Re[2]: [Leica] deception -- None

[Peterson_Art@hq.navsea.navy.mil]

     Bob,
     
     We often find this kind of talk among LUG members, but although I own 
     and use both a manual Nikon SLR and a Leica rangefinder camera, I yet 
     fail to understand some of the distinctions you make.  The differences 
     to me are that the Leica, because smaller, is less conspicuous, more 
     convenient (i.e., pocketable), and lighter in weight, and it's also 
     quieter.  But how with an M camera "you are directly confronting your 
     subject" any more than with a Nikon, or "are part of the camera" any 
     more than with a manual SLR, or why you have "DOF...calculated in your 
     head...[and]...have prefocussed for all intents and purposes" any more 
     than with a non-autofocus SLR, and so why you should be "ahead of the 
     shot" any more than with a Nikon, all of these supposed distinctions of 
     "technique" (and/or "style") elude my understanding entirely.
     
     Art Peterson
     
     
______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re:  [Leica] deception -- None
Author:  leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us at internet 
Date:    1/19/98 9:00 PM
     
     
Even the cheap 50mm
f/1.8 [Nikon AF] [used with N8008] is much sharper that the summicron (a 
1960s model)... I don't know whether I will come back to the M2 when I get it 
back... --Thib. ([] are mine -- BR)
- ------------------------------------------------------------ 
Thib.
     
That 50mm Nikkor 1.8AF is one of the best lenses Nikon makes. The price has 
nothing to do with the true value of that lens. I use it and I know what it 
can do. 
It's among the best made. 
     
I never compare Leica M lenses to anyone elses. Why? Two different modes of 
photography. The CRF is not a reflex. It has its own standards. It's a 
particular approach to a subject by the photographer. If you choose to use an 
M, you are directly confronting your subject. You are part of the camera. DOF 
is calculated in your head. Exposure is almost instantaneous. You have 
prefocussed for all intents and purposes. You are ahead of the shot. The 
technique is distinct. If you don't intend to use your M2, you shouldn't be a 
Leica photographer. It's not your style.
It never was. The reflex is your style. 
     
I believe that I can use both styles; that I know when and where to use 
either. There is no need for me to compare a Leica M with a reflex. It never 
enters my mind.
     
Bob