Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/10/17

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Subject: [Leica] Visoflex on MP (II or III, bellows or....)
From: bd at bdcolenphoto.com (B. D. Colen)
Date: Tue Oct 17 18:54:15 2006

All kidding aside, Marc - If all one wants to do is shoot the occasional bug
or lens engraving, then a Visoflex might make sense. But if one wants an SLR
to shoot anything that requires any kind of speed and or dexterity, then
having an SLR body with a lens or two makes more sense. I wonder how a used
Nikormat and a used 105 2.5 might have compared to a Visoflex in price in
the late 60s, early 70s.


On 10/17/06 7:05 PM, "Marc James Small" <marcsmall@comcast.net> wrote:

> At 06:44 PM 10/17/2006, B. D. Colen wrote:
>> Beyond that - the Visoflex may be a marvel of optical engineering - or
>> enginoptics, but what has that got to do with its use for real photography
>> in the real world? (And yes, I did own one many years ago, and thought it
>> was a nifty gimmick.) It doesn't turn an M camera into a useful reflex
>> camera, it turns an M camera into a rangefinder camera with a whopping 
>> tumor
>> at the end of its nose. As many a photojournalist found in the 60s and 
>> into
>> the early 70s, if one was a rangefinder shooter, there was no need to 
>> invest
>> in a reflex system - Nikon F body, 105 2.5, 200 f4, and you were good to 
>> go
>> - along with your M2, M3, and range of lenses from 21 to 50 mm. ;-)
> 
> With respect, BD, you are missing the point.
> 
> If you are heavily invested in Leica RF gear and
> have no SLR at hand, then spending $300 or so for
> a Visoflex rig makes sense.  If you already have
> a Nikon F or Canon F1 set on hand, that changes
> the equation quite a bit.  It is just a matter of
> convenience.  If you already have the Leica RF
> gear but no SLR, why spend thousands of dollars
> to invest in another system, an SLR, which is
> marginal to your interests?  eBay has made Viso gear REALLY cheap.
> 
> Marc
> 
> 
> 
> msmall@aya.yale.edu
> Cha robh b?s fir gun ghr?s fir!
> 
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In reply to: Message from marcsmall at comcast.net (Marc James Small) ([Leica] Visoflex on MP (II or III, bellows or....))