Re: [Leica] LFI Magazine

["Martin V. Howard" <marho@ida.liu.se>]

Fstop008@aol.com wrote:
> =

> I am new to the world of Leica. Is there a publication which illustrate=
s
> rangefinder techniques and which critically reviews new equipment in an=

> unbiased manner?

I'm new to this Leica stuff too, but I think you'd be hard pressed to fin=
d
any publication devoted to rangefinder techniques.  There isn't too much
new rangefinder equipment being made.

Also, like it or not, Leica is a bit like a religion.  It's rather
difficult to be critical and unbiased of religions... ;-)  Besides, anyon=
e
who is willing to part with $1000 for a 35 year old kamera that isn't in
mint condition and was mass-produced is going to be a plastic-thingy shor=
t
of a six-pack anyway (myself most definately included ;)

People buy Leicas because they love the pictorial qualities that the lens=
es
produce and because they are IMHO the most sensuous cameras to operate.
They are whisper quiet pieces of mechanical joy.  They are small and un-
obtrusive.  They allow you to take pictures in situations and of subjects=

which many other cameras wouldn't. =



> How is Brian Bower's book, Leica Rangefinder Photography? I found his
> book on Leica Reflex photog very good because he gave the pros and cons=

> of each available lens.

I have both Bower's "Reflex Photography" and his "M Photography", along
with Jonathan Eastland's "Leica M Compendium".  If you can only afford th=
e
one book, or want to buy one book before deciding, I'd go with Eastland's=

book.  It offers more comprehensive information than Bower's, although
Bower's does deal more with older equipment.  Eastland offers comments on=

lenses too, but deals more with the new stuff.

Two other cheap books that can be recommended are "Leica Pocket Book" and=

"Leica Accessory Guide", both by Hove Publishers.  They're only about =A3=
9
each, so it's not a terrible loss of money should you decide that Leicas
are not for you.  The first contains information on all production model
Leicas, from the UR-Leica to the R7 (my edition doesn't contain the R8),
as well as info on a number of variations, special models, and anniversar=
y
models.  It also contains info on all lenses made by Leica for their M
and R cameras, although it doesn't rate their performance.


Regards,

M.

- -- =

Martin V. Howard, Application Systems Laboratory,     | =

Dept. of Comp. & Info. Sci., Linkoping University,    | Just DOHH it!
SE-581 83 Linkoping, Sweden.  Tel +46 13 282 421,     +----------------+
Fax +46 13 142 231; marho@ida.liu.se; www.ida.liu.se/~marho