a camera in The Netherlands that is made in Germany? I can buy beer from Canada if I want. What gives?

Yabor I was going to say that it would be a good idea to have autofocus turned off if possible setting up images for HDR.

My Pentax K20D has a special function for bracketed shooting. It does three or five images. In 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps. When you set the camera to capture this way you just hold the shutter release down then it fires away all three or five shots in succession. I have done it but never put the images together.

In the future this will all be mute. The sensors will have the dynamic range and the intelligence to adjust to high contrast situations. I am not quit sure why they are not allowing it now. In particular how the LCD screen can adjust to high contrast situations but the sensor can not do the same. Is annoying. That is one thing I loved about the Digilux 1. The LCD worked in real time. It showed you exactly how you were exposing the image instead of now how they have the LCD using what they call something like power gain to adjust for high contrast situations. Very annoying as so many times I have taken images with my Lumix LC1 and DLUX3 that were not exposed properly because what I saw on screen was lying to me.

It sounds like a good road trip for the yabors to take into Deutschland.

quote:

How hard can it be to get a camera in The Netherlands that is made in Germany?

Brad, I just said that I think my relatively cheap Leica is made in Japan, not Germany, by Panasonic.

quote:

My Pentax K20D has a special function for bracketed shooting. It does three or five images. In 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps. When you set the camera to capture this way you just hold the shutter release down then it fires away all three or five shots in succession. I have done it but never put the images together.

Do you know if the new Lumix has this bracketed-shooting feature, like the DLUX-4 does?

Another thing: I have tried out the free HDR-software that smithz linked to, but the 3 photos did not align properly (these were the same 3 fotos that I used yesterday). But perhaps this is not the software's fault, maybe I did something wrong--I didn't read any help-file but just started hitting buttons and moving sliders.

So I'll try that again later.

"cheap leica" ... lol. You have to really enjoy that two words together. The more you have to wait for the Leica the better you will feel at the first experience with the real thing.

quote:

It sounds like a good road trip for the yabors to take into Deutschland.

That's what Petra said yesterday, but I can't get away: I work on saturdays also. As of next week, I will start working much less on saturdays--then it would be possible to do a fast hit-and-run mission into Germany, but by that time the Leicas will no doubt have arrived here.

Brad, I just said that I think my relatively cheap Leica is made in Japan, not Germany, by Panasonic.

I understand that, Yabor. It just sounded to me like it was way harder than necessary to get a camera in your country that is a rather major brand. Granted, it is just being introduced and it takes time to work its way into the channels. I recommend a commando unit sneak across the border (taking care to avoid the German guards) and snatch a few cameras. Get me some Becks while you're at it.

quote:

Originally posted by yabor:

quote:

My Pentax K20D has a special function for bracketed shooting. It does three or five images. In 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps. When you set the camera to capture this way you just hold the shutter release down then it fires away all three or five shots in succession. I have done it but never put the images together.

Do you know if the new Lumix has this bracketed-shooting feature, like the DLUX-4 does?

Broeder I am not sure of the question here. I was talking about my DSLR.

But yes the Lumix has the same auto-bracketing as the DLUX4: +/- 1/3 EV ~ 1EV step, 3 frames.

You answered my question. It's just that I'm still not completely sure if I want to buy the Leica rather than the new much cheaper Lumix. I could order the Lumix today and have it tomorrow. I keep reading on the net that they are in a technical sense essentially the same cameras, and I wondered if the Lumix LX3 does indeed have that same auto-bracketing feature that the Leica has.

They are indeed the exact same camera built in conjunction with one another.

As I said I didn't realize the DLUX4 was going to be so much more than the LX3. When I bought the DLUX3 it retailed for around $600US. They are retailing the DLUX4 for $250 more.

I don't think you will regret getting the LX3. But there is always that dream of having a Leica. The DLUX4/LX3 will evolve again. By this time your photo skills will have matured to warrant the extra for the Leica in the future. Leica may have a better price point next time too.

My honest opinion. The sleek lines of the DLUX are very sexy. The practical use of the hand grip of the LX are invaluable.

Thanks, Rico. You describe the situation extremely well. You have been a tremendous help. Smithz too. The Lumix it is. And if in the future I keep on being enthousiastic for photography, I will buy a Leica. That's something to look forward to. I could quit smoking and with the money thus saved buy an M8!

Petra agrees as well. Now we'll have to get her a DSLR camera. She's very very reluctant to spend money on herself.

I've ordered the Lumix. It'll take a few days perhaps to get here, as my (or rather my mom's) Mastercard number etc have to be verified first etc. (My twin brother in New Zealand has the actual physical card). That's standard procedure here--in the USA as well?

I'm happy.

My personal opinion is that this was a wise decision. Congratulations!
Having the most expensive and exclusive gear is nice, but what matters most is your actual photography. You ordered some really nice gear.

Your most welcome yabors. Yes I agree with smithz. You have plenty of money to spare to get a DSLR of your choice for zuster Petra.

The Micro four/thirds systems have just now started to emerge. I have a feeling this might fit the two of you well. The system as a whole is going to have very compact bodies and lenses making the kit very unobtrusive. Without a mirror box or shutter assembly they will be virtually silent. They are a new breed of camera. Totally electronic interchangeable lens cameras. The viewfinder will be a high resolution electronic finder.

Panasonic has the first entrant with the G1. Olympus will be next. Others should follow possibly Samsung even Leica. It will be interesting to see what Olympus will release as they have embraced totally the four/thirds system.

But let us celebrate the LX3. To many fine images no doubt.

Well, congrats on the Lumix, brother yabor! There appears to be a lot of improvements that have come down the pike since my trusty LX2. But I think you'll get the same sturdiness and reliability. Superior fit and finish. And it takes some great pictures at some wild resolutions.

The Leica was sexy, a bit more retro and less-is-more, no doubt. I want one. But the Lumix has so many of the same design sensibilities. And of course a Leica Lens. And holy crap, lookit all the things you can screw onto it! You'll be stylin'. Man, I wish I could afford a new camera every year. But I must say my Lumix has really performed for what I need. After hard use, it just has one little ding... a worn corner about 2mm on the outside corner of the flash where I must have scraped against something. But a little of that super-black covers it right up.

Now you kids be careful over there with all these new cameras. I don't want to see nude pictures of the two of you eating herring in bed find their way to the internet.

Congrats, Yabor. There is indeed some very expert help 'round this place in regards to buying electronic equipment. And on that subject...

Rico, or anyone. What brand of rechargeable AA battery (I'm using nickel-metal hydride ones by a brand named "Impact" now) do you recommend? It's not a big deal because I know any off-the-shelf brand will likely do the job, but just thought I'd ask.

Also, Rico, I just got that Kingston 8 GB SDHC card from NewEgg. Is it best to give it a low-level formatting before using or does it really matter? It worked right out of the box just fine.

We use Power2000 NiMH batteries in the office. I don't think it matters brand to brand all that much. Though we had some Olympus ones in the past that seem a notch above grade.

Can your camera handle the Lithion Ion batteries? You can get them in AA form. I think they also come in a double AA shape too. They are more expensive but they should allow for more images per charge. It has to do with the type of charge Lithion Ion holds and how digital cameras drain that charge. NiMH batteries by nature just drain faster.

The card I would just format it in the camera and you should be good to go. I would also periodically reformat it as well.

BN, just make sure they have lots of mAh (Milli Ampere Hour)... Top-Notch is something about 2800 i think. Trust some wellknown brand like eg. Sanyo instead of cheapo-stuff, the mAh printed on these are often plain lies.

Another interesting type is the eneloop-cell. It has as very low discharge rate compared to normal batteries. They are more expensive and don't offer very high mAh as traditional batteries but are good backup-battery i guess. Linky