Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/02/17
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hi to all, After I bought my Nikon D100 I swore to myself that I would concentrate on Digital Photography and not make any purchases in the Leica areas either SLR or Rangefinder. The whole digital imaging thing seems really Great. I've gotten to the point where my digital images generally match or exceed the quality of the analog images that most people percieved in the images I showed them. I can push an A sized print out on my Canon i850 printer in a minute or two and it is beautiful. On the other hand, I'm finding myself dealing with "raw" files and managing "libraries" and numbering systems, keywords, and archival issues... frankly, this is not photography and it is not fun. Just before christmas, I needed an image I took of my son over twenty three years ago. I went to the negative file, opened the book with the appropiate year and within minutes had it. I wonder how I'm going to find those D100 shots 20 years from now? Over the past few months it has really hit home that digital imaging is very attractive, very easy, and we can produce excellent quality, but the workflow is rather inefficient when compared to film. And there is no magic.... To this day, I remember sitting in the darkroom developing my first contact print from an old brownie 620. I have never forgotten the feeling of watching that image pop (they pop much faster today than in the old Velox days...). I find that I use the digital at events and in the theater (from the balcony), but it is not getting nearly the use that I had thought it would. The fact is, when I'm travelling, I tend to grab the messenger bag with the M system. There is just too much crap to carry around with the digital.... it's OK when I'm near home. I got a great bonus the other day, so I went out and ordered a new camera: an M7. I opened the box in the The Camera Shop (yeah, that's the name of the camera store...) and I just stared at it for a few minutes with a silly smile. I ordered a chrome .72x. I slipped my 35 'lux onto it and ventured up to Vermont to wander around in -5 degree F weather. Being the Geek that I am, I "didn't need no stinkin' instructions" and I have to say that it just felt great. I found the exposure compensation was a bit awkward with gloves on, but overall it was a great experience to be out there in nature with a new "buddy". I also took my ol' R7 and my NEW 35-70 zoom (Yet another item I swore I would not buy...) out for a walk too. These are cameras that can take the cold and it showed. The zoom got a little sluggish as it got really cold, but it was useable. I found the cameras could take the cold better than me....I forgot a hat, big mistake when below zero. Tonight, we're in for a blizzard here in Southern New Hampshire... It should be nice walking around in the higher temps....it has been just brutal these past few weeks... I'll really be testing out that exposure compensation tomorrow.... Take care... Tom Lianza Technical Director Sequel Imaging Inc. 25 Nashua Rd. Londonderry, NH 03053 tlianza@sequelimaging.com - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html