[Leica] digest 15

[DAVE YODER <leica@home.com>]

Hi, could someone please send me digest #15? I didn't seem to get it and
I take it there was a lot of discussion on "demos."

I think there's another point or two about "demos" that might not have
come up--one being that I do believe in the existence of "lemons." Just
like cars, I think there are problem cameras. 
But the most important is, if it's a refurbished camera, that means it's
had a prior owner, and who knows what's been done to it. That knowledge
is important to me if I can only afford one or two bodies to be used for
assignments out in the sticks somewhere. When I think of a "demo" piece
of equipment, I assume that it's been used for show only--and most
importantly, under supervision. 
People do some real stupid things to their cameras. I know someone who
literally baked a new camera in the oven to dry it out after it was
soaked in the rain. The result was an unsalvageable Nikon F4 that would
otherwise have rated at "demo, mint-" had it been baked just a little
bit less.


On another note, I'd asked for comparisons of the old R 28mm vs. the new
R 28mm, and I can report that in my experience there is a clear
superiority to the new lens. My old one had substantial light loss at
the corners at wider apertures, the new one has almost none. And it's
sharper. It's bigger and heavier and  of course more expensive, but it's
my most often used focal length so I guess it's worth it, eh? 

Yoder