[Leica] Re:

[Mark Rabiner <mrabiner@concentric.net>]

Tom Bryant wrote:
> 
>  Hi Luggers,
> 
>     I've been enjoying your posts for a month or so now, and am finally
> getting around to contributing.  I have a couple of M3s and 35 - 135 lenses
> for them, and am as fanatic as the rest of you about their qualities.  Nothing
> comes close in the land of the coupled rangefinder.  I've owned a Nikon SP,
> have played with it's Contax cousins, and dislike autofocus. The M3 Leica,
> with it's accurate rangefinder, is my sine quo non. Now that you've got a
> feeling for where I'm coming from, here's your long awaited rant:
> 
> >>> Is the R6.2 the best mechanical SLR ever made? I want a second hand
> >>> machanical SLR, any information would be appreciated!
> 
> >Perhaps the best-engineered and best-constructed miniature-format SLR of
> >all time, though, was the first "Bulls-Eye" Contarex.  This is a most
> >wonderful camera in every regard.
> 
>     I haven't owned the Contarex.  I've held them in shows, and find that they
> are big, heavy, seem to be superbly built, have awesome lenses, and wonderful
> interchangeable backs.
> 
>     Have you ever tried an Alpa 10d?  This is the one camera that "felt" even
> better than my Leica M3s.  The Macro Switar was a wonderful lens, one of the
> most contrasty lenses I've ever owned, and the mechanical workings of the
> camera were superbly precise.  The shutter was whisper quite.  On the minus
> side, they leak dirt into the finder very easily, and you loose the top part
> of the frame in the finder with long lenses, as the body was, I believe, the
> thinnest SLR ever, with a corresponding short reflex mirror.  You couldn't
> change the screen.  But my, what a feel!
> 
>     I currently am the proud owner of a couple of 2nd generation Canon F1s.
> They have all the SLR whistles and bells I love.  Interchangeable prisms and
> screens, mirror lock up, depth of field preview, user friendly controls and
> superb durability.  They have the reputation of being the toughest 35mm camera
> ever built (Thomas Tomosy, in Camera Maintenance and Repair, Advanced).  They,
> too have a wonderful feel.  On the minus side, their shutter, like those of
> most Japanese SLRs (outside of the Olympus OM series) is clacky loud, and the
> breech lock lenses are slower to mount than most bayonet mounts.
> 
>     The FD lenses are fairly competent, I have a special fondness for the 50mm
> f/1.4.  It's the equal of my Leitz Summilux, at 1/15th the price!  My Vivitar
> 90mm f/2.5 series 1 macro is the sharpest lens I own, and I do have a 90mm f/2
> Summicron for my M3s.  A Vivitar, would you believe!
> 
>     Bang for the buck, the Canon F1 is the best for a manual focus SLR, IMHO.
> A glance at the top deck of the F1 shows striking similarities to the M series
> Leica.  I suppose Nikon users will ask why not Nikon, which I freely admit is
> almost as good.  Nikons focus the wrong way.  To go from infinity to close up
> on the Leicas, you turn the lenses clockwise (from the back of the camera).
> The Nikons do it backwards.  This makes focusing easier for me when I'm in a
> hurry, as I'm less likely to focus the wrong way.  Trivial, perhaps, but
> that's why I recommend Canon.  Nikon, Pentax, and, if I remember correctly,
> Contarex, focus the wrong way, if your primary camera is a Leica.
> 
>     Oh, for you T90 fans out there.  I use a hand held meter for almost
> everything, ignoring the meter in the F1.  All the excellent metering
> technology in the T90 would be wasted on me.
> 
>     The Leica R series, with their quieter shutters, are also rather nice, but
> others in the LUG who own them have done a more through job discussing their
> merits, so I won't go into them here.
> 
>     Of course, most of you might have slightly different opinions, pointing
> out the me that Minolta or Olympus, to name a couple, also focus the "right"
> way, and their lenses are also more than adequate.  This is just what works
> for me.
> 
>     Tom

I wrote this because at first I thought it was addressed to me personally:
My short list of best mechanical SLR's if you saw that should have
included the canon f1 and I'm surprised no one on the lug mentioned it.
A reason I didn't think if it is i've never shot a roll with one. Once a
guy covered with canon's in the late '70's or early 80's showed me his
system and it impressed the hell out of me. Come to think of it I did
shoot a roll or two with an Ftb which is not the same but like a Nikormat.
An Alpa I played with once for five minutes and that was enough to
impress the heck out of me. I've asked about these cameras and wanted to
know more about them, would love to own one. Thanks of the insight on
some if it's quirkynesses. I still remember its silky feel rivaling the
Leica. What you'd expect from the Swiss except for the design quirknesses.
A thought is the Leica Rs often suffer from lack of mirror lock up if I
remember right. 
I'm also fond of the Pentax Me or MX. Almost a mini, exquisite little
cameras to almost always have with you and not worry about cause it's so cheap.
Thanks for the thoughts. 
Mark Rabiner