[Leica] Re: M body competition

[Cummer Family <cummer@asiaonline.net>]

Hello All, 
Concerning Ted's and Nigel's comments about competition for the M, I own an
M6 and an M6HM and a CLE. The CLE is my fourth, and has had the famously
unreliable circuit board replaced by Minolta Hong Kong. I prefer to use the
CLE over the Ms because the aperture preferred auto is faster and it takes
all my Leica lenses without trouble. The CLE won't focus older 35mm
summiluxes or summicrons (they bind at the 5 meters and beyond focusing
point) but will focus the new aspheric models and I twist them on the
camera body to bring up the 40mm frame line which is approximate but works
for me. My CLE viewfinder gives better eye relief for 28 mm than the M6 (I
wear glasses) and the focusing square in the center of the viewfinder is
less prone to "white out" in backlit situations than the square on my
newish M6HM. Also, of course, you get TTL flash which I use with a Metz
system - see Steve Gandy's Cameraquest site http://www.cameraquest.com/ -
for a full description of what you can do with CLE flash. My point is that
I am enamoured of Leica glass - it is wonderful - but I am not so taken
with the M6 platform - which is seriously in need of updating. While
waiting for the M7 (a thread we covered last more than a year ago) I am
making do with the CLE and repairing it if and when needed. If another
camera manufacturer came out with a modern M mount camera platform I would
buy it in a minute. I hope that platform will be from Leica, but if it came
from Konica or Minolta or Nikon or Canon, and it accepted M lenses and did
the job I would use it. This opinion may result in cries about disloyalty
from true Leicaphiles, but if the platform worked better, I would use it,
because it is the glass that is important - the glass.
PS I am looking forward to receiving my Yasuhara T981 and using Leica LTM
lenses on that platform.
Howard Cummer
>
>Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 12:49:46 -0800
>From: tedgrant@islandnet.com (Ted Grant)
>Subject: Re: [Leica] Re: Leica's Development and Management
>
>Nigel qrote:
>
>>Not to worry.  If the Contax G2, with its Zeiss-designed lenses and 90's
>>technology selling for a much lower price hasn't finished off the Leica
>>M, I doubt that Nikon or Canon would risk the R&D on a speculative bid
>>for such a minuscule market. >>>>>>>
>
>Nigel,
>
>If one were to let their imagination go wild for a moment:
>
>Nikon thinking Leica appear to be falling on their face (not true) decide,
>
> "we should get in on this Leica range finder thing, so why don't we
>resurrect the Nikon SP in a new and modern day version? Heck we got all the
>toolings and what we don't have we'll just make. Then go for the RF crowd
>that Leica appear to be loosing ground with from lack of service and
>delivery."  "Why we could even create an incredible demand using the
>nastalgia thing and the unobtrusiveness of a rangefinder camera."
>
>The SP in it's day was a great camera and I understand still commands a
>"more than princely price" if one can find one. So imagine Nikon coming out
>with a competely new 1998/99 updated version, lenses included. And while
>we're at it, a silent winder!
>
>I wonder if that wouldn't just shake the corporate heads of Leica into mega
>action.
>
>Remember folks this is completely imaginary!!!!!!!! What think you all?
>
>ted