[Leica] Leica R and M for newspaper shooter in So. CA.

[Eric Welch <ewelch@ponyexpress.net>]

At 02:41 PM 4/3/98 -0500, you wrote:

>	I'm wondering if the R glass is comparable to the M glass, and whether it's
>so much better than Nikon that it would be worth the switch (be honest!
:-) ).
>	My other question is about the delay between pressing the shutter and the
>release of the mirror in the R's which I find so annoying. It would make a
bit
>of a difference in some situations, though having never used them I can't
tell
>how much.
>Thanks for any opinions, posted or private...

Dave,

As a newspaper shooter, I can tell you, that Leica R cameras and lenses are
great for the job. But then, I've been using them off and on since '81. I
just gave up Nikon for Leica again when I became a photo editor. But now
that I think about it, I think unless one is a sports shooter, AF is a
luxury that gets in the way as much as it helps.

As for R lenses, they are just as good, and some even better than their M
counterparts. Not so much right now since the M system has so many new
lenses. But the R system is getting a lot of upgrades these days. And
anything Leica has been bringing out in the past 10 years is some of the
best stuff they've ever done. Some will dispute this with me, but I'm not
into nostalgia lenses, I'm into raw performance.

The R8 is a great camera, and can really do you justice in editorial work.
If you want to talk specific lenses, just email me privately, and I'll tell
you what I think about what I've used.

As for the delay with R cameras, they've been actually quite quick on the
response. The last time I've seen tests on R cameras said the delay was 100
ms. That's pretty good for SLRs. That was before the R8, but I find the R8
is quite good in that area.

My solution? Speed lenses for the M, and fill in with the R system.
==========

Eric Welch
St. Joseph, MO
http://www.ponyexpress.net/~ewelch

Suicidal twin kills sister by mistake!