The R8 Literature

[Afterswift@aol.com]

Tho I didn't have a chance to heft the R8, I managed to get the Leica
brochure on it. I noted two minor items after reading it closely:

1. No mechanical fallback shutter speed is mentioned. [It may exist.]

2. Unlike the M's, the R8's shutter curtain runs vertically.

Neither of these observations is meant as criticism. The radical asymmetical
shape of the body is fully functional from appearances. A touch of the CL
design is present in the overhang horizontal dial that sets the exposure
modes. The R8, unlike most of the Nikons, doesn't appear bulbous. 

The R8 looks like an innovative gem. I particularly like the shutter button
centered in the dial, a la the great RF Contax. The brochure is about as
close I'll ever come to an R8. I also appreciate the modular options re the
two motors offered. I'd opt for the manual wind. 

Bob Rosen