Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/02/04
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I just recently bought into an R8 with 35f2 from Tamarkin. Eric did a nice job of handling my neophyte Leica questions. I really like the style and handling of this camera. I wish a motor drive was available, but I hope to have the motor-winder sometime Friday. I saw this posted several times: "You buy Leica because you enjoy the "process" of taking the picture. You buy Nikon and Canon because you "want" the picture. Simple really." I have used Nikon F's, F-2, F-3, F-4, FM-2. I own a Canon F-1n and EOS-1 system(s). I have been working professionally full-time and part-time for more than 20 years. I currently shoot part-time for the local paper, specializing in sports. We have a Division I ice hockey team, Division II basketball, football, volleyball, tennis, plus the usual high school basketball, football and ice hockey. I would never consider using the R8 for these available light events. The view finder is far too dark and the optics contrast a tad too low. The F-1n has a marvelously bright and contrasty image. I use a laser matte screen optimized for my 300mmf2.8L and another matte screen optimized for my 85f1.2L. I focus on the participants's hair or markings on their helmets. The EOS-1 has autofocus, but it's too slow and just doesn't work when people cut in front of the subject. The predictive autofocus works very poorly, so I use it in manual mode. As a compromise I use custom function 4 which allows me to manually focus as well as press a button for autofocus, without changing any function, move any switch. The motor drive is boosted by the Booster E1, which gives me 5-6 frames per second and a rather nice touch. With the EOS-1 and 135f2L lens, I can concentrate totally on the image and not even spend a millisecond on enjoying the use of the camera. When I have used the R8, I have a marvelous feeling of owning something that can best be described as a euphoric momen!." It is a real pleasure to use. I'm waiting for the first return of several rolls of slides I shot over the weekend. Late yesterday afternoon, I took a ride to a nice beach area a few miles away on Lake Superior. We've had a "heat wave" the past few days as temperatures reached 40 degrees F. I had an hour before the sun disappeared and my R8, 35f2, and some Fuji ASTIA. The lake encases the shoreline in ice 10-30 feet thick. Well, the warm temperatures have taken their toll, and the ice has now receded to exposing the conglomerate rock shoreline. The result is a shoreline of huge jagged ice slabs and the surface glitters with icey diamonds. To accentuate the snow texture, I use a cross light or back light angle, which puts the sun into or close to the frame. I noticed that whenever I shot into the sun, there was little to no lens flare and the contrast nicely controlled. My Canon optics are nice, but they have a hard time controlling flare and holding contrast in these situations (or as well as ). So, when I shoot sports, I don;t need to think about how well the camera feels or functions, as long as it functions like I expect it to. I won't use autofocus or autoexposure, only my wits, skill, experience. I need to bring back an image, no excuses. Maybe, if Leica releases the Motor Drive and designs a much brighter focus screen, my opinion might change. Just my thoughts on the subject. Dave dstrang@up.net - ----Pentium Pro/Windows NT 4-SP3/Zip100/Zip250/Jaz2GB/Astra 600S scanner/ RedHat Linux 5.0/MSVC++ 5.0/MSVC++ 6.0/PowerStation Fortran 4.0/Photoshop 4.01/Photoshop 5.0/Illustrator 7.01/KPT 3.0/KPT 5.0/PhotoTools 3.0/Portfolio 4.0/Total XAOS/Matlab 5.0/ Maple V/Office 97 Pro+SR2/MacOpener 4.0/AMIGA 1000/AMIGA 2000-GVP030 Combo/AMIGA 3000(2)/Indigo 2XZ/IRIX 5.3/IRIX 6.2/ and member of UP.NET!