RE: [Leica] Two quick questions, please

["Dan Honemann" <danh@selectsa.com>]

Hi George,

We have much in common.  I'm also in the DC area (usually do street shooting
in Adams Morgan, where you can find me every Wednesday evening and most
Saturday afternoons), also started out with an M6 TTL (.72x in my case,
chrome) and 50/2, then bought a 35/1.4 asph and 75/1.4, but opted for the
Konica Hexar RF instead of a .58x M6, and also just started a basic b&w
photo class (at Catonsville Community College, just a couple blocks from
where I live in Baltimore).

I shot with just the M6 + 50/2 for nearly a year before taking the plunge
and buying the other lenses and the second body from Dr. Joseph Yao, a
wonderful resource (and fellow LUGger) in Hong Kong who you should get to
know immediately, especially if you plan to buy a new lens per month
(joseph@yao.com).  But I'd echo the suggestions of the others in
recommending that you shoot with what you already have for awhile before
bothering to invest in more gear.  I've discovered that I have actually
slowed myself down quite a bit by just adding the extra body and two new
lenses; there are decisions to make now that I never had to bother with
before (yeah, I know, it's a nice predicament!).

Seriously, though, there isn't much you will miss with the two bodies and
four lenses you've got right now.  If your kit has a gap anywhere, I'd say
it was between the 15 and the 35, and a 24 sounds like the right choice to
fill it--but that's for _my_ type of shooting.  If you like to shoot animals
(sounds like you do), you might be better off checking out a Leica R8 and a
tele like the 180/2.8, or a vario (zoom).  Only time will tell, and lots and
lots of rolls through your new equipment.

Cheers,
Dan