Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/06/28
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]B.D.- Marvelous mental image! A computer with a lens jammed on front, and probably not a very good one, either! Ever since I read about Margaret Bourke-White, and her start with a press camera with a big bubble in the lens, I figured that the photographers' eye, and the quality of the lens that captured the image. I have seen so many photographs that are poorly lit, poorly composed, and poorly thought out, and were taken with cameras boasting cutting edge technology, that I have simply rebelled against the constant excess of 'planned obsolescence' or whatever it's called today. I got rid of both my Nikon Fs in the 70s when they came out with AI, and tried to make me feel 'obsolete' because I still 'razzed' the notch on my lenses. I switched to Hasselblad simply because they were rugged, simple, and good optics- I still have and use the same Gossen Luna-Rro I got 25 years ago went my Weston Master V went belly up. When I quit doing weddings, I wanted a smaller outfit with the same simplicity, and I went to the SL- which I still have and use. I still use those same 50 and 35 mm lenses I got 25 years ago, even upgrading them with a third cam... They still OUTPERFORM many of todays lenses from the other guys! Casual portraits taken with the 90/2,8 Elmarit-R at the store elicited favorable comments from the 'kids' working there, despite the fact that the lens was older than three of them! Other considerations aside, the old adage that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it..." seems to fit with Leica's philosophy. The shutter opens, lets in light, closes- whether you have the latest fuzzy logic, version 9.4 software power whizbang NoriMakki powered asian edition, or the quiet reliable old standby. the KISS principle still works! Whew! excuse me while I get me a Kleenex! I think I'm havin' a vapor! :) Heck, and what's wrong with 15 year old technology? Photographic imaging is 150 year old technology- and as the kids say, "Works for me!" Dan'l dwpost@msn.com