Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/10/21

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Subject: Re: M6 for Portraits
From: dannyg1@IDT.NET (Danny Gonzalez)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 15:39:22 -0400 (EDT)

Tina,

>> (M6) fast to take the pictures, enough fast for children ? Or is an
>>AF-SLR the much
>>better choice ?

>Uli:  I use the M6 for informal portraits of children all the time. I like
>the 75, 1.4 lens for portraits.

I'm amazed that you feel comfortable using the 75 on the M6 for moving
kids. Are you shooting at 1.4? I used to own a 50 'lux and positively
couldn't focus moving kids with the thing. The DOF was shallow at distances
close enough to fill the frame and, since both speed and focus accuracy
were important, I found my composition forced, by the RF patch, into a
centered framing. How do you trust it?

To be fair, AF Canon SLR's are almost as useless under the same conditions.
The outer zones of the EOS5's sensor set refuse to lock on any but the
contrastiest subject matter and when they do lock (at least with the 50/1
and 85/1.2), accuracy is extremely iffy. I've never been able to start up
focus tracking on the outer sensors either.

Minolta's 9xi is much better in the AF than the Canon (it will lock and
track on the outer sensors, even in low contrast situatons) but, the lack
of an instant manual overide doesn't work for me.

My favorite kids cameras, in 35mm at least, are the Contax 159mm's and the
Nikon FE/FM/F3nonhp-style ones, mostly because of the larger, non 'high
eyepoint' viewfinders. These snap into focus quickly and easily. They also
seem to leave control of focus with the photographer instead of in limbo,
like the newer ones do.

Back to the point: How do you make the M6 behave around kids?

Rah-rah-shoosh-koom-bah. Give me an R! (somebodies got to cheer)....

Danny Gonzalez