Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/05/30
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LUGgers:
Sorry I didn't append my name to my last message (which was my first
on the board), regarding a battery source and re the price for a
Japanese paint job.
Long ago (it seems), I owned Leica R cameras and lenses. I sold
them, went to a Mamiya 7. Sold it (way too expensive, and too limited a
system). Went back to 35mm, in the form of Contax. Loved the Aria.
Unfortunately, hated the lenses. I agree with Mike Johnston about the
Zeiss line: a limited line that's not looking to the future (see his
article in the Nov/Dec 1999 P-T issue). Old designs, slow optics,
mediocre performance (my words, not Mike's).
Last week, I traded all of my Contax equipment for.....a Leica
M6-TTL (.72)! Almost went back to the Olympus OM4 (which I owned prior
to the Leica R). I think both the Leica lenses and the Olympus Zuiko
lenses are superior (sharpness, contrast, bokeh) to the Zeiss. IMHO,
Leica could sell M6s for $1000 if they sold their lenses in Nikon,
Canon, Pentax, and Minolta mounts.
I'll be picking up a number of M lenses, as well as purchasing an R5
or R7 camera with some tele lenses (no beast of an R8 for me). Hopefully
I'm back in the Leica stable for good. And as for LUGging a heavy
backpack: try my 27-pounder with 4x5, four lenses, and all accessories.
When I was somewhere down in Bryce Canyon recently, someone looked at my
4x5 on its pod and said, loud enough for me to hear, “some people take
life entirely too seriously”. Of course, he didn't get to see my 20x24
Lightjet prints!
regards, john costo