First Impressions: Leica M8 and Adobe Lightroom

I have been a film photographer for over 20 years, shooting with Leicas the last two years. Because really good lenses (the foundation of a great image) are so expensive, then the natural progression for me from film into digital was with a Leica M8. I still love film and will use it equally as much as digital depending on the shooting conditions.

However, I have taken some of my first images with an M8 and imported them into Lightroom 2.0. Here I'll share with you some initial thoughts and few interesting tidbits I discovered on the web.

First, I'll tell you that I am NOT comparing the M8 to any of the Cannon and Nikon DSLR's. My presumption here is that you are interested in the M8. This is not a review, but more of a hands on experience. However, I am comparing this to using images from Leica DLUX3 which is one of only a couple of pocket cameras that produce a RAW image file. Remember, we're talking file size, not quality of lens or components.

Yes, if any of you are familiar with the DLux3, the save speed on the camera is slow. The other issue I have noticed is a slight red shift in certain landscape photography, most noticeably high contrast images such as snow. However, shooting landscapes I typically have a moment longer to wait and Lightroom does a great job of shifting the red back into alignment. I use the DLux3 to see what the resulting images look like before committing some to film. The point is the resulting RAW file sizes and the transfer speed to my Lightroom catalog.

Native DNG

The first thing I noticed about the M8 was that it saves images in a native DNG format. I understand that Adobe initially created two methods of creating a DNG and Leica being one of the first, picked up a slightly different method than is used more commonly today. In fact, for the really scientific minded, there is a great article posted on The Riddle of the M8 DNG File. But be warned it is technical!

Here's the key. The M8 is saving the images directly as a DNG file whereas the DLux3 was saving as a RAW file. The result is the M8 immediately has smaller filesizes. If you can convert these in Lightroom, what is the big deal? ANSWER: the speed of SD cards and USB connections is realtively slow compared to memory and CPU speeds. So, if we start with a smaller file size, uploading into a Lightroom catalog is exponentially faster. In the case of the DLux3, RAW images were about 30mb (10 mega pixel camera x 3 channels, R, G, B). The M8 produces the same 10 mega pixel image, but by saving the image as a DNG file, the size is only 10mb. Thus, the upload speed to Lightroom from an M8 card is 1/3 that of the DLux3 card.

Even Smaller Filesize

Previously, with the DLux3, I would import into Lightroom and convert the RAW image to a DNG format to save filespace. I was already waiting awhile to import the 30mb image files, so a little longer to convert the file was fine with me and the smaller file size in the catalog made reading the file in Lightroom faster too. So what about the M8?

As it turns out, the main difference in the M8 DNG format and the Lightroom DNG format (remember, Adobe created two methods for the DNG early on), is that the M8 stores a lookup table in the DNG file. See the Riddle article above for more on the lookup table. The result is that the M8 DNG file can be FURTHER compressed while it's being imported.

Using the Lightroom import, convert the DNG files from the SD Card to, yes it's redundant sounding, a DNG file. The resulting new DNG files in the Lightroom catalog can vary in size from 3.5mb to 5mb depending on the range of tones and colors in the image. In fact, I took a photo of the moon with a 90mm Elmarit at f/4.0 and 1/1000 of second.


Because of all the black around the image, this DNG converted to 3.2mb. Astounding considering the beginning RAW data was over 30mb!

There are a few considerations, however. In terms of Lightroom and Photoshop CS3, no problems. I am sure there are other imaging software packages that also have no problem. After all, the resulting DNG file is an Adobe DNG image file. However, the Capture One LE software that came with the M8 will no longer read the DNG file. It was designed to read the M8 DNG file with the added lookup table. Since I don't use that software, I don't mind.

If you use Capture One (or C1 as it can be called), there are reports that using the software key that came with the M8 will also allow registration of Capture One 4, which is said to read the converted DNG file from the M8. I haven't tried this, so I don't know.

Importing Workflow Tip

I have long read posts about how slow some digital cameras are at importing images into Lightroom. The DLux3 is certainly one of those cameras. However, since the beginning of my digital photography work, I have always taken the memory card out of the camera and performed my imports through a card reader. Why? Because technology consistently changes and typically it becomes faster. SD cards become faster (100mhz vs 133mhz). USB ports become faster (1.1 vs 2.0). All the while, our digital camera guts remain the same. So by removing the card from the camera and using the latest card readers, the fastest file transfer times can take place. You will not have to rely on the interface built into the camera by the manufacturer, which, by the way, may be an older technology for compatibility purposes.

Conclusion

My digital Lightroom work is not only faster now with the M8, but also takes less disk space. Remember that my film work is all scanned with a Nikon negative scanner. This results in 40mb TIFF files which can be slow to work with. The next tests I'll run will deal with the noise in the M8 images under the new 2.0 firmware. I'll compare mostly night shots with bright contrasting lights to look for dark shadows containing little noise. I'll also develop some noise files for the M8 that can be used with NeatImage which is the noise reduction software I have used. ... Read More!

Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.

Leica Releases M8 Firmware 2.0

Today, Leica released a new firmware version 2.0 for the M8 digital body. This new firmware release provides support for larger size SDHC cards, up to 32Gb. Leica still recommends Extreme III and Professional versions made by Lexar and SanDisk as being the most compatible. Whichever cards you use, it is nice to break the 2mb barrier!

Leica also says that an addition is made for an AUTO-ISO setting allowing for options with maximum ISO values and minimum shutter speeds.

Finally, Leica makes it clear that after updating to firmware version 2.0, you CANNOT go backwards to a previous version!

I have downloaded the firmware and I will test it over the next few days to let you know if I find anything of concern. You can get the firmware from the Leica web site or Visit the Download Center for the M8 here.

EDITED: changed 32mb to 32Gb. ... Read More!

Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.

LRGC User's Guide - Minor Updates

The Lightroom Galleries Complete User's Guide has some minor updates as a result of emails from you! Take a look at the links to the right or the link above and you can download another copy.

Notice that the revision numbers correspond to the LRG Complete Web Gallery version number and a letter. The higher the letter, the more recent the revision.

The Advanced User's Guide is still on pace for release the end of September! Thanks for the emails and thank you for the suggestions and corrections! ... Read More!

Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.

Lightroom Galleries Announces Changeable Fonts

If you haven't been keeping up with Joe at Lightroom Galleries, you need to take a look. Joe has created a phenomenal Adobe Lightroom Web Gallery that has revolutionized the ability for someone to create a photography presence on the internet - and offer their images for sale using PayPal or Google Checkout. Now, Lightroom Galleries has a new announcement about LRG Complete and one that I have been waiting for.

Lightroom Galleries has announced Changable Fonts will be added to LRG Complete. Up until now only one font was available for use with LRG Complete. Truthfully, there are so many different items that can be customized with this Web Gallery that you can overlook the inclusion of only having one font choice. In fact, by the time you sit down and really plan a web site, you realize you can create a unique look and feel with everything that is already included.

Changeable Fonts will only add to the arsenal of individualizing your own web site. Joe indicated that he is on track with keeping file sizes down so that load times of the Web Gallery remain tolerable. With the amount of time and effort put into this Web Gallery, please consider making a donation through the PayPal button on Joe's web site.

Thank you, Joe!
... Read More!

Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.

Windows XP: Hibernating Taking a Long Time

On my laptop I have been running Microsoft Windows XP, or sometimes known as WinXP. I use Service Pack 2 and havent' had any show stopping problems. However, at one point my laptop would hibernate in about 20 seconds or less. To determine if that is fast, you have know my equipment: a dual core 2.2mhz pentium and 4gb of ram. The problem is that somewhere along the way hibernation began to take 5 to 10 minutes (yes, minutes). I never really bothered to time it in full because it took so awfully long. After about 2 years of on and off searching, I found the soloution! First, I'll tell you what I tried.

Network Maps

I looked at the network maps I had setup for access to network disk drives. I had not only a Buffalo TeraStation Pro which I had mapped various drives, but also a SonicWall TZ170 firewall and router. Since I used the router's VPN service to connect to work, I thought maybe the mapped drives to the servers at work, through the VPN caused a slow hibernate.

Why would I think that network connections would slow down hibernating? Well, I know that networking can cause delays. Anyone that has tried to browse the network places through Windows experiences delays in refreshing available computers and connections. I figured maybe through the hibernate process went to check each drive and had to page through a network service to get there.

My logic was flawwed in that removing all VPN and networked drives did not speed up the hibernation process. Failure number one and one step closing to the solution.

Bluetooth

I understand that bluetooth incorporated into some motherboards or through other hardware modules can cause delays when periodically looking for devices. I don't use bluetooth very often with my laptop. I occasionally would synch my palm pilot or blackberry through bluetooth if I didn't have my cord with me, but not often.

Another failure as disabling bluetooth in the bios had no effect in the length of time to hibernate.

SQL Services and Pervasive SQL

Now I thought I was being brilliant again by looking at SQL services and similar database drivers. SQL is a very robust service and I had the full development edition on my laptop because I was doing Visual Studio programming at the time. I figured an enterprise level of SQL may have fairly intense routines going on behind the scenes to be sure that database integrity was kept during a shutdown or hibernation.

I even went so far as to remove SQL from my computer. The same was true for Pervasive SQL which I used to operate the Timberline Accounting System.

Once again, I failed and the hibernation process took an extremely long time.

Power Program Updates

Having a laptop and having a Dell Lattitude laptop which was a business class, gave me access to a download area where I could keep my operating system drivers for the laptop up to date. Using the Dell web sites I downloaded and ran patches on the Power system and other operating system items.

Guess what? Correct! No effect on the hibernation speed.

Solution

I can now say, similar to Thomas Edison, I now know many ways NOT to speed up Windows XP hibernation, but I did find one way that works!

Through an accidental re-post in a very obscure forum, I found an answer. Keep in mind that I had googled all sorts of phrases related to long hibernation times and never had I realy gotten an answer. In this case I did get an answer.

The post mentioned that removing the ability in Windows XP to provide write-caching to the hard drive in your computer can cause extremely long hibernate times. The testing for this solution was to enable write-caching for the disk drive on my laptop. As the post suggested, after I rebotted from making the adjusstment, the laptop hibernated in 15 to 20 seconds.

How incredibly strange! I know that I was writing 4gb of memory to the hard drive and that takes a minute, but how can it go from SOOOO slow to SOOOO fast? Even with caching, the full amount of data must be written. I can only assume that Microsoft performs hibernating at some base hardware level with no caching of any kind. Write, fetch, write, fetch and that this process is very slow.

Write Caching Dangers

Without trying to go into all the details, write-caching can be dangerous. Sudden power outages can cause a few operating system files to be left open potentially rendering your computer un-bootable. That is the very reason I disabled the Write Caching to begin with.

I have decided, since most of my photoraphy data is on outside disk drives and I back up my data and catalog regularly, that I am willing to take the chance on write-caching for my laptop. On my desktop, there is no reason. I can shutdown and bootup easily as there is not battery and it has a much faster processor (dual core 3.4mhz pentiums).

Just so you know, I purposely did not show you how to enable the Write-Caching on your Windows XP operating system. I still think it is a dangerous feature and wouldn't recommend using it. I would hope Microsoft will fix this issue and take advantage of caching for purposes of hibernation regardless of the operating system's settings. However, I don't want responsibility for your data and there is plenty of information on the internet to allow you to enable write caching.

Conclusion

For my work, hibernation can be important for the portability of my laptop. Thus, I am taking the risk of using write caching to enable quick hibernation. The choice is completely yours. At least now you know why it is taking so long to hibernate and you can make an informed decision.

Good luck!



... Read More!

Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.

Lightroom Tip#19: Precise Control Over Vignettes

Vignettes are not new to Lightroom as a lens correction. However, as a post-crop item meant to actually add a Vignette, the feature is new in Lightroom 2. While it takes some getting used to, the Vignette can produce some outstanding results. There have been several posts and a variety of presets available on the web to accomplish this. So how do you easily create the Vignette you want? Let's take a look.

First, you have to know that the default settings are all in the middle. This means, no Vignette is present in an image being developed in Lightroom. The Vignette panel is at the bottom of the Develop module and has settings such as: Amount, Midpoint, Roundness and Feather.

Take a look at an example image we will work with. It's not an oustanding image for Vignettes. However, it is a good image to work with because the contrast, brightness and texture are all consistent throughout the image, as a brick wall on a fort should be! This image has no Vignette applied.



Now for the first step in this Vignette workflow we need to setup the ability to easily see the Vignette. Determining exactly where the Vignette will stop is difficult at best because it fades into the rest of the picture. Sure, the edges are darker, but where does the Vignette really end?



To figure out the boundaries of a fading Vignette, first move the Feather slider all the way to the left. This turns off all the feathering. Then move the Amount slider all the way to the left (for dark Vignettes) or the right (for light Vignettes). The image below has a dark Vignette started, so the Amount slider was moved all the way to the left.



Notice how easy it is already to see where the Vignette will be applied. The Vignette will be faded from the edges of the image to the edge of the black section. The remainder of the image, the part you can see clearly now, will remain untouched. Now we have a chance to adjust the Vignette pattern before we apply it. Move the Midpoint slider and the Roundness sliders until you achieve the pattern you want to use.



The Midpoint was increased to move the Vignette in some more towards the middle. The Roundness was increased to large number in order to change the shape of the Vignette into a circle. These settings are purely the preference of the artist.

When you have the Vignette pattern established according to your vision, turn the feathering back on. Slowly move the slider up until you acheive the level of Vignetting you desired. Notice how the effect works in the final image below.



Also notice how the shape of the Vignette resembles the pattern we created. However, it remains difficult to see exactly where the Vignette ends. We can tell that there is no Vignetting in the center, but where does it really stop?

The final settings are shown to the right. Turning the Feathering adjustment all the way off makes viewing the Vignette pattern so much easier and the effect can be easily fine tuned. To edit a Vignette, simply turn off the Feathering (after you see what value you used) and adjust the other settings. For example, you could change the amount some or the shape and size. Then increase the Feathering again until you reach your previous value or find another value you prefer.

It really is that easy to get some great Vignettes!
... Read More!

Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.

LRGC 3.0 - Sample Chapter - CoolIris (PicLens)

In an effort to show everyone the amount of work and attention to detail that I am putting into the Advanced User's Guide for LRG Complete 3.0, released by Lightroom Galleries, I have uploaded a sample section of the chapter entitled Advanced Shell Features. This section details how to use CoolIris in conjunction with your Web Galleries. Get the Sample Section on CoolIris here.

Adobe Lightroom continues to make advances and so does Lightroom Galleries. The now released LRG Complete 3.0 provides a tool with Lightroom that can help you produce an extremely customized web site either for viewing or selling photography. The Advanced User's Guide will delve into many choices and options that may not be readily apparent or are complex to setup.

Keep an eye out as I will release another section the middle of September in anticipation of being finished by month end! ... Read More!

Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.