Dropping by for some visual stimulation - looking good folks! For some reason Ron's images are not loading at present but no doubt he's aware of that or will be soon.
I'll be back with some images in the not too distant future; I've been completely consumed by work and work on our house. We gutted half the main floor to the studs and started over (other half was done last year) and while not completely done, life is starting to approach a normal pace once more.
DaveOls wrote:
Colors on the first images are too subdued for me. I prefer a little more punch in the colors.
Wow, you guys are so critical around here and very hard to please
We are talking sundown here and the colours are a lot more punchy as the situation was in reality.
I don't like to turn things into an artificial postcard.
I photographed our local Canada Day fireworks last night, using a three-camera set-up. Two Canons, one with a wide zoom, the other with a tele, and the GXR with a ZM21 for a wider view than the wide SLR (was set at 35mm on an APS-H crop).
I decided to try the GXR because it has a built-in intervalometer function, which for fireworks is extremely useful. Just set up the camera with the desired framing and let the intervalometer take care of the work while you then enjoy the show, or tend to the other cameras.
One drawback of the GXR vs. the Canons was that it does a time-equivalent dark frame subtraction for noise reduction purposes. I didn't look extensively, but couldn't find a way to turn this off. The problem of course is that for a 30 second exposure, you lose 30 seconds waiting for the camera to process the dark frame. The Canons no longer have this limitation (my earlier Canons did), so it's just a matter of locking the electronic cable release open with the frame advance set to continuous.
Comparing the results, I think the GXR's NR was excessively strong. Maybe it was because it was already late, but last night I just couldn't get the GXR images to match the colour quality of the Canon files...
The show was only about 15 minutes long, so given that each 30 second exposure consumed one minute, I only got a handful of images with the GXR, which was OK because it was really a test to see how it would work.
And, breaking the rules a bit, here are a few from the Canons (either 1DIV or 1DIII):
Since I sold both of my Ikons last week, I'm basically left with the GXR and I'm rediscovering it. First thing I did was to remove that useless bulging thing called EVF. Now the camera feels and looks normal. Anyway I judge focus much better with the LCD, but will keep the EVF just in case I plan to shoot in direct sunlight. Keep them coming guys!
edwardkaraa wrote:
Haha, not sure what happened to all those GXR owners. Maybe they sold it already
Nope, still have it, just don't use it because I have too many cameras! And I'm happy with the M9 as my smaller walk around kit, therefore find I'm not taking the GXR out very frequently.
Thanks for bumping the thread. Great to see some new images.
Ed; nice to see that you've taken the camera out for a stroll.
I hope, still hope, to contribute with something sooner rather than later, though all I have now is images from work, which are quite boring.
I did pick up two fun lenses though; one Leica M 135/4 and one Leica APO 180/3.4 and a R to M adapter, the latter found by chance just a week or two after scoring the 135mm.
Both work great though the latter has made the former redundant. I like both on the GXR though I will keep the 180 for maximum reach. Initial test shots show that the combo does perform really well.
RPP will do a better job, you can depend on that. 
