re: [Leica] R8 focusing method

[Larry Kopitnik <kopitnil@mra-inc.com>]

John,

I'm not sure your method of focusing is the reason for your discomfort in
handling the R8. To some photographers -- and I'm among them -- the
camera's chunkiness prevents it from handling ergonomically, regardless of
how you focus a lens.

The R8 is a camera I truely want to like. It has all the features I want in
an SLR. It has traditional controls, and a separate control for each
operation, as opposed to the press-this-turn-that method which I've never
felt comfortable with on so many modern cameras.

I mean, it even has a real shutter speed dial, a dial that when you turn it
will change only shutter speeds no matter what else you're pressing. For
me, such a simple, basic and necessary feature, but so scarce on
1990s-vintage cameras!

I really, really want to be able to use the R8. But I've handled and tested
it in and out of the camera store maybe a dozen times. And every time its
thickness spreads my fingers uncomfortably, sometimes to the point of
cramping. And I don't have small hands. It's just that the way this camera
forces fingers to be placed doesn't work for me.

For those who find the R8 ergonomically comfortable, I envy you. There's no
doubt in my mind it's a stellar photographic machine, accepting lenses
second to none. But to my hands, it's an ergonomic debacle.

Larry

>>>>>>>>>>
As some of you know (too well by now), I have been thinking about moving to
the R8 for some time now.  I like everything about the camera except one
thing -- it's not comfortable in my somewhat small hands.  While I love the
feel of my R6's and M6, as well as the Nikon F5, the R8 feels like a chunky
football.  My right hand ends up too near the top and my right arm gets
tired quickly.  I'm not alone in this assessment, yet there are many who
love the ergonomics of the camera (e.g. Ted, Harrison, Donal, and Eric).
I'm trying to figure out why some love it and some don't.  Unlike many
cameras, the ergonomics of this camera are controversial.

I have an idea that I'd like to test.  Though I was always told to focus
with my left hand resting UNDER the camera and supporting the body, I have
always focused with my left hand to the left of, and slightly, above the
lens and my left elbow flying out to the side.  The former approach cradles
the camera in a more stable manner, but my ("incorrect") method allows for
possibly quicker focusing and racking of the lens.  I have a theory (clearly
of earth-shattering importance -- the world awaits the findings) that those
who like the ergonomics of the R8 cradle their focusing hand under the lens,
and that those who don't like the feel of the camera focus the way I do.
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