Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/03/07
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]If you think you've seen this please scan quickly and delete. On the other hand, maybe others, like Mike , didn't get it. Donal Philby wrote: >...Interestingly, most of my clients would be more impressed with a Nikon or Hasselblad than a Leica. Name recognition. > > Donal Philby > San Diego >I recently answered an inquiry seeking an author/photographer for a >book project and one of the requirements was "must have top quality >photo equipment, Nikon or Canon". Name recognition indeed. If I get >the job I may have to keep the Leicas hidden! >BTW, if *your* war story was posted to the list, I never received it for >some reason. If you care to share it and still have it in your sent >file or somewhere, I would love to hear it. In New England we are in >that grubby transition between winter and spring and I need a diversion! > >Regards, >Mike Gardner Soon Wai Hoe wrote: > >SNIP > > Can anyone out there please enlighten me on the special qualities of the > Leica lens?? It is not that they are lousy. Just as an objective comparison, > are they that fantastically far ahead of the rest?? As far as pratical > experience goes, I cannot see a world of difference. Anyone care to disagree?? > > --Adi Just received a couple of days ago a brochure I photographed with numerous pix. Leica USA had sent me an R7 and a 35-70 lens to try. I only was able to shoot two rolls before the camera jammed. The rest shot with Nikon and 35-70. One of the Leica pix was published in the brochure and it does have something extra. A little richer color, a smoothness, something, that is better than the Nikkor. But subtle. On another MF versus AF discussion thought I would relay an experience this week shooting: Just returned from two day magazine assignment to photograph boats on a lake north of Los Angeles, up in mountains. It was about 40 degrees F when we started at 7am. The wind was blowing around 35mph and gusting to 50. Some of the 9 boats I needed various pix of were only available for the one day. So must get pix. So out we go on a 25 foot photo boat with tall platform I'm up on. I have my N90s with 35-70 and a gyro stabilizer. Usually I try to shoot shots of boats running at 1/60th of second to get blurry water and sharp boat. This takes a gyro plus smooth water and strong arms to hold camera and gyro and let it "float" with the motion of the boat. Usually I MF, since the boat is usually off center. We usually run about 10 feet apart. For all but a couple of hours both days the wind blew and blew and blew. So here I am up on platform with boat going 30+ mph through the chop. Against the wind we have 60mph wind chill. Moving with the wind was a little better. I can hardly keep the boat in frame with all the pounding and whipping around up on top of the tower and then my eyes begin to water, I can't focus, can't see model's expressions (they are in swimsuits, poor things), can't tell what I'm getting. I alternate between 1/125 and 1/250 because of the motion and try to time my shots when the model boat is steady. I switch to AF and put boat in center of frame and open fire! It is so cold my lips are so numb I have trouble telling models what to do. Fortunately I had headset and intercom to talk with photoboat driver over the noise, telling him when to go closer, pull back, move back, move forward, watch our shadow. And in the middle of all this I'm thinking, how could I accomplish this with an R8?? Maybe I could occasionally see well enough to focus, and I'm shooting at f/8-11, so maybe Depth of field will save me. I don't know. Maybe with an M might be easier, but no zoom lenses that are so nice when it is difficult to quickly control precisely where the boats move. I write this (war story??) just to put perspective on some of the discussion about quality optics and precision and traditionalism and "creative" manual control, and so on. Sunny Sunday afternoons in the park with no deadlines might lead you to view a camera's features and qualities differently than trying to work in more trying conditions. My shoulders, arms, back and waist (from banging into the platform) are still recovering. I feel like I earned my fee. The lab is about to tell all. Donal Philby San Diego P>S> Lab told all, and everything worked fine. In fact, mostly the pix look like they were taken on a nice, calm day. Ask anyone who has tried to capture waves on the ocean and make them feel on film like the way they scare you in person. Almost impossible. Maybe some of our optical philosophers can explain it. d