[Leica] less equipment

[Peter Klein <pklein@2alpha.net>]

Chris:  I've always been a 35-50-90 kind of guy.  But somehow, I've ended 
up with two basic kits, one for available light, and one for travel and 
walkabout.

Bodies:  M6TTL, M4-P.

With the recent drop in price of non-metered bodies, it isn't worth selling 
the M4-P, which would mean losing the price drop since I bought it, plus 
the cost of a CLA with new curtains. And given Leica's recent moves re. 
repair, I think it's prudent to have a second body and two of the focal 
length or lengths one uses the most.

- ---- begin rant mode re. Leica's new parts policy ----

I can see it now:  "I'm *so* sorry, Mr. Klein, but we couldn't replace your 
left-handed set screw here in New Jersey.  That is something only Solms can 
do.  I have inquired at the factory.  Your camera is on the repair bench of 
Schultz, who is on a five-week holiday, and has a six-month backlog after 
that.  We asked if his apprentice, Schmidt could do your repair.  But 
Schmidt is only qualified to work on right-handed set screws.  He will need 
eight more years with the firm before he is permitted to work on 
left-handed set screws.  I apologize for the inconvenience.  I'm sure you 
understand that only by such stringent rules can Leica maintain the 
superior quality of which it is justly famous."

(Please note that the preceding is imaginary and satirical.  It did not 
actually happen.)

- ---- end rant -----

Anyway, my walkabout and travel kit:

35/2 pre-Asph Summicron
50mm Summicron with tab and clip-on shade
90mm classic Elmarit from the 1960s

Available light kit:

35/1.4 Summilux ASPH
50/1.5 V/C Nokton
90mm pre-Asph Summicron

I use all of these lenses at one time or another.  I probably could part 
with the 35 'Cron and the 90 Elmarit.  But the 35 'Cron is such a lovely 
lens, beautiful at f/2.8 and smaller, and so small and handy.  The 90 
Elmarit is fine at outdoor apertures, and very handy and light compared to 
anything current.  I owned a 90 Tele-Elmarit back in the 70s, and I prefer 
the older lens.

The only RF lens I've owned outside the 35-90 range is the 25mm V/C 
Skopar.  I sold that because I only used it occasionally in Europe, almost 
never in the U.S.  I also didn't like the viewfinder and the 
guess-focusing.  I really think that 24mm and wider are better suited to an 
SLR, because the focusing isn't *that* critical most of the time, and the 
SLR sees the perspective better.  Perhpaps I just don't "see" wide.

If I had to keep only one body, I would keep the M6TTL.  If I could keep 
only one lens of each focal length, I'd keep the 50 Summicron,  the 35 
Summilux ASPH, and the 90 Summicron.  If I could only keep one lens, I 
would be hard-pressed to choose between the 50 Summicron and the 35/1.4 ASPH.

- --Peter

>Martin Howard wrote:
>
>   > But, for me, the main point is that it shows that good photography can
>   > be practiced with a single camera body, three lenses, two films, and a
>   > single paper.  It's easy to forget that sometimes.  Not least in this
>   > forum.
Chris wrote:

>Since my Leica camera bag recently went bust due to constant
>overstuffing,I have been thinking of getting rid of some more of my
>equipment.
>
>I took a first step even before the bag went bust when  I replaced my
>90mm APO-Asph by the 50mm Summicron, first the current version with
>clip on sunshade and then the current version with built in sliding
>sunshade. I am very happy with this move, which was inspired by a
>LUGger who showed a lot of his wedding portraits made with a 50mm
>lens here on the LUG. The sliding lens shade works very well, and
>sves time and space, but as someone said here recently, it is
>probably is not as good a protection as the old one if you drop the
>lens, but that happens very rarely in my case.
>
>Next on the block to go is probably the 21mm Asph. Some time ago I
>was offered a 15mm Super Wide Heliar new in the box for 360 dollars,
>and although I had had one earlier, which I sold because it was a
>lemon, I could not resist the offer as I had read that most LUGgers
>were pleased with their S/W Heliars. This one works just fine, and
>it does not worry me that the paint flakes off here and there, just
>as others have experienced. But I hardly use the 21 mm any more. Add
>to that that the 21 mm is the heaviest, most voluminous and most
>expensive of all my lenses. Will I be a happier man and a better
>photographer once it is gone?
>
>I should add that I also have a 35 mm Summicron, which I find
>sufficiently different from the 50mm to be deaf on both ears, should
>somebody recommend that I change it to 28 or 24 mm and sell the 21
>mm. One additional reason I like the 35 mm compared to the 24 and 28
>mm is that there is adequate space around the frames with a .72
>viewfinder.
>
>Otherwise I use two M7 bodies, two films (Delta 100 and HP5), two
>film developers (Xtol and Rodinal.) and a single paper (Kodak
>Polysomething RC) in one size (9 1/2 by 12"). I generally shoot ....,
>well look at my websites.
>
>It would be a great help to me if persons having reduced their
>equipment would share their experience with me. But do I find such
>persons on the LUG?  ;-)
>
>Chris
>- --


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