Re: [Leica] How could the R8 be bettered?

["Robert G. Stevens" <robsteve@istar.ca>]

Pascal:

I must admit I appreciate where the film counter is.  When using my R6 or
R7 and a telephoto on a monopod in a standing position, I cannot see the
frame counters because they are above my eye level.  I have to tilt the
camera back, which means either having the pod point out in front of me off
the ground, or taking a step back and tilting the camera and pod back.
Either way is inconvenient and impossible in tight spaces.  The R8, on the
other hand, just allows me to see the counter in the viewfinder or on the
back.  Having to switch it on is inconvenient but if you look at it in a
logical way, there is an explanation.  Why would you want to know how much
is in the camera unless you intend to take a picture or use the camera,
obviously you can't do this without the camera turned on or advanced.  I
myself almost neve put my cameras in off mode, as I want them ready to go
without any fiddling with buttons.  As for pressing the shutter button to
get a display, its not such a big deal since you probably have the camera
in your hands anyways when you look at the counter.  I also found you can
activate the display by slightly moving the depth of field lever.

At this point in time I find the lack of a motor is more of a problem than
anything else.  For sports, I will shoot five rolls in the R6 with motor to
the one in the R8.  Sometimes I just leave the R8 in the car or at home
because of this.

The R8 when it gets a motor will be an awesome camera.  At the national
basketball championships I shot a few weeks ago I saw three F5's and
probably ten EOS 1n's.  One of the photographers with an F5 looked through
my R8 and was impressed with how bright it was.  He had noticed the camera
on the floor beside me ( I was using the R6 and M6 most of the time) and
asked if it was an R8.  I told take a look and he was impressed.  I however
had no interest in seeing a F5, as I went back to Leica because I liked the
simplicity of the controls.  

Regards,

Robert

At 09:01 AM 4/11/99 +0200, "Pascal" <cyberdog@ibm.net>  wrote:
>
>- the film counter on the backside LCD display is not "live". It does not
>show the counter when the camera is not switched on and the metering
>activated. There must be a better way of doing this. It is a very
>unpractical and a waste of energy if one has to activate the metering just
>to check the counter. The new Nikon F100 has this feature.
>
>- the viewfinder green LCD display, while excellent on most occasions, can
>be burdensome to read under very bright circumstances. I do not have the
>impression that it adjusts itself according to the light circumstances. I
>remember my brother's old Canon A1 (the first one in 1977 to have LED
>indications) where the red LED's adjusted themselves according to the
>ambient light.
>
>If serious and sincere, I do believe Leica could use remarks as these for
>future adjustments to the R8 and its successors. I am looking forward to
>seeing some observations by others.
>
>Pascal
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