[LEICA] The Joys of an M

[rmcclure2 at woh.rr.com (Rob McClure)]

Hello,

For the last number of months I have been using digital almost 
exclusively.  I sold my M6 and my M4-2 kit has been on display in a 
glass case in our family room (please don't flame me for this, it is a 
work of art).  On Tuesday of this week I grabbed my digital gear, all 
30 pounds of it, and trudged around the Murfield Memorial Golf 
Tournament in Columbus, OH.  I got some nice shots of Tiger, Jack, 
Vijay and the other pro golfers as they made their rounds, but much of 
this success was due to shooting off a slew of image bursts and picking 
the best shot later.  On Wednesday I returned to the tournament and 
tired from lugging the digital, I opened the display case and grabbed 
only the M4-2 and a couple of lenses.  What a refreshing change.  My 
DSLR has a rather quick shutter response, but I forgot what its like to 
have the instant response of a Leica M.  Also, the lack of shutter 
black out let me follow the tee swings better and capture good shots 
without blasting through lots of images.  The Leica also allowed for 
some nice candids and got more than a few looks from the pro photogs 
covering the event.

Will I switch back to the M for the bulk of my shooting in the future?  
No, the M is back in its display case and I will continue to use the 
digital most of the time due to the cost factor, versatility, etc., but 
it is still nice to take an M for a drive!

Rob McClure
Upper Sandusky, OH