Re: [Leica] Is the Leica an endangered species?

[Charles Dunlap <cdunlap@es.UCSC.EDU>]

>I personally look forward to the day when the Leica M has the emulsion film
>market to itself

Unfortunately if the Leica M is the only thing driving the emulsion film
market, the folks at Kodak and Fuji will no longer be making emulsion
films. They are publicly traded companies that must grow to survive. It's
possible that in 20 years we'll be buying our old-fangled emulsions from
little home run operations that turn a small profit catering to us die
hards who don't use digital. The public will not make the fine distinctions
that we make between digital and conventional photos. By then the
technology will have given most of the people most of the resolution that
they could ever want. Even the fine art photographers will be dominantly
digital. We're living in the last blaze of conventional film emulsions, the
zenith of lens and film making.

I'm convinced that the current Leica lenses are, taken together, the best
optics for photography in the world. When digital as a medium for recording
light becomes as accurate as current films then the need for Leica-quality
glass will persist. If we're lucky, our M lenses will be fitted to a body
with a digital recording back, giving us the choice to go digital or stay
conventional. If Leica is smart they will assure us the choice.

AND FINALLY, Erwin asked us about the shooting techniques that we use to
set our photographs apart from those produced by modern SLRs and P+S
gizmos. His list is excellent. I would add that I try to be patient for
good lighting. Clicking away in the middle of the day will almost always
produce harsh photos. It's in the low contrast lighting that the tonal
separation and high microcontrast produced by Leica lenses is stunning and
irreplaceable. I also avoid all of the false drama that the SLR shooters
like to create with fill flash at sunset or graduated Cokin filters or
extreme telephoto compression among a dozen other cheezy and empty visual
thrills. The M lets us get in close and record our emotional response more
easily than an auto-everything SLR. We need to push ourselves to work
harder to use it to its full potential. I know I don't do that sometimes
when I should.

- -Charlie