Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2013/07/01
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I don't use Olympus or Pentax. I did use Rolleiflex with Zeiss glass on my SL-35 before owning my first Leica R. The Zeiss glass was super compared to friends who shoot OM's and Spotmatics. Now I shoot Nikon but still use some Leica glass, mainly the 35-70/4 and the 100 APO with a few others thrown in for good meausre. I bought some of Nikon's best glass. I just got through editing a few thousand photos taken on my latest trip. Looking at them at 1:1 to touch up sensor dust, I am very aware of which shots are taken with the Leica glass vs the Nikon glass. As I am peeking around for dust and I come across a bright edge, if I see no color fringing I know, without looking, it was Leica R glass. If I see that lovely color fringed edge, when I look at the lens used, it is Nikon glass, or a few years back, Canon glass. It is a very rare occurrence that I see CA on my Leica glass, and a quite common occurrence with Nikon or Canon. Lightroom does a nice job of cleaning it up, but of course, those are imaginary pixels, only as good as the algorithms used in Lightroom, and are not necessarily a representation of what was really there. So, my personal experience is in total support of Tina. And I might ad that most of my shots with the Leica glass are near wide open, while with the Nikon/Canon glass were stopped down usually 3 stops to get some kind of sharpness, unless stopping down more or less is important for photographic compositional reasons. Aram -------------------------------------------------- From: "Chris Crawford" <chris at chriscrawfordphoto.com> Sent: Monday, July 01, 2013 6:10 PM To: <lug at leica-users.org> Subject: Re: [Leica] Buying Leica..... > Tina, > > This is a load of bullshit. I've used Olympus OM gear since I was a kid, > and never had issues with soft edges, fringing, or chromatic aberration > with the Zuiko lenses, and they have good Bokeh. Never had those problems > with Pentax lenses either. If quality really mattered to you, you wouldn't > bother with 35mm anyway. A cheap Mamiya 645 will blow away ANYTHING you > shoot with Leica, no matter what Leica lens you use. I've shot both, and > it is NO CONTEST. > > I have not touched my Leicas since I got my Mamiya 6. The quality > difference is incredible. Leica doesn't want or care about your business > anyway. You got into the system decades ago, when photographers still made > good money on average and Leicas were not much more expensive than Nikons. > If you were starting out today, the only way you'd have a Leica is if your > husband bought it for you. > > That's not a slam on your abilities, its the reality of what working > photographers in Journalism earn now. I became a teacher because I got > damned tired of being f--king poor. Teaching is one of the very few middle > class jobs left here, and I still cannot afford a digital Leica on my pay. > My starting pay in the Ft. Wayne school system is more than the > photographers at our local papers earn, and all of them have been there > for over 20 years! You think any of these working photographers shoot with > Leica jewelry? Hell no. They shoot Nikon. > > You're letting your emotional attachment to a brand get the best of > reason. That is not smart. Leica doesn't give a damn about you; they're a > business, not a church. Being so emotionally invested in your gear just > gives them justification to continue charging astronomical prices. You're > a marketer's wet dream. > > > -- > Chris Crawford > Fine Art Photography > Fort Wayne, Indiana > 260-437-8990 > > http://www.chriscrawfordphoto.com My portfolio > > http://www.facebook.com/pages/Christopher-Crawford/48229272798 > Become a fan on Facebook > > > > > On 7/1/13 7:58 PM, "Tina Manley" <images at comporium.net> wrote: > >>To me the camera matters. I've used other cameras. For stock or large >>enlargements, you examine the files at 100%. There is no contest. I hate >>chromatic aberrations, fringing, soft edges, awful bokeh - all of which >>you >>get with other lenses and other cameras. With Leica cameras and Leica >>lenses, I don't worry about 100% examinations. They are always good! >> Sometimes great. If I'm going to spend my time and energy and money for >>travel to take photos, I'm not going to take a chance on an inferior >>camera >>or lens. >> >>Tina >> >> >>On Mon, Jul 1, 2013 at 7:01 PM, Sonny Carter <sonc.hegr at gmail.com> >>wrote: >> >>> Peter, >>> >>> I post pictures from my M9, my Olympus EP-1, my Pentax Kr, and my >>>iPhone 5. >>> >>> The most pleasurable to use is the M9, but I do sometimes need AF, and >>>thus >>> the other three get some amount of use. >>> >>> The quality of the "three" is not there, but I've learned to use them >>> appropriately, and with my editing eye, I can produce web postings that >>> satisfy, but the high detail of the Leica files enable me to do things >>>with >>> flowers that just are not possible with the others. So, to me, the >>>camera >>> matters. (I could wish for live view and a tilting Electronic >>>viewfinder >>> though.) ;-) >>> >>> hmmm, (Sony?) >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> On Mon, Jul 1, 2013 at 5:40 PM, Peter Dzwig <pdzwig at summaventures.com >>> >wrote: >>> >>> > All, >>> > >>> > At the end of the day, whether we are using Leica, Fuji or something >>> else I >>> > don't doubt that Uncle Doctor Ted would impatiently remind us that >>>it's >>> us >>> > not >>> > the cameras that take the photos, and that if we are any good anyway >>>then >>> > the >>> > camera shouldn't matter a huge deal. >>> > >>> > Peter >>> > >>> > >>> > On 26/06/2013 23:25, John McMaster wrote: >>> > > I really wonder if I would have bought into Leica if I was buying >>> > now..... I had not shot with nor knew anybody who owned one (I have >>>owned >>> > Canon, Nikon, Contax, Olympus, Hasselblad, LF etc and shot with a lot >>> more, >>> > all prime lenses etc) and thought the name was all image ;-) >>> > > >>> > > I was coming from an APS-C Nikon and was looking at Canon 5D II or >>>M9, >>> > at that time size (I knew I would not carry a DSLR) so went M9. If the >>> Fuji >>> > series was on the market at the time would I have bought that? >>> > > >>> > >>From http://zackarias.com/blog/ >>> > > >>> > > "You see, for decades Leica was the shit for the traveling >>>journalist, >>> > street shooters, documentary photographers, etc. They are fantastic >>> cameras >>> > with an undeniable heritage. But here?s the deal. The folks who put >>>Leica >>> > on the map can?t afford them any longer. They are a boutique camera >>> > company. The working stiff can?t shell out close to $10,000 for a body >>> and >>> > a lens. Go price out 2 M?s, a 20mm ish lens, a 35mm, and a 75mm. Go >>>price >>> > that out. Then price out an x100s, an X-Pro1, and the Fuji 14mm, 35mm, >>> and >>> > 60mm lens. You still haven?t spent the price of a single Leica body >>>yet. >>> > Let alone two of them. And glass." >>> > > >>> > > With hindsight I would still go Leica, nothing to touch the lenses >>>for >>> > different looks and I prefer the simpler operation, but if I had not >>>used >>> > them what would make me spend 'rather a lot' more on Leica than Fuji? >>> Does >>> > 'full frame' or the build quality make enough of a difference for the >>> price >>> > jump to most people? >>> > > >>> > > john >>> > > >>> > > _______________________________________________ >>> > > Leica Users Group. >>> > > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >>> > > >>> > >>> > -- >>> > >>> > =========================================================== >>> > Dr Peter Dzwig >>> > >>> > >>> > _______________________________________________ >>> > Leica Users Group. >>> > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >>> > >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Regards, >>> >>> Sonny >>> http://sonc.com/look/ >>> Natchitoches, Louisiana >>> >>> USA >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Leica Users Group. >>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >>> >> >> >> >>-- >>Tina Manley >>http://tina-manley.artistwebsites.com >> >>_______________________________________________ >>Leica Users Group. >>See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > > >