RE: [Leica] M6TTL + Vancouver Leica Day

[tedgrant@islandnet.com (Ted Grant)]

Tim wrote:

>It was a great pleasure to meet Ted at the Leica day at Leo's in Vancouver.
>I don't know how he got away with being behind the counter when he had both
>an Abrahamsson rapid winder AND a softie on his Leica. I am sure the
>"official" Leica folks frowned on that!>>>>>

Hi Tim,

Well I wont go into the looks I got when I went behind the counter! :)

>Talking of which, I must say that I was disappointed by the Leica Rep. Yes,
>it was nice to get a look at some of the new goodies, but I found the rep
>particularly unhelpful (you were there for two days Ted, how did you find
>him?). They didn't even have a battery in the M6ttl when I was looking at
>it, so no point in trying out the new metering etc! It was quite a problem
>to get him to put one in.>>>>>>>>>>

Werner is a very hard working guy if ever there was one, as he's away from
home out of Toronto, about 4 days of every week flogging Leica bits from
the Pacific to the Atlantic and I guess it gets a bit on his nerves at
times. But as a pro he shouldn't let it get at him when dealing with
customers, as everyone is a potential buyer!

I didn't realize there was a  battery problem with the M6TTL as the only
time I looked through it, red lights were coming on.

>He seemed quite happy to spend copious amounts of time with anyone who
>appeared to be a doctor or a dentist and had oodles of $ to spend on new
>Leica goodies (Yes, I know, my prejudices are showing here!),>>>>>>>>

I guess once a salesman always a salesman if you can smell money! Sorry I
realize that's not much of an answer!

<<<<<<<then I watched him blow off at least two younger
photographers/students, one of whom had a whole stash of Leicas in an old
gas mask case - to me, they actually looked like they used their cameras as
opposed to....?>>>>>>>>>>

Big mistake!  As many times the outer appearance of a human being doesn't
tell what's in their pocket books! I talked with a few folks, whom I
presume by their appearance, couldn't rub two nickels together, but you
treat them and talk with them as though they could buy out the store.
Besides they were interested in photography and that's what I was doing for
the two days.....talking picture taking and not selling Leica gear.

Hell, I can't sell myself let alone try and sell a commodity! :) On top of
that it's just being polite and patient with another person.

>Anyway, I just found the Rep pretty unhelpful (as opposed to the technician
>who was there - he did a great job of checking out cameras with a witty line
>in Scottish repartee added in).

The technician is a great guy and one of the best in the country with many
years of Leica experience. And a fine Scotsman to boot! :)

>All in all, it was worth the trip (I was in Vancouver on vacation). And if
>you get a chance to look at  Ted's book about doctor/OR's etc (I can't
>remember the title now), don't give it a miss. Some wonderful, atmospheric
>b&w Leica photography.>>>>>>>

Thank you for the kind comments on my book. For those unaware of it:
"This is Our Work. The Legacy of Sir William Osler." can be examined on a
web site shown at the signature line.

It's always a pleasure to meet another LUGNUT, but even more so to meet one
purely by accident, I trust we have the pleasure of doing so again. It was
a bonus for me as there were three in two days.:)

regards,

Ted Grant
This is Our Work. The Legacy of Sir William Osler.
http://www.islandnet.com/~tedgrant