Re: [Leica] first time M6 user

[Peterson_Art@hq.navsea.navy.mil]

     Byron,
     
     Certainly your comments are "accepted in the spirit with which they 
     were written."  It's always good to hear from newcomers.  Welcome to 
     the list!
     
     I agree with all the points you made.  For me, despite the virtues of 
     Leica lenses---and I know that some others on the list, who are far 
     more experienced and visually acute than I am, may dispute this---the 
     greatest benefit of using Leicas resides, as you've observed, in their 
     "great ease-of-use and control," to which I would add a third factor, 
     their portability (an M6 with a 35mm Summicron lens or 50mm Elmar lens 
     can be slipped into a jacket pocket, and the diminutive Leica CL with 
     its 40mm Summicron lens is even handier in this respect, a real gem!). 
     You can't take pictures when you haven't brought a camera, and a Leica 
     can be carried with you almost anywhere.
     
     Again, glad to have you in the group.
     
     Art Peterson
     Alexandria, VA
     

______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: [Leica] first time M6 user
Author:  leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us at Internet
Date:    12/17/98 2:12 AM


Hi,
     
I thought I'd write in with my first Leica impressions. I hope this list 
welcomes messages from newcomers.
     
First of all, I should say I'm an amateur and I've been using Nikon 
equipment for years, and most recently Hasselblad. I print my own B&W's 
at home.
     
After I found out that Keeble & Shuchat in Palo Alto rents out an M6 
outfit, I took one with me on a trip to Europe around Thanksgiving week. 
I wanted to bring something quite portable with me, and I also wanted
to see what all the excitement was behind the M system.
     
The use of the camera was quite straightforward. I am accustomed to 
manual controls from my Nikon F, and also from the Hasselblad. In fact,
the Leica is the first camera I've used in a while with a built-in meter so 
you can imagine that my perspective on automation is somewhat distorted!
     
All the things that people rave about in the use of a Leica I can confirm: 
the softly-clicking shutter and smooth advance. Learning to use the 
rangefinder was not really a problem, and I spend enough effort anyway 
trying to visualize depth of field that I didn't really miss a ground glass 
to focus on.
     
This aspect of the camera made the best impression with me: without really 
being easier to use than a point-and-shoot, it still gave me a feeling of 
great ease-of-use and control at the same time. So more than anything,
the Leica changes the way I take pictures. I guess the difference with 
a point-and-shoot is that I don't like giving up control to the camera. 
So "point-and-shoot" should really be "point-and-hope".
     
Given that I haven't spent all that much time in the darkroom since
my trip, I can't really comment on the fabled quality of Leitz lenses. 
I've made some enlargements at 8x10 and they are exactly what I'd expect 
from any fine 35mm lens; fine for what they are, but even at 8x10 they 
don't compare to the results you get from a 6x6 negative.
     
I don't really want to go too deeply into this subject because I think 
it gets into the whole issue of Gear Acquisition Syndrome: as I've seen 
recently on LUG, once people start comparing the performance of one 50mm 
lens stopped down to 5.6 over another 50mm lens stopped down to 5.6 it 
makes me wonder if this has any relation to actual photography or if 
it's become an academic exercise in lens testing.
     
As a sufferer of Gear Acquisition Syndrome myself I try to catch myself 
before falling victim to another bout of this disease.
     
I guess I can summarize it this way: I'm charmed by the Leica M system, 
and while I value it for its craftmanship, and for its ease of use, 
it's still just a 35mm camera. I'll take it on faith that the lenses
are good, but there are some lenses in my Nikon lineup (105/2.5, 20/2.8) 
that I feel are also without equal. When I have the time and energy on 
my hands, though, I'm going to be using the Hasselblad.
     
That being said, I went out and got an M6 with 35mm/f2 lens last 
week. I'll be taking it out on the slopes when I visit family on my
wife's side this xmas. I can't ever see getting more than 50mm and 90mm 
lenses for this camera, so I sympathize with the contributor who wished 
that the tri-elmar had those 3 focal lengths.
     
I hope these comments are accepted in the spirit with which they were 
written,
     
Byron.