[Leica] re: digital treadmill

[telyt at earthlink.net (Douglas Herr)]

on 1/14/06 3:19 PM, Steve Barbour at kididdoc@cox.net wrote:

> On Jan 14, 2006, at 3:52 PM, B. D. Colen wrote:
> 
>> I spent about 40-45 years shooting film. But from the point at which I
>> realized that not only does digital give me more convenience than
>> film, but
>> it also expands my photographic 'reach,' I haven't thought about
>> going back
>> to film. Sure, once and a while I'll shoot a roll. But each time I
>> do, I end
>> up asking myself, 'now why did I do this? What has it given me that
>> digital
>> can't?
> 
> Hi BD, I believe that most of us wound up here ie. on the LUG  'cus
> of Leica lenses , cameras, and film...and we insisted that was God's
> way, and was better than the alternatives.
> Are you saying that you now get better photos with digital than you
> can get with Leica lenses, cameras, and film ? Are there compromises?
> Are you giving up something to get something else ?
> 
> This is my dilemma, perhaps yours, and a lot of other photographers
> here...
> 
> 
> Steve


I'm not B.D. and I don't play B.D. on television, but I started using a
Leica(flex) because I got better pictures with it.  The lenses, the
viewfinder, the responsiveness and the sensory feedback have all made it
easier to trip the shutter release at the right time where with other
equipment I'd have spent twice as much time operating the hardware.  Turns
out the lens quality is a bonus.  Sure I'll miss film if/when it disappears
but the capture medium doesn't make my pictures: the camera's handling,
responsiveness, and more than anything else the viewfinder are what I find
crucial.  Yes it's possible to take good pictures with other equipment but
if I'm not using a camera as responsive as the SL or with a viewfinder as
good as the SL's I miss more pictures.

Things that would be handy that many digital cameras provide:

) fast frame rate
) clean high ISO performance
) variable ISO
) huge memory card
) no-cost oopses
) no time spent scanning

What I'd give up:

) the SL's viewfinder

In my case what I'd give up switching to a digital camera is far more
important than the many benefits of a good DSLR.

--
Doug Herr
Birdman of Sacramento
http://www.wildlightphoto.com