Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/03/16
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I remember when the Contax G1 came out. There was a full page add for it in the inside cover of the Viewfinder. Hey! The camera had a viewfinder! Those days it was just as much the issue that we were rangefinder camera users as the fact that we used Leica. With Leica about the only rangefinder camera in the world we saw other rangefinder camera users as our friends, cousines. Not our adversaries. After all we shared an interest in the same "principle" of picture taking gear. We had a lot more in common with them then with 35mm SLR use. People who bought into Contax G were not thought of as traitors. They were given an AF option with Zeiss glass too cheap to pass up. Why the heck not it's a rangefinder. Or was it just junk to cloud the issue? It was certainly annoying when they'd be talking about their $200 Zeiss made in japan with no DOF scales glass being better than our $2000 Leica heavy as a lead or gold lenes with the concave front elements. (From Hoya) :) In the 40's and 50's so many of the best work had been done with Contax rangefinder cameras and Zeiss Glass. It seems in those days they might have really had an edge over Leitz. No more, that's for sure. By a long shot Leica is now not the only 35mm rangefinder system in town. But it still is the only "professinal" rangefinder system in town in my opinion. We don't necessarily see the Konica, Cosina, Contax people as our rangefinder cousins. But as our adversaries. As the people who junked up our pristine rangefinder using hyped and history packed personas with a lot of plastic. I've not bought into any of it yet. Not even the 15 from Cosina. Some day maybe... my Leica m system needs to be just a tad rounded off. My new 28 Summicron is due any day 1. The 21 Asph or 21 SA some time during the year (December?) followed by a 2. A .58 body 3. The new miniwinder 4. Maybe a Noctilux THEN I'll think about a cheap body from Cosina, (the L not the R) the 12mm lens from those guys to put on it viewfinders and Hotshoe meters. Gizmos's galore to play with. ONCE i've got my leica m system set up. I don't recall there being a series of stuff in the Viewfinder overwhelming it's editorial content with Japanese plastic. There was Tom's large article in the past issue and i applauded the LHSA for their open minded ness to have stuff like that in there. A few other occasion tidbits in previous issues. I doubt we'll see another article of quite its size and scope and content in next seasons issue. Just occasional tidbits perhaps. The LHSA is about Leica. Not Rangefinder. And the LUG is about Leica. Not rangefinder. On the long run this IS the issue. Now that we are not the only rangefinder game in town we need to decide if Leica M really is our priority. It is for me. Mark Rabiner Portland, Oregon USA http://www.rabiner.cncoffice.com/