Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/01/17

[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]

Subject: Re: [Leica] (w)rotten journalists??
From: Eric Welch <ewelch@ponyexpress.net>
Date: Sun, 17 Jan 1999 12:30:19 -0600

>Here we go again: what is your knowledge of that particular test, the
>conditions it was done in, the procedures, the points of comparison ?

Having owned - and still use a N90s on top of a digital camera - I know
from experience in professional sports shooting that it is no way anywhere
near as fast as a Nikon F5, having owned one, or the EOS1n, having owned
one of them too. 

The N90 is nowhere near as reliable, ergonomic, or fast in focusing. It's
certainly fast enough for most people's uses. No doubt about it. AF is
pretty much useful for most situations where it works with just about any
AF camera being manufactured. But that wasn't what was being tested.
Absolute raw speed. And there the F5 is still king - when used with the
silent wave lenses. And it's darn close to the EOS1n with even body-focused
lenses.

But tests often prove the testing methodology, not the tested subject. Were
these tests done with silent wave lenses?

In real life, with a very heavy emphasis on sports shooting, I have done
the real world test. The N90 is a competent camera, but it's not in the
same class as the F5 or EOS1n. Or, I'm willing to bet, the new Minolta 9.
But I have no experience with it. 

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

The best lack all conviction, while the worst \ Are full of passionate
intensity. -William Butler Yeats [The Second Coming]