Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/04/02

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Subject: [Leica] Useful camera features?
From: Doug Herr <71247.3542@compuserve.com>
Date: Thu, 2 Apr 1998 08:26:54 -0500

Maybe a LUGnut can answer a philosophical question for me:

Why is a mechanical, non-motorized camera with a dumb spot meter =

like the Leica M6 considered by many to be the pinnacle of rangefinder =

design, yet to be competetive a 35mm SLR must have multiple metering =

and program modes, motorized film advance and rewind, auto-bracketing, =

sophisticated flash functions and (in many opinions) several auto =

focus modes?

One would think that an effective "street" camera would need as
many automatic functions as possible for maximum responsiveness
yet what I'm reading here is that the simplicity of the M6 is
what makes it so responsive.

I'm a "bugs & critters" photographer so the rangefinder is not the =

best tool for me, yet, like the M6, the mechanical, non-motorized =

Leicaflex SL with a dumb spot meter is the most responsive, and =

ultimately most useful SLR for me.  There are hardly any features, =

switches or modes to set wrong, and it relies on the most sophisticated =

fuzzy-logic computer known, the human brain.

Would RF users be as satisfied with an electronic M-camera, or has
standard SLR design become too cluttered with superfluous features?
Your opinions, please.

- -Doug Herr