Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/05/12
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Simon, I guess that I have been there and done that too because in the early 1970's i worked as a pro photog shooting professional motorcycle races when there was no such thing as auto focus and most of my contemporaries did not even use a motor drive. My kit consisted of two Nikon F's with a 200mm and 50mm lenses and a Sekonic meter. With this I had over 400 photos published in American motorcycle magazines in both color and B&W with several cover shots. I know that this may sound extreme in today's terms but once on a lark I decided to cover a big race with a Rollie TLR. Naturally I was the butt of jokes all weekend but I ended up with a cover photo. I hate to say this but I think there has been some dumbing-down of photography in the last 20 years. Steve Annapolis - ---------- >From: "Simon Lamb" <s_lamb@compuserve.com> >To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us> >Subject: Re: [Leica] What Leica will be showing at Photokina >Date: Fri, May 12, 2000, 9:54 AM > > Thanks for an interesting reply from someone who has been there and done it. > I am amazed that people pay the money for USM Canon lenses and do not use > the AF. Guess you have to be good to use MF in fast action sports, although > with F1 the cars are relatively predictable in that they generally go the > same way round the track. Bet they switch to MF is one spins off though, or > else have shattering levels of manual dexterity. > > Simon > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Frank Dernie" <FrankDernie@compuserve.com> > To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us> > Sent: Friday, May 12, 2000 9:22 AM > Subject: [Leica] What Leica will be showing at Photokina > > >> >> Simon Lamb wrote >> I agree that optically Leica lenses are outstanding (the best), but >> outstanding optics >> are useless if you want to photograph a Formula 1 car doing 180mph > straight >> towards you. Horses for courses, and in the case of fast action >> photography >> Leica lenses could be second to some, where capturing the action is >> secondary to the optical quality. Don't get me wrong, I love the Leica > and >> wouldn't swap it. >> >> >> Formula 1 was my business for 23 years. As a keen amateur I know all the >> top F1 photogs. Almost all drool over my M6, which is of course not ideal >> for anything but pit shots. Most feel Canon teles are better than Nikon > and >> none of the good ones use the auto focus function on the circuit - just > for >> snapshots in the pits (and then most of the really good ones use manual >> focus in the pits too). >> If anything has changed over the period I did F1 it is the demise of the >> hand held meter. Whilst most of the good guys don't use auto focus a lot >> they all use the in camera meter 95% of the time. In the old centre >> weighted days almost nobody did. >> FWIW only one guy uses Leica R (an Italian) and one Dutch guy does pit >> candids in B&W using the most battered M6s imaginable. >> cheers Frank >