Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/02/07
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Christian, In a way, I regard this list as family, i.e. I don't feel too comfortable defending the Leica brand here, of all places. I do it often enough elsewhere, as lots of people seem to think that Leica users are strange creatures in the age of electronics, automation and plastics. The macho thing for a press photographer is to cover wars and sports, of course using the latest and most advanced cameras. We see them on the TV almost every night. The photographic magazines keep telling us about the latest technologically most advanced equipment, and very little about making pictures. Over the years, I have felt strong desires to use both macho gear and the latest technology. However, after a while, I have always gone back to my manual M:s, simply because they deliver the best photographs and that they suit my own style of photography. My reason for using Nikon SLR:s is above all economical. I cannot afford two new Leica systems. I have favoured Nikons for many years, because it is very easy to find used gear, and because the latest bodies are able to use almost 30 years old lenses. I think that the F2, F3, F4, FM and FE bodies are great cameras, and after trying out the F5, I have discovered that I could as well be using one of these, as I am not interested in action, sports or wildlife. AF has one great advantage for me, and that is for portraits. I can easily shift focus from eye to nose to eyebrew, within a second. I cannot do that with manual focusing. However, I have often toyed with the idea of switching from Nikons to an old R3/R4s and lenses, because of the unique Leica lens quality. /Hans