[Leica] Yasuhara T981

["Martin V. Howard" <marho@ida.liu.se>]

> What I don't comprehend is why make such a camera in screw mount?
> Why not M mount, and then anyone who truly wishes to shoot with 50
> year-old lenses could use a bayonet adaptor and do so to their heart's 
> content; meanwhile the rest of us would have a modern camera to use
> the lastest and greatest Leica lenses on.

Yasuhara explicitly state on their web page that they targeted the LTM
lenses, because they don't want to be another Japanese manufacturer to
put a German one out of business.  If they were to produce the T981 in
M-mount, at a high quality (which I suspect: judging by their web site
these guys look like they know what they are doing), I suspect it would
take about two weeks before Leica was out of business ;)

Don't get me wrong: I love my M3, I love Leica cameras, I love the
four million wierd pieces of German engineering they call accessories.
I adore the fact that the camera I use is older than myself and in
better condition too.  If I could afford an M6, I would buy three.  But,
in all honestly, it cannot be said that the camera's design has
progressed much beyond the IIIf.  I like to use my cameras, and while
I've become resigned to the cranky handling (such as loading film,
using an external meter, not using flash), there are times when I'd
really like a more modern design, while retaining the high mechanical
quality, the silent operation and the small package.

I bought the Leica *because* it is a Leica, as much as I bought it
because of its qualities as a camera.  Sometimes, I'd just like a little
more camera and a little less Leica for my money.

Just my $0.02


M.

- -- 
Martin V. Howard, Application Systems Laboratory,     | 
Dept. of Comp. & Info. Sci., Linkoping University,    | Just "DOHH" it!
SE-581 83 Linkoping, Sweden.  Tel +46 13 282 421,     +----------------+
Fax +46 13 142 231; marho@ida.liu.se; www.ida.liu.se/~marho