Topic: Leaf Valeo 22WI ... decent or pass (Read 16245 times)

Alex MacPherson · « **on:** March 25, 2009, 08:56:02 pm »

What about the Leaf Valeo 22WI? Are they any good?... or should I just keep saving.
The price is right now from Leaf America. $4400
I can live without the LCD

mcfoto · « **Reply #1 on:** March 25, 2009, 09:11:46 pm »

Quote from: Dolce Moda Photography

What about the Leaf Valeo 22WI? Are they any good?... or should I just keep saving.
The price is right now from Leaf America. $4400
I can live without the LCD

Hi
The Leaf Valeo is an excellent back uses the same Dalsa chip that was used in the Aptus 22 & 54s. This back tethers very well & we have used it on major ad campaigns. This back will perform best between iso 50-100. This is really designed for the studio in the tethered mode, you can put a HR (Leaf) to capture into also. On our web site the Tim Tam campaign was shot using this back & the images were used in a huge outdoor campaign in Australia. Capture rate is 1.2 seconds/frame which is still a fast back in todays standard. The Leaf software is excellent & gives very good skin tones.
Denis

Dustbak · « **Reply #2 on:** March 26, 2009, 02:41:58 am »

I have owned a Valeo and consider it an excellent piece of equipment. Highly reliable and generating gorgeous files however for the price difference between the Valeo and the Aptus 22 I would personally save up for the Aptus.

It works as good as the Valeo in the studio but adds a lot of flexibility when you pull out the firewire and walk out of the studio.

paul_jones · « **Reply #3 on:** March 26, 2009, 03:42:25 am »

Quote from: Dustbak

I have owned a Valeo and consider it an excellent piece of equipment. Highly reliable and generating gorgeous files however for the price difference between the Valeo and the Aptus 22 I would personally save up for the Aptus.

It works as good as the Valeo in the studio but adds a lot of flexibility when you pull out the firewire and walk out of the studio.

yeah, i agree. the valeo is a great back, and i thought i would be ok tethering all the time- i do with 95% of my shoots. but its the 5% of need untethered shooting that will really piss you off. it wouldnt cost much more for a aptus 22, its worth spending the extra 1500 or so.

the aptus is a lot better looking back, all machined out of metal- like it really worth its price. the valeo is very plasticy, feels cheap.

paul

JDG · « **Reply #4 on:** March 26, 2009, 10:00:30 am »

I used to work with a Valeo 22wi all the time, it was probably the most reliable back I ever used... even used it tethered to a laptop on a shallow sandbar surrounded by ocean in the caribbean.

FWIW I always found it to be far more reliable than the aptus.

A.K. · « **Reply #5 on:** July 19, 2009, 09:47:21 am »

I also have an interest in Valeo. First, how convenient is the digital magazine? As far as I understand, the back can be used either tethered or with the magazine, or does it take CF or other card? How bulky and heavy is the magazine? Is the system more convenient compared with an Ixpress back and an Image bank?
I have also heard people complaining about Leaf's lower IQ and very long start-up time compared to hassy and imacon — is there any truth in it?

Dustbak · « **Reply #6 on:** July 19, 2009, 10:19:38 am »

Quote from: A.K.

I also have an interest in Valeo. First, how convenient is the digital magazine? As far as I understand, the back can be used either tethered or with the magazine, or does it take CF or other card? How bulky and heavy is the magazine? Is the system more convenient compared with an Ixpress back and an Image bank?
I have also heard people complaining about Leaf's lower IQ and very long start-up time compared to hassy and imacon — is there any truth in it?

The Valeo can only be used tethered or with the imagebank. The Valeo uses regular firewire cables from the back to the digital magazine. The Ixpress (you know I think because you have one?) a dedicated proprietary cable. From a usage point I much preferred the Ixpress cable over the Firewire of the Valeo. In the studio you can use the Valeo directly on the computer without digital magazine.

I believe they are very similar products where on some points I would opt for the Valeo (sturdy, reliable, compact, no need for a digital magazine when tethered) on other points the Ixpress (nice handling with the Ixpress cable and connection points, I prefer the Imacon imagebank over the digital magazine & adapter plates for different camera systems).

When I would have to choose I think I would have a slight bias towards the Ixpress system. I have never considered the Valeo having less IQ than the Ixpress BTW. Fairly equal where I even might prefer the Valeo just a little bit over the Ixpress.

I have used Valeo11/17 & Ixpress.

bcroslin · « **Reply #7 on:** July 19, 2009, 11:01:39 am »

I owned a 22Wi for about year and it was a great back. The files are gorgeous and at ISO 50 look like any other modern 22 megapix back files IMO. I'm sure there's pixel peepers who will disagree but ink on paper there is no difference.

The image bank is bulky and adds a considerable amount of weight to the camera but if you shoot on a tripod it shouldn't make much difference. Where it really shines is shooting tethered but the Leaf software leaves a lot to be desired.

Ultimately what drove me away from Leaf was the software and having to convert from Leaf proprietary files. The backs were always great to use.

A.K. · « **Reply #8 on:** July 19, 2009, 11:17:54 am »

bcroslin, Dustbak, thank you!
Yes, I am using an Ixpress now. It is great, but I would prefer to have a single camera unit. Unfortunately, ImageBank can't ba attached to a camera like a Leaf's unit. What are the dimensions and weight of the Valeo's imagebank?
Ixpress cable is certainly better than a rigid and unstable FireWire, but are there any problems with it when the storage device is attached underneath the camera?
And what is the power-up time of Leaf?

JDG · « **Reply #9 on:** July 19, 2009, 04:21:33 pm »

Ive worked with everything under the sun, and always have a softspot in my heart for the Valeo22wi. It was one of the most reliable backs I ever sent out on jobs. I even took it on a job in the caribbean shooting on sandbars out in the ocean tethered to a powerbook for a week without a hitch.

chiek · « **Reply #10 on:** July 19, 2009, 08:56:01 pm »

I owned valeo22wi for hassy H. It's perfect for studio shot both product & portraits. If you have 1394 laptop like macbook, It's good for your location work. very stable and fast. and default image detail is better than P25. especially H system has very comfortable user interface. I think valeo22back's street price is about $3~4K, and other CF storage 22mp back is about $4~5k. It's time to upgrade from DSLR to MFDB if someone have DSLR only. very cheap and more high quality than recent 35mm DSLR.

yaya · « **Reply #11 on:** July 20, 2009, 03:21:07 am »

Back in the summer of 2004 we went on a motorbike trip 'round the Alps; 16 days, 4,000 miles, two-up, 1 top box, 2 panniers and 1 tank bag full of gear including a Valeo 22Wi on a Contax with a couple of lenses, 2X 5GB digital magazines and an iPaq for viewing.
I still have the panoramic stitch from the Mont Blanc somewhere (hand held)...
Anyway it all worked quite well and made the trip back in one piece.
Today there are better solutions for untethered work, with CF cards and on-board LCD screens, but for studio work on either an MF camera or a monorail, the Valeo is still one of the fastest backs and it produces great files.

Yair

A.K. · « **Reply #12 on:** July 20, 2009, 04:24:00 am »

Quote from: yaya

Back in the summer of 2004 we went on a motorbike trip 'round the Alps; 16 days, 4,000 miles, two-up, 1 top box, 2 panniers and 1 tank bag full of gear including a Valeo 22Wi on a Contax with a couple of lenses, 2X 5GB digital magazines and an iPaq for viewing.
I still have the panoramic stitch from the Mont Blanc somewhere (hand held)...
Anyway it all worked quite well and made the trip back in one piece.
Today there are better solutions for untethered work, with CF cards and on-board LCD screens, but for studio work on either an MF camera or a monorail, the Valeo is still one of the fastest backs and it produces great files.

Yair

That should have bean a great tour! How convenient was the control from the iPaq, i.e. setting iso, wb etc.? Especially, when shooting hand held. All the settings can be done from it, right? BTW, is it possible to review images stored on the magazine later from the iPaq or does it only display the current image?

yaya · « **Reply #13 on:** July 20, 2009, 04:56:05 am »

Quote from: A.K.

That should have bean a great tour! How convenient was the control from the iPaq, i.e. setting iso, wb etc.? Especially, when shooting hand held. All the settings can be done from it, right? BTW, is it possible to review images stored on the magazine later from the iPaq or does it only display the current image?

Leaf used to sell a hotshoe bracket for the iPaq and/ or a belt clip or you could hold it in your pocket. The DP-67 software provides full control and viewing/ editing/ flagging for the raw files when connected and viewing only (320X240 jpeg) when offline.

bcroslin · « **Reply #14 on:** July 21, 2009, 06:01:57 pm »

Quote from: A.K.

How convenient was the control from the iPaq, i.e. setting iso, wb etc.?

The iPaq works fine with the latest software but isn't always reliable. The connection would drop at the worst possible times and I didn't like the mounting bracket.

It's really best to use the back tethered to a laptop or tower. If Phase One chooses to support the older Leaf backs in C1 the Valeos will be a bargain.

pchong · « **Reply #15 on:** July 21, 2009, 09:47:38 pm »

does the back work tethered to a PC laptop instead of Apple?

Quote from: JDG

Ive worked with everything under the sun, and always have a softspot in my heart for the Valeo22wi. It was one of the most reliable backs I ever sent out on jobs. I even took it on a job in the caribbean shooting on sandbars out in the ocean tethered to a powerbook for a week without a hitch.

yaya · « **Reply #16 on:** July 22, 2009, 02:39:59 am »

Quote from: pchong

does the back work tethered to a PC laptop instead of Apple?

Nope, the Valeo backs are not supported by the Windows software.

pixjohn · « **Reply #17 on:** July 22, 2009, 03:29:14 am »

YaYa, I see a new ID? You still with LEAF?

? You have been very quite the last month?

yaya · « **Reply #18 on:** July 22, 2009, 04:20:38 am »

Quote from: pixjohn

YaYa, I see a new ID? You still with LEAF?? You have been very quite the last month?

I accidently deleted my account so had to set up a new one

shutay · « **Reply #19 on:** July 28, 2009, 10:30:31 am »

Quote from: A.K.

That should have bean a great tour! How convenient was the control from the iPaq, i.e. setting iso, wb etc.? Especially, when shooting hand held. All the settings can be done from it, right? BTW, is it possible to review images stored on the magazine later from the iPaq or does it only display the current image?

Andrey, have you checked out Michael Reichman's own review of the Leaf Valeo 22 on this website? Have a look, with pictures, and it should show you just how much smaller the magazine is compared with the Ixpress ImageBank:
Leaf Valeo 22
Leaf Valeo 22 Revisited

He even goes through sample shots, 100% crop enlargements, comparisons with other digital backs...

shutay

Author Topic: Leaf Valeo 22WI ... decent or pass (Read 16245 times)