Use of portable disk on Leaf Valeo 17wi

[polarcircle]

Hello,

Firstly a small introduction. I new in this Forum but have read the posts here with great interest. My main interest is in hasselblad V photography. Here I have a question which I have not been able to find when searching for the use of the Leaf Valeo 17wi digital back.

There is a kit for not shooting tethered with this and the 22wi back. To this kit belongs a portable hard disk and a pda.

The question is: Can the back be used untethered with only the portable hard disk (called digital magzine or something) or must it be used also together with the PDA?

Many thanks,

Polarcircle

 

[gsking]

Yes, the PDA is only used to change settings on the back and review images. Plug in the DM and it powers the back and stores the images. It's like shooting film...you have no way to review the image as you shoot.

The batteries it uses are the same as the batteries Sony uses for some SLR's and video cameras. You can get ones the same size in real or generic (NP-FM55H), or ones that are bigger (NP-QM71D) that work a lot longer, but are not flush with the DM, so it won't sit flat if mounted on the bottom of the camera.

 

[dougpeterson]

Agreed. But notably the "settings" include the ISO of the back. I once arrived to a location shoot with a 22wi and my PDA wasn't in the bag so I shot the entire gig without it - everything went fine (just like shooting film as gsking says) except I didn't know the back was set to max ISO (major bummer later especially since some of the shots were half a stop under). Also you won't know the number of images remaining other than manually tracking the number of images you've shot.

I would NOT buy a wi unit without the PDA. But if for some reason you don't have the PDA with you on a particular shoot or the PDA for instance runs out of batteries you can keep shooting. It's really the first few minutes of the shoot (or the prep before the shoot) you need it most (checking settings, setting ISO, confirming everything is working, entering shoot details if desired).

Given the price difference to go to a Aptus 22 Kit with warranty and dealer support which has an LCD and uses CF card storage I would find it hard to recommend a Valeo for field use (it's a great value for studio-only shooting though).

Doug Peterson (e-mail Me)
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[polarcircle]

Thanks for the information. If its only for ease of use- surely a more modern back is to be preferred. However, have not found anyone nearby where I'm located to a price I can justify presently.

Agreed. But notably the "settings" include the ISO of the back. I once arrived to a location shoot with a 22wi and my PDA wasn't in the bag so I shot the entire gig without it - everything went fine (just like shooting film as gsking says) except I didn't know the back was set to max ISO (major bummer later especially since some of the shots were half a stop under). Also you won't know the number of images remaining other than manually tracking the number of images you've shot.

I would NOT buy a wi unit without the PDA. But if for some reason you don't have the PDA with you on a particular shoot or the PDA for instance runs out of batteries you can keep shooting. It's really the first few minutes of the shoot (or the prep before the shoot) you need it most (checking settings, setting ISO, confirming everything is working, entering shoot details if desired).

Given the price difference to go to a Aptus 22 Kit with warranty and dealer support which has an LCD and uses CF card storage I would find it hard to recommend a Valeo for field use (it's a great value for studio-only shooting though).

Doug Peterson (e-mail Me)
__________________

Head of Technical Services, Capture Integration
Phase One Partner of the Year
Leaf, Leica, Cambo, Arca Swiss, Canon, Apple, Profoto, Broncolor, Eizo & More

National: 877.217.9870 *| *Cell: 740.707.2183
Newsletter | RSS Feed
Buy Capture One 6 at 10% off

 

[polarcircle]

Thanks for the information on the digital magazine. Much appreaciated.

R