Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/06/03

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Subject: [LEICA] The Joys of an M
From: scott at adrenaline.com (Scott McLoughlin)
Date: Fri Jun 3 13:58:22 2005
References: <000001c567d7$787b8e40$5540e344@newukolbqveo9i> <429FE54A.4020402@planet.nl>

I like to carry my camera everywhere, and for physical reasons, am
somewhat sensitive to size/weight of the kit.

My M carry kit fits in a small Domke Satchel. "Filled up," it's 2
M6TTL's, typically one with a 50 and the .58 with a 28. The
middle pouch fits a tiny plastic Sekonic meter and either a 90/2.8
or a CV 4/21 with the metal shade.  Once outer pouch holds an
SF24 and the other holds film.  A few filters in the small pockets
in the flap. Batteries and a Sharpie marker and what not fit in as
well.

I really like the satchel because all the weight is distributed vertically.
Feels less heavy than it is.

My D70 kit fits in a Domke "little smaller" bag that I formerly
used for my M kit. Camera body with the Nikon 12-24 zoom.
Then a 45/2.8 AI-P and 85/1.8 in two pouches. Sometimes a
35/2 as well.  Sekonic 358 and SB800 flash fit in the other two
pouches (I like flash).  Batteries in the zipper pouch in the flap.

When I first configured the D70 kit in the bag, I was really pleased
to discover that such a capable and versatile kit fit in the same bag
that I used to use for my M stuff.   It's still more bulky than the
M stuff, and the 12-24 f4 is a large and heavy lens, but it's not like
I have to carry around a giant square Lowe Pro bag to have fun :-)

I mostly like to shoot B&W film and soup it myself. It's fun, it works
for me, and I can get different looks with different films and developers.

The D70 kit I use with studio strobes and also for family events where
I tend to shoot alot of pics and use flash indoors.

I'd love a smaller digital kit that would fit in the small satchel, have the
flash capabilities of the D70, the manual focus prowess of the M kit,
a W3E (Wide Tri-Elmar) - something like that. A hybrid, as it were.
Maybe someday.

Scott

Nathan Wajsman wrote:

> Jeffery,
>
> You do not need to wade through 250 crap images if you don't shoot 
> them in the first place...I find that I am shooting more or less the 
> way I did with film. Yes, I do shoot perhaps 50% more images, but the 
> increase is accounted for by a greater willingness to take a chance 
> with marginal lighting or a different composition, not mindless firing 
> of the shutter.
>
> As regards weight, my Domke 803 is a lot lighter now than it was in my 
> film days. The Canon 20D is heavier than the Leica, but instead of 
> stuffing the extra pockets with 10-12 rolls of film I now just have an 
> extra CF card and a spare battery. Since I do not chimp a lot (only if 
> I am with other people and they want to have a look), and I never use 
> flash, I get anywhere between 300-500 images per battery charge, 
> depending on temperature.
>
> And since buying the 20D, I have not missed a single shot due to 
> writing RAW images. The camera has a buffer of 6 images, and writing 
> to the card is very fast. With the Digilux 2 (which I have never owned 
> but have tried extensively) this IS a real issue since the camera has 
> a tiny buffer and writes very slowly.
>
> Nathan
>
> Jeffery Smith wrote:
>
>> You've hit most of the points that have kept me filming instead of using
>> digital...not having to carry 30 lbs, instant response, no black out. I
>> also like the changing of batteries once a year (whether they need it or
>> not). Although digital is convenient, I hate having to wade through 250
>> semi-crap images to find the one keeper. And I really hate it when my
>> decisive moment is postponed for 5-10 seconds while the RAW files are
>> being written slowly to the card.
>>
>> Jeffery Smith
>> New Orleans, LA
>> http://www.400tx.com
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: lug-bounces+jls=runbox.com@leica-users.org
>> [mailto:lug-bounces+jls=runbox.com@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of Rob
>> McClure
>> Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2005 7:40 PM
>> To: Leica Users Group
>> Subject: Re: [LEICA] The Joys of an M
>>
>>
>> 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
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Leica Users Group.
>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Leica Users Group.
>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>>
>>
>



In reply to: Message from jls at runbox.com (Jeffery Smith) ([LEICA] The Joys of an M)
Message from nathan.wajsman at planet.nl (Nathan Wajsman) ([LEICA] The Joys of an M)