Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/07/29
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See, the Leica Logo on the camera is good for something...
"Randy Jensen"
<randy@jamzcheer.com> To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Sent by: cc:
owner-leica-users@mejac.palo Subject: RE: [Leica] M camera NOW R camera ?
-alto.ca.us
07/29/2003 11:00 AM
Please respond to
leica-users
Very true. There are a lot of great cameras out there. But the R series
for me does the job extremely well, and I can't fit the lenses I like so
much on a F3, F1, RTSIII, T90, or whatever else good camera there is.
The focusing on the R8's is really good (and good enough on the R6) for
what
I do. I've noticed a lot of autofocus users tend to center their subjects
too much (since you aim dead on, and it's so easy to just keep pushing the
shutter release instead of locking it and REALLY composing). For whatever
reason (for me) I compose better with manual focus. Maybe it makes me
think
about it more. I have the same problem with square formats. That's why
I've always preferred 6x4.5 and 6x7 in medium format.
The camera doesn't make the picture, but the feel of it and the operation
of
it can definitely affect your performance with it. That's the easiest way
for me to explain the dramatic difference in pictures I shoot with my
medium
format cameras and my Leica R's.
It's kind of a stupid thing, but when you shoot weddings there's inevitably
the idiot wanna-be photographer at the wedding who drives you crazy about
equipment, the latest digital plastic box he's wearing, etc. Having 4
Leica
bodies sitting on the chair next to you generally shuts them up before they
start. That's worth the price right there.
And even the best autofocus lenses feel horrible when you focus them
manually. I've tried the new H1 (probably the best feel of any current AF
lens due to the gearing), and it still feels like crap next to my R lenses.
Thanks for reading. I know I was rambling a bit.
Randy
www.randyjensenphoto.com
- -----Original Message-----
From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
[mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of bdcolen
Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2003 8:10 AM
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: RE: [Leica] M camera NOW R camera ?
Dan States Grumpily sang the praises of the R8-9, concluding...
"If you don't like the idea of a manual focus SLR, fine, get something
else,
but to claim the R8-9 cameras are anything less than the very best and
most
capable optical instruments in 35mm photography is ignoring fact."
- ---
Which makes me ask why people feel compelled to write such foolishness
as that found in the final phrase? Had he just summed up what are to him
the cameras' virtues, and concluded, "If you don't like the idea of a
manual focus SLR, fine, get something else," no one could argue with
him. But to state something like "but to claim the R8-9 cameras are
anything less than the very best and most
capable optical instruments in 35mm photography is ignoring fact" is,
sorry Dan, but just plain silly.
"Most capable?" Where's the autofocus? Where are the 35 1.4 and 28 1.4
lenses? Where's the 10 fps motor? Where are any number of features that
many, many, many - nay, countless - professional and non-professional
photographers consider essential?
This doesn't mean that the Rs aren't the perfect cameras for people who
don't want the features the Rs "lack." But it does mean that it makes no
sense to claim that they are the "most capable" without adding "for MY
purposes." ;-)
B. D.
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