RE: Leica ain't perfect..., neither is anything else!

[Jim Brick <jimbrick@aimnet.com>]

Well folks, I'm not young any more and I've used a lot of "FINE" equipment
over the years. Not just photo equipment, but everything. Porsches, BMW's
(present), Mont Blanc pens, pencils, etc. (present), Leica (present),
Rollei (in the 50's & 60's), Hasselblad (in the 70's), Linhof Master
Technica (present)... I think you get the picture. I have sent several of
my Mont Blanc writing paraphernalia in for repair over the years. Last
Christmas I bought two new Mont Blanc Traveler pens, with OB nibs, one
burgundy for my wife and one black for me. NEITHER WORKED PROPERLY FROM THE
GIT-GO! They were returned for repair. My wife's now works perfectly but
mine has a small internal ink leak. My Porsche was a 1965 SC and was very
very good, but still had annoying anomalies. My BMW's (both) have had
everything replaced within 50k miles (heads, water pumps, alternators, five
sets of brakes on my wife's, etc... but EVERYTHING has been covered by
warranty and yes I'll buy another. I've used all of the cameras
professionally (hauling them around everywhere and cranking lots of film
through them.) They have been a hardy lot. But still... little things
either break or jam, or get lost.

My point, without going any farther, is that there is no perfect piece of
equipment. No matter who makes it. No matter how much you pay for it. It's
a tool. It's mechanical, electronic, built AND QC'ed BY PEOPLE. People who
have fights at home, get too little sleep, have family disasters, some very
caring, some who just don't give a damn! It's true. And you might think
that paying big bucks will circumvent these realities. NOT TRUE! But there
are levels of goodness. My BMW's drive perfectly (the ultimate driving
machine)... for me it's true, but they break. My Mont Blanc pens write
beautifully, fit my hand perfectly, and I like using them, but they break.
My Leica lenses are really sharp and I do everything possible to make sharp
photographs, only one has ever broken (180mm 2.8R). My Linhof is rugged and
precise, and a joy to use (requires periodic disassembly and lock eccentric
adjustment and I had to replace the bellows.) They all do their job and do
it well. But I don't believe by any stretch of the imagination they are
perfect. My R4's had vibration problems. An expensive Leica that couldn't
take sharp pictures at 1/15, 1/8, and 1/4 sec!!! The nerve of them!!! I now
use R7's and they are much better (mirror lockup) and they have 1/2 shutter
speeds which is great, but there are other quirks. If you climb to the top
of Everest, you take an M Leica. You don't take a Contax G. You have to
think about all of these things and keep everything in perspective. What
makes you happy? What feels best to you? Are the buttons and knobs in the
right place for your fingers? What is it's intended use? Are you a
collector? Are you a user? I personally cannot use Nikon equipment. It just
does not fit my way of working. And more important, it does not fit my
psyche. You have to be comfortable and at ease with your equipment but you
cannot put it on a pedestal. The company that makes them still has a bottom
line and share holders to satisfy. They WILL make mistakes. Nothing is
perfect and you're not violating any sacred rule. When a system fails, fix
it. Use loctite when necessary. Use duct tape when necessary. I carry both
everywhere I go.
 
Jim