Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/11/05
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]On 05-11-1998 17:29 Ted Grant wrote: >After one unfortunate incident some time ago having the winder stop, no >idea why it just wouldn't work and removed it, only then discovering I had >left the "camera body battery container in the office" making the camera >"dead in my hands!" I've never left home without it since. And also carr >spare winder and camera batteries at all times. Ted: Although this seems like a wise precaution in case anything goes wrong, having to bring the camera body battery container with you at all times (for "just in case") is simply unacceptable for a professional camera system. I have used the Nikon motordrive (3.5 fps) MD12 with my Nikon FM for about 15 years and NEVER experienced any kind of malfunctioning. And I don't think the Nikon F5's motordrive has problems either (except its need for lots of battery juice, but then it is truly a DRIVE), otherwise the whole camera would be reduced to just a brick... On another note, I am sure that the lack of a high-speed motordrive is one of the major reasons why the R8 suffers from a lack of interest with professional photographers. It is IMO also part of the explanation why the R8 is now selling rather below expectations. The lack of such motordrive is one of the reasons why one can hardly speak of a real photographic system. There are just too many gaps in the R system: no motordrive, no high-speed wideangle zoom etc. For me, as an amateur this is regrettable but not impossible to live with. For pros however, this is in many instances vital. I know of at least one very serious wedding photographer who was using Hasselblads until now and went shopping for a pro-SLR system. His choice was between Leica and Nikon. He asked how I felt about my R8. Speaking of autofocus, he couldn't believe it when I said the R8 didn't have any kind of electronic focusing mechanism, let alone real autofocus. And when he heard that there was no motordrive, he didn't bother asking anymore questions... Simply put: an R8 wouldn't have meant a major difference compared to his manual focus Hasselblad equipment. The Nikon F5 with the Zoom-Nikkor 20-35 AF IF-ED fulfilled the contract... It's really a pity the R8 doesn't have a fair chance in a major part of the pro world. Pascal - -------------------------------------------------------- Check out: http://members.xoom.com/cyberplace/ - ------------------------------------------------------- Who else than Leica could make a camera like the R8 ? With that unique design and above all: that ergonomics. Nikon ? Canon ? Nobody but Leica ! - ------------------------------------------------------- <<< PGP public key available on request >>>