Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/04/05
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Stephen Gandy>>>Nikon F & F2 mechanical shutters have proven much more reliable in service<<< I'm certainly no expert in camera mechanics, and am happy to be corrected by one who knows better--but I understood the subject at hand to be high-speed mechanical shutters, which I'd define as one with 1/4000 or 1/8000 maximum speed and 1/250th sync speed. Again, I don't know, but I'd be suprised if either the original F or the F2 met the criteria. And since none of these cameras records shutter cycles, how can even a camera repairman comment on the durability of a shutter? About the best you can do is to extropolate based on assumptions. Camera designers, on the other hand, know what the shutter is designed to do. The Nikon F4 shutter, for instance was designed to last for 150,000 cycles--I was told that by Nikon engineers. Surely that isn't _worse_ than the durability of the F and F2, is it??? As far as the metering discussion is concerned, my only comment is: with a matrix (multi-segment evaluative) metering system, how is it possible for the photographer to "correct" it or "adjust" for situations where you suspect it might be wrong? The fact is, you don't know what it's doing in the first place. You don't know how it's arrived at its determination. Noboby _can_ know. The issue with me is that multi-segment metering means you simply have to trust the _judgement_ of the system; it's no longer a measuring tool, it's a cyborg that's replacing you as the controller. For me, personally, this isn't progress. - --Mike