[Leica] Anthony's j'accuse

[Mike Johnston <michaeljohnston@ameritech.net>]

Anthony: >>>I'm sure that some list members are already itching to
censor you out of
existence, given the many thoughtcrimes to which you've alluded in your
post<<<

Hee hee.

I admit it all! Censor away.

The only thing you accuse me of that's not on the money is your guess
that I've never held an F5 in my hands. I much prefer the F100. I
dislike big cameras--I like 'em small and light. IMHO the M6 is the
absolute perfect size and weight. Like Goldilocks said...juuust right.

It's funny, the way the fashions change. In 1978, Nikon had to rush the
FE to market because the market was clamoring for "compact" cameras like
the small Olympii and the compact Pentaxes. The then-recently introduced
EL2 (AI and winder-compatible version of the EL), merely a year old, was
crowded off the market. The FE was a full 7 ounces lighter than the EL2.

So how heavy was this EL2, that was just too big and heavy to be
acceptable? 27 ounces--about the same weight as the F100 *without*
batteries.

And you put an EL2 next to an F100, the F100 dwarfs the older
camera--it's considerably larger.

It's really just a matter of fashion, as to what people want and what
the market gives them. I've been pretty consistent with my preferences
over the years. Sometimes I'm in sync with the fashions, sometimes out
of sync. I liked the size of the R4's and R5 I've owned, but the R8 is
too big for my taste.

The F100 verges on being oversized as well. To me, the F5 is a monster.
The only way I'd use it is if it was half as big as the lenses I
normally had attached to it. It's pretty amazing to me that a camera as
large as the F100 is considered "small and light."

- --Mike