We created Red Dot Forum as a home for Leica S2 and M shooters to share information and images, learn more about their systems, receive support and build relationships with fellow Leica enthusiasts. Our goal is to have a safe, productive and friendly environment that facilitates a free flow of information and knowledge.
Who's behind Red Dot Forum
Dale Photo & Digital is one of the largest and most knowledgeable Leica dealers in the US. Many of our S2 customers requested that we create a home for them and others where they were free to exchange experiences, information and images, with the dedicated support from the Leica experts at Dale Photo & Digital. After some careful planning and feedback from our customers, Red Dot Forum was born.
Owner David Farkas is well-known in the Leica community both as a dealer and for his numerous in-depth reviews and detailed show reports.
Also contributing to Red Dot Forum is Dale Photo & Digital Leica specialist Josh Lehrer, who has extensive experience as a digital tech, photo retoucher and product reviewer.
A special note for S2 Owners
Even though Dale Photo & Digital strives to be the foremost authority on the Leica S-System, we believe that those already using the S2 are experts too. By promoting this philosophy our hope is that Red Dot Forum will become a place of support for owners and an unmatched resource for those who want to learn more about the S-System.
We’ve created a special user title for owners, S2 Owner. This allows those looking for advice to easily recognize who is currently using the system. For new registrations, please contact David either through private message or by [EMAIL=david@dalephotoanddigital.com]email[/EMAIL] to let him know that you are an S2 owner.
If you are an S2 owner, we encourage you to share your experiences with others through your own Member Blog. (please see below for more details)
Please be sure to check out the different areas of the site:
News and Articles
The News and Articles page is broken down into several sections for easy navigation. The newest articles from all sections are displayed on the main page.
- News and Announcements – the latest breaking news in the world of Leica
- Reviews – In-depth reviews on Leica cameras and lenses with lots of sample images and crops
- Technical Articles – How to’s, comparison tests and more
- Field Tests – Photographic trip reports on how various gear performed in the real world with plenty of images
- Show Reports – Detailed, daily reporting direct from shows like Photokina or PhotoPlus
To receive updates when we post new articles, follow us on Twitter.
Forum
The Forum is a great place for Leica enthusiasts to share information and images with each other. You do have to be registered to be able to create new threads, posts or view and upload images. If you are not already a member of Red Dot Forum, you can register here.
Red Dot Forum is different in a number of ways from other photo communities. Here are a few:
Picture attachments
- Images up to 20MB are permitted for upload with no pixel dimension limits, allowing members to post full resolution M9 or S2 JPGs with minimal compression.
- A 550px wide thumbnail is automatically generated during upload and when clicked will open the full image in another tab for easy viewing. This allows you more options than the usual floating lightbox approach, making saving and EXIF evaluation simpler. Also, by loading images in a new tab, content can be viewed simultaneously rather than being blocked by the lightbox. The 550px wide thumbnails are also perfect for iPad viewing.
- You can have up to 10 attachments per post, which eliminates having to create additional posts due to attachment limits.
- There are no file quotas set on user accounts. The idea is to encourage sharing and not to create artificial limits that are often found elsewhere.
Advertising
- We don't sell any advertising or load any Google ads. There might be an occasional link to Dale Photo & Digital, but that is it. Without the clutter of flashing banners everywhere, you can focus on the content.
- The site is wholly supported by leading Leica dealer Dale Photo & Digital. If you want to show your support for the forum, consider making your purchases here.
Content organization
- Instead of lumping all S-related content into one section, we've broken it down into sections for better post organization. Here, camera discussions are separate from that of lenses and processing. Those looking for answers will have a far easier time than digging through commingled topics.
- There are separate groupings for S System, M System, Supporting Gear and Equipment and the Buy and Sell Marketplace to allow for even simpler navigation.
The Buy and Sell Marketplace
- Again, instead of having one Buy and Sell section, we created separate areas for buyers and sellers. This will eliminate the need to preface posts with FS or WTB.
- For new products, we will post updates from Dale Photo & Digital both for new items in stock and for items available for pre-order. Stock alerts will often be posted here first, before alerting the public at large.
Member Blogs
Red Dot Forum is unique in that we allow our members to publish their own blogs. S2 Owners can create their own blogs and post new entries in the Member Blogs section. The blog format can better lend itself to sharing experiences rather than just posting in the discussion forum.
All visitors to the site can read and search blogs, but only members can post comments. Members can also subscribe to any blogs they like.
For more information on setting up your blog on Red Dot Forum, please contact David either through Private Message or by [EMAIL=david@dalephotoanddigital.com]email[/EMAIL].
With your participation and support we hope to make RDF a first-class, high-quality destination for all users and potential users.
Thank you for creating this place David. I like it.
Bit of a pedestrian question, but is there a for-sale part of the forum? A place where one might post a want-to-buy?