[Leica] Which Visoflex for my M7?

[mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner)]

On 6/3/05 6:05 PM, "John O. Newell" <john.o.newell@comcast.net> typed:

> Mark, you either have great patience or you are photographing things that
> don't move. ;-)   I used to own and use a pile of Viso gear, but sold it 
> all
> years ago.  It was simply too slow to use, in my opinion.
> 
> For any subject that was moving, it was pretty frustrating -- my 
> recollection
> is that the time from the decision to press the shutter release to the 
> actual
> exposure was pretty lengthy, and TTL metering with the M5 (and later M6)
> didn't work at all under those conditions.  Metering pretty much required
> using a tripod and a static subject.
> 
> Even for static subjects on a tripod (like close-ups), it was very slow.  
> With
> an M5 or M6 (or now M7) you had to compose and focus using the Viso with 
> the
> mirror down, then shift to the camera's finder to use the meter with the
> mirror up...and this was a big improvement over using it with an M3 or 
> other
> meter-less body, where you had to calculate exposure adjustments based on
> magnification ratios...using it was like a form of penance.
> 
> I admire your dedication, and I agree with you that the whole thing is 
> (still)
> fascinating as a demonstration of the ingenuity of the Leitz engineers, but
> the system was already outdated in the 1960s and has not become less so in 
> the
> succeeding decades -- at least that's my opinion -- you are definitely
> entitled to your own.  From time to time I look at Viso prices, though, and
> one thing is certain -- a lot of that gear now goes for pennies on the 
> dollar,
> except where collector-mania has taken over for rare or highly sought-after
> lenses.  If it works for you, though, enjoy!!!
> 
> Best,
> John Newell
> 
> 
> 
> 
Look at your portfolio, John, and figure out which shots in it could not
have been done with the Viso. That's always my kind of question on stuff
like this.
A dirt bike shooter I'm not, neither am I a street shooter.
Not much of a macro shooter but planning on changing that.
A quick glance at my website portfolio and I can't find one shot that
required more speed than what I can get with my Viso in my experience with
it.
http://rabinergroup.com/Catagorypages/PersonalWork.html
I don't take a meter reading every time a click the shutter by the way.
And I don't even refocus every time I click the shutter either.

Mark Rabiner
Photography
Portland Oregon
http://rabinergroup.com/