Re: [Leica]He should have bought a Leica....

["A.H.SCHMIDT" <horst.schmidt@actek.com.au>]

Isaac H Crawford wrote:

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Dan S <dstate1@hotmail.com>
> To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
> Sent: Friday, July 23, 1999 10:49 AM
> Subject: [Leica]He should have bought a Leica....
>
> >
> >
>     Believe me, this happens all the time,,, People come in with their
> "Wunder cameras" and have no idea what they have... My favorite was a guy
> that came in complaining about his F5. His complaint was that some shots
> didn't turn out they way he thought they should... After talking to him, it
> turns out that he was doing night time cityscapes, in program, and had CVS
> (a drugstore here in the states) develop his film... His question was, "How
> do I make them look better?" Keep in mind that he didn't actually bring any
> of his pictures with him, so it was a little tough. He didn't have enough
> time anyway, he was going to be late for a shoot and he needed film. He
> wanted the fastest speed slide film made. I asked him why and he said that
> he was shooting the inside of a mall, "and they're pretty dark..." I tried
> to explain how the sodium vapor and flourescent lights combined with the
> pushed slide film would look less than optimal,but he'd have none of it, he
> knew what he needed. The final straw was when he asked me to load the film,
> I about exploded trying to keep from laughing...
>
> Isaac

  Don't knock the customers with their fully automatic cameras so much. The
probability, that someone in the same shop would have sold them this camera, is
on the cards.

I have yet to visit a Photo shop in which the sales personnel tries to sell the
customer anything else, but a fully automatic cameras. I have never seen anyone
yet trying to sell a Leica, unless the customer specifically for it and then,
the sales personnel half the time didn't
now anything about it anyway.

If the customer has to be told by the sales staff what he wants, the chance,
that he needs a fully automatic camera is extremely high. He is guaranteed not
interested in f-stops and speeds and focussing. Years ago, all he had was his
Box camera. This was already fully automatic. Then when things got a bit more
modern, then he had a Kodak Instamatic, with a 126 cartridge. Another automatic
camera. This time even with flash.
During this time, he was quit happy with the nearly sharp pictures  and he
accepted, that only about 50% where usable, because they where not just black,
like the ones he took of the football game in the back row with his flash. Now
suddenly, he has the opportunity to be up there with the big boys. He can get a
camera with the best lenses, it looks impressive, he can still afford it and it
gives him 99% of perfectly exposed, correctly focused pictures.
The 1% which are not so perfect, he does not even notice. Especially since he
gets about 30% more perfect pictures, then the guy next to him, who with his
fully manual camera.
The one who, even so he knew everything about it and knew what  to do with all
the settings of his camera, forgot in the excitement to focus, or left it at the
previous f-stops, when the sun was covered with some clouds and now its sunny
again. Or, just didn't have the time to focus correctly, because the subject
didn't do him the favor to stand still.
So what, if he dos not know, how to set anything on his camera, as long as the
results are ok. You don't have to study biology to have babies? Do you ?

I bought my wife about 10 years ago a Fuji Fully automatic compact camera. The
best camera she ever used. Why, because she can use it. Now, when she
photographs me,
she can concentrate on what she sees in the few finder. Im now always in focus
and my head or my legs aren't cut of.

A good friend bought about  4 years ago a Pentax fully automatic SLR with a zoom
lens.
Now he loves photographing. His camera can do all the things he wants, including
close ups. The result:  It is now his hobby. His pictures are very good.
He is not at all technical minded and if I tried to teach him to use a manual
camera, he would tell me where to go. And he is right.

The Moral: Let everybody to what he can do best.  If  the customer has a
problem, help him, but don't try to convert him to be a Leica user. He would
most probably not be happy after, and the amount of film he 'd buy in your shop
would slowly but surely diminish.

Regards Horst Schmidt.