[Leica] Ramblings

["Jeff S" <segawa@netone.com>]

Here, in an easy-to-delete, bandwidth-conserving form, are a number of
Leica-related thoughts I've had:

The Leica M Mystique
It's not retro-anything; it's the genuine article; a product of a bygone
era.

Reactionary Mechanical Cameras?
In the rush to pack computerized features into smaller and smaller packages,
the lowly coiled spring is sometimes overlooked as an efficient and compact
form of energy storage. Small motorized cameras need to employ many
energy-saving measures (small battery bank), and tend not to be ready at a
moment's notice. Fast motorized cameras tend to be big. Spring-driven
cameras can be fast AND small.

The Mixed Blessings of Technology
My last 35mm SLR was a Nikon F4: From the very first roll of film, it
delivered a much larger percentage of useable shots than I'm accustomed to.
As I recall, something like 32 out of 36 exposures were dead-on! The tricky
part, as it turned out, was predicting where it would goof, and how. It is
very easy to predict the failings of an averaging or centerweighted metering
system, but when we're dealing with multi-spot metering with additional
"smarts" (including databases of various lighting conditions, or even color
correction), the errors become fewer, but more subtle and tougher to
predict.

To Bracket Or Not To Bracket?
Film is cheap--or is it? When total costs, including environmental ones, are
taken into account, the issue becomes thornier. Certainly, there are
situations in which a number of different interpretations of a scene deserve
a try, but where time allows, bracketing seems a brute-force substitute for
precise metering technique.

The "Leica Glow"
For the life of me, I don't know what the heck this really is: Certainly
different lenses render a scene with some differences, and some
interpretations of reality are more pleasing than others, but I think the
single most important element to making a wonderful photo is being there
with a camera! Next is being able to recognize a photo op when it presents
itself. Leica has done their part by making the M easy to carry about: The
rest is largely up to the photographer.

Brass 'n Glass versus..?
I know it's fashionable to favor metal construction, but so long as the
materials are used correctly, plastics are good too: Plastic and rubber lens
hoods are virtually indestructable, and the Canon EOS 1n is wonderfully
light. But, it's wear characteristics are different than chromed brass, and
the popular dark, smooth semi-gloss finishes show wear quickly, which maybe
reinforces the belief that plastic items are inferior and more disposeable
than metal ones. Granted, brass has been in use for ages, and it's
characteristics over time are well-known by now, whereas synthetic resins
are comparitively new and quite complex.

Tool, Art Object or What?
The ideal collector's camera is one which is obsolete, busted or otherwise
due for the recycling bin, but which manages to find a second life as a nice
doodad, to be brought out and admired periodically. If this results in such
demand that parts and service again become available, so much the better. I
have no problems with refurbishing of gear (repainting, etc) so long as it's
sold as such. Historians may wish to choose period materials and techniques.
While some may prefer leaving things in their original, decrepit state, I'd
have a tough time with this! Me, I treat my cameras like tools, but I take
good care of my tools.

Brand Snobbery
I tried this, but all of that holding one's nose high in the air, at a
properly disdainful angle, only gave me a pain in the neck.