Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/02/18
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]It is made in South America? Has Portugal changed continents or does Leica still make stuff in Brazil? Dan (Who still can't believe a Konica is worth 1600.00) States Chicago Illinois >Dan: > >I don't really want to get into this, but The M6 represents the best >technology the 1970s had to offer. >It's mostly made in South America. There are known technical problems >with the camera. They haven't done a major retool in years, and the >dealers barely make money selling them for $1800. Do you want to talk >about margins? > >You wrote: You can pick up a nice used M6 for 1200.00 that will hold >it's value over time> > >Think about it. That nice M6 sold for $1800-$2000 two years ago. How >is that holding value? > >Tom > >>>In a message dated 2/14/00 11:54:53 AM, dstate1@hotmail.com opined: >>>(and Dante, who passed over an M6TTL for the RF this week, replies, >>>having >>>blown through sixteen rolls of film testing the RF over the weekend, in >>>temperatures from 75 degrees F down to 15:) >>> >>><< I had my first opportunity to fondle the new Konica Hexar RF over the >>>weekend. A camera that was described by the dealer as the Konica >>>M6...what >>>a load of hooey that is.. >>> >>>You're right. It's not an M6. The finish and materials are nicer than a >>>black >>>chrome M6. The styling is cleaner. The controls are better. The on/off >>>switch >>>is better. The loading is easier, with one hand. You can see the 28mm >>>frames. >>>You can shoot wide-open with high-speed film. The shutter is stepless and >>>quartz-timed. You can synch at twice the speed and shoot at twice the >>>speed. >>>The metering pattern is more usable. No, it's not better. >>> >>> >>>Sadly the camera looks a lot better on the net than it does in >>>your hands. >>> >>>The squared frame makes is look like a plank of wood, and it feels a bit >>>like one in your hands. >>> >>>If it's a plank of wood, then planks of wood have much better natural >>>grip >>>surfaces than do the M6. I think that it's pretty tough to hold onto >>>something as small as the right end of an M6 - they're not designed for >>>bigger hands. >>> >>> >>>The lens mounted in a very un-Leica way...Sticky! It felt like I was >>>jamming a chisel into a block of wood.. >>> >>>Zzzzz. I have one in front of me, and it's pretty hard to duplicate your >>>negative experience with this. And it's irrelevant to any performance >>>measure. >>> >>> >>>The viewfinder was bright and clear, with only a hint of pincussion >>>distortion of the 28mm frames. The rangefinder was a little antsy. It >>>may >>>be the shorter base line, but it was easy to overshoot your target of >>>focus. >>> The biggest flaw with the finder to me was the lack of contrast in the >>>focusing patch. Focusing an M6 is really easier in low contrast >>>situations. >>> >>>This is a nice rationalization, but the M6 patch is neither as bright nor >>>as >>>flare resistant. I have tried for about a week to flare out the RF on the >>>Hexar, and it so far hasn't worked. When I compared it to an M6 directly, >>>the >>>M6 came out quite poorly in the flare department. There is nothing >>>lacking >>>about the RF, and if you can see, you can focus. >>> >>> >>>My biggest gripe is with the shutter speed dial placement. It is a >>>thumb >>>wheel and it is very difficult to work the dial while keeping your index >>>finger on the shutter button. Clearly Konica expects users to keep this >>>thing in Aperture Priority most of the time. The meter is a bit hard to >>>get >>>used to, with shutter speed numbers dancing up and down on the left side >>>of >>>the veiwfinder. >>> >>>Three responses to that: >>>(1) Shutter speed numbers dancing in the margin shouldn't be hard to get >>>used >>>to for anyone who has bought a camera in the past twenty years. And if >>>you >>>compare that to an M6, I'd rather have numbers in the margin, which I can >>>ignore, rather than 3 LEDs right in my field of vision. In addition, >>>since >>>you know what speed the shutter is at, you can tell just how low it is >>>going. >>> >>>(2) The shutter speed wheel is fine and so is the EV comp dial. In fact, >>>the >>>key advantage of the placement of the controls is that you can switch the >>>camera on and off by feel, which is not possible with the M6TTL. >>> >>>(3) And if you have AE with exposure lock and a thumbwheel for >>>compensation, >>>why does it matter if you never take it out of AE? If you're going to >>>pull >>>out a handheld meter, it is easy enough to set the shutter speed by hand. >>> >>>The shutter and motor were about as quiet as the Contax G's, and >>>the quality of materials was similar but without the beautiful shape and >>>color. >>> >>>The G2's color is a liability. And it's materials simply aren't as nice. >>>And, >>>frankly, it's pretty ugly compared to the Hexar. >>> >>> >>>I know this sounds pretty negative, but I really expected more >>>considering >>>the hype and the price of this camera (1950.00 with 50mm F2). The >>>handling >>>really leaves something to be desired, especially considering the fact >>>that >>>all they had to do was match a camera that has been on the market since >>>the >>>50's. >>> >>>I would expect, for $2200, more than a camera body made in the 1950s. If >>>it's >>>not a match, I would have to ask you where the waiting list for M6s is. >>> >>>If you have bigger hands, the handling is superior to the M6, which I >>>suspect >>>was a continuation of the design of the M3, which in turn is a lot like >>>the >>>screwmounts, which are TOO DAMN SMALL TO HOLD. >>> >>> >>>The excitment over this fairly average camera really points out the >>>void >>>in >>>the market for an Aperture Priority M...Leica, are you listening? Contax >>>should also be looking at this market. I'll wager that a manual focus G >>>would out-sell the auto be a large margin.. >>> >>>Which is why Contax is making it? Leica is probably not listening. >>> >>>Cheers >>>Dante >> >>______________________________________________________ >>Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com > >Thomas Kachadurian >------------------- >www.kachadurian.com ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com