All this fuss about F5.

[FortunkoC@aol.com]

Friends,

I find the discussion of the Nikon F5 most interesting. I have not seen the
F5, but have seen the most recent autofocus Contax. If I were a professional
photographer, I probably would buy something like the F5 or new Contax.
Thankfully, I am not.

I think that if one has to have autofocus, etc., then one of the new
point-and-shoots, made out of wunderplastick and silicon, is the answer.
Otherwise, one should stick to the precision and joy of the M camera.
Admittedly, the M cameras are not for  everyone. My wife and daughter hate
them, because they are slower and less forgiving than their Leica Minizoom,
which they like very much.

Here in Boulder, I often see members of the generation X taking snapshots on
the pedestrian mall with Nikons the size of cannons and Cannons the size of
howitzers. May the force be with them. Recently, one of them, carrying the R7
with a motor and some huge lens, was asking me about my SL2 with a 50mm,
Series VI Summicron, which I very seldom use. He was concerned that he did
not have the latest Leica. When I told him that my SL2 was at least 20
springs young,  he immediately lost interest.

Another day, I saw a fellow with a mint M3 and DR Summicron (Marc Small likes
to call these NF) who was shooting right and left without even touching the
aperture ring or speed dial. I was afraid to ask what film he was using.

Anyway, the F5 and new Contax are probably great cameras, but they are not
for me. They would scare the living daylights out of my friends and would
make the real flora and fauna of Boulder go into hiding. Then, they probably
need a nuclear power plant to keep running or a truck full of cadmium
batteries to pollute our environment.

Incidentally, I found that black M cameras are the best. They look like
wunderplastick, especially with the logos taped over.

May the force be with Nikon and Contax. May the M7 come soon. However, it
better be to the M6, what the M3 was to the IIIf.

Pax et Looks,

Chris