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D800E vs Mono

fotografz

Well-known member
I do not subscribe to the notion that a camera like the D800 is a big a$$ed tool that draws attention to the shooter ... the shooters technique is what draws the attention, not what is in their hands. There are some shooters that are very effectively using a Leica S2 for street photography ... a camera that dwarfs a D800 with a 35m lens.

IMO, THE chief difference between any DSLR (small or large) and a rangefinder remains distinct. While in the act of shooting, a rangefinder forces attention on content to the exclusion of everything else other than the geometry or (rough) framing ... without any feedback as to visual effects of focal length, distortion, or DOF.

As such, a rangefinder is prized by many for having less distractions relative to what the image is about, rather than what it looks like. By the time you chimp a rangefinder LCD to see what it does actually look like, the decisive moment is long gone.

Focusing a M is an acquired art ... and many are to impatient to acquire it. Manually focusing a 35mm DSLR, especially one with the resolution of the D800, is even harder to acquire for spontaneous work ... a skill I personally did not have the patience or eyes to get right no matter how hard I tried even with "only" a 24meg DSLR.

After having my eyes recently restored to 20/20 with no astigmatism, I still find the M with its mostly short throw lenses faster and easier to accurately focus in spontaneous situations compared to manual focussing a DSLR ... and in some cases or subjects faster/more accurate than AF in low light.

Resolution comparisons at this point of digital development is meaningful to a small slice of shooters who do want more for a reason ... but in a vast majority of cases what is just pixel peeping and has little to do with actual output. If 400X pixel peeping resolution were the only criteria, I use a Hasselblad H5D/200.

BTW, I pulled the trigger on a MM ... and wlll keep the M9P for occasional color. Back to my roots as a rangefinder shooter where I rarely ran color film through my Ms. A relatively clean ISO 5000 will do just fine, and 6400 will be a bonus ... with 8000 or 10,000 in the extremely rare "black cat, in a coal mine, at midnight" pinch. ;)

-Marc
 

StephenPatterson

New member
BTW, I pulled the trigger on a MM ... and wlll keep the M9P for occasional color. Back to my roots as a rangefinder shooter where I rarely ran color film through my Ms. A relatively clean ISO 5000 will do just fine, and 6400 will be a bonus ... with 8000 or 10,000 in the extremely rare "black cat, in a coal mine, at midnight" pinch. ;)

-Marc
Enjoy...I am envious. And I agree with your comments about seeing the world through the rangefinder window. Not for everyone, but once mastered a life long love affair.
 

Woody Campbell

Workshop Member
Back to Diglloyd's article - it's actually very interesting. He makes a living from subscriptions so I'm not going to say too much but he has interesting thoughts on issues like lens selection and has gone into great depth on the MM (far beyond the comparison with the D800E) covering issues like the effect of color filters on focus. Worth a read.
 
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