Share your M8 settings and results

[MP Guy]

I would like to keep track of how we achieve the best results with our M8's Please post your settings and results in this thread.

[IGMeanwell]

Wow Jorge .... so my prediction for 3 weeks was way off

thats alright this was an inevitable thread :p

[jaapv]

Well-not quite, but this protocol works wonders for me.
1. 90% of shots need no special treatment.
2. If extensive IR problems can be expected - f.i. a reception at a funeral: use a hot filter.
3. all the rest correct in post-process -no, not Photoshop, that is a nightmare - Nikon Capture NX will never take more than 20 seconds to correct all different problem spots on the photograph seperately.

[jamriman]

Jaap,
Does Nikon Capture NX convert DNG files? Thanks

[IGMeanwell]

According to this article no

http://www.popphoto.com/howto/2442/nikon-capture-nx-nikons-answer-to-photoshop.html

[jamriman]

Thanks Pete! Any suggestions whats best to use? Phase one perhaps? Thanks

[jaapv]

Jaap,
Does Nikon Capture NX convert DNG files? Thanks
No; I convert them to tiff in either C1 or lightroom and capture nx obviously can open those.

[IGMeanwell]

Yeah try converting them in Capture

by the way

Jorge,

I have been cruising the various forums for M8 settings to see who has been playing around with'em...

I haven't found any yet ... which is a shame that is one the first thing I did with my DSLR was play with the settings to get the best image in my eye out of the camera

To me its pretty telling as either the settings people are playing with aren't helping... or people aren't really playing alot with the camera

I figure at least someone would be playing with sharpness, contrast, color profiles, and other settings

[jaapv]

I think most are shooting DNG and playing in conversion.

[J. Borger]

I think most are shooting DNG and playing in conversion.
Right on .......and any other playing with in-camera settings is a waste of time in my opinion.
Learn Capture one ... the solution to the colorissues will to a large part come from an update of the provided M8 colorprofile, which is really bad as it is now.
If Leica does not provide it ... experienced users wil make them and probably share.
But you all have to get into a raw workflow .. otherwise you will be very disapointed ....... the M8 as is now is not suited as a point & shoot! And i doubt it will ever be!

[espressogeek]

How about aperture. Does it support it? Has anyone been able to correct the color issues in it? I really want to stick to one application for basic conversion and work flow if possible. I spend to much time swapping between apps.

[espressogeek]

How about aperture. Does it support it? Has anyone been able to correct the color issues in it? I really want to stick to one application for basic conversion and work flow if possible. I spend to much time swapping between apps.

[J. Borger]

In my respons to Jaap you will find the reasons why i would stick with Capture One for conversion.

[AGeoJO]

As MR from Luminous Landscape and others on the Leica forum has pointed out, I converted some DNG file using a different profile, Phase One P30 Flash - Easy Black profile, rather than the one labelled Leica M8 and the magenta casts is practically gone! The skin tone seems to be better as well. I am happy with that setting until Leica comes up with a better and more permanent fix. The good thing about all this, it seems like a firmware update and/or a better camera profile can fix these pesky issues. I am keeping the camera unless another major flaw is discovered.... not.

[lZr]

Jorge,
Please explain the f/1 apperture in your EXIF data. IS the software fakes it? I don't believe all your shots are f/1. I want the true f setting in the EXIF

[IGMeanwell]

IZr,

any of the lenses that are not 6-bit coded will show their aperture as f1.0 ... the computer system can't detect the aperture of the lens without that information. I believe there was mention that the new firmware (whenever it comes out) will fix it so it just says n/a or something.

[lZr]

Thanks. It is like electicaly disconnected lens for now

[jaapv]

Little trick: If you want to switch of the lenscoding manually, maybe to create the natural vignetting on a lens for one shot, instead of going into the menu just push the frameselector lever out of position. The camera will no longer recognize the lens.

[paulhart]

For most situations I shoot in RAW, with ISO set as low as possible. I use Adobe Lightroom (Beta 4.1) which is fantastic. It has a very good grayscale converter (commented on by M Reichmann at LL) that produces pleasing results.

[jaapv]

The flash controls on the M8 are exceedingly practical:
The EV compensation on the camera controls ambient light, the EV control on the flash controls TTL flash exposure.

This means that it is possible to control the light fall-off towards the background, which is one of the less pleasing effects of flash photography. Even dialling in up to, depending on circumstances, +3 on the camera will not result in an overexposed shot, but it will lighten up the background considerably.
Dialling in a minus compensation on the flash will avoid blown-out highlights in the foreground. That way it is possible to create nicely balanced flash photographs.
Used more subtly in it gives contrast control of fill-in flash as well.
In that case note that the camera automatically decreases flash output down to -1 2/3 stop as ambient light increases. When the camera reaches 1/250th the flash shuts down altogether.
The setting for sync speed should be " slow sync controlled by focal length" and presupposes coded lenses.

All of this is obviously influenced by aperture as well, giving three parameters to reach optimal flash results.