Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/11/21
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]>My current Nikon system includes the following: > >16 2.8 AF Fisheye.... kind of a toy buy it is sometimes usefull >18 2.8 AF.... I really do love wide angles >20-35 2.8 AF >35-70 2.8 AF... (Nice opticds but I am not super fond of using it manually) >80-200 2.8 AF (Kind of the same as 35-70) >85 1.4 AF A wonderful lens that I am beginning to use more and more >200 2.8 AF Micro. I like the background controll for macro work >300 4 AF >500 4 Steve, Really think about which lenses in your current line up you use most often and why you use them. This will open your eyes to which focal lengths you "see" with better. Even with the zooms think about how you use them, are they at the widest setting most frequently? Whatever is the case. Also on the really wides do you use the whole frame, or do you tend to crop in a lot when printing. If you tend to crop in a lot a less wide lens may be what you need, although you will loose some of that dramatic foreground/background relationship. Leica glass is not cheap, even in the used market you are going to pay as much or more as you would for top of the line Nikon glass. I personally think Leica is worth the expense as I just switched from Canon EOS to all Leica, M&R. In my case I stayed with prime lenses because I think they are better optically (80-200 APO excluded) and wanted the faster lenses. Only you know how you shoot and the focal lengths you prefer. I guarantee you once you use the R stuff and feel the quality with which the lenses are built you will not regret ditching Nikon. Nothing feels as good as a Leica when shooting...well almost nothing, but you can't shoot pictures with the alternative and you have to occasionally talk to her. ;) Get the R8, it is without a doubt one of the best bodies I have ever used. A fine piece of machinery. Also the R6 is a great camera, totally manual and a nice display through the finder but nowhere as nice as the R8. Good luck, Harrison McClary http://people.delphi.com/hmphoto