Re: [Leica] screw mount advice needed

[Joe Berenbaum <joe-b@dircon.co.uk>]

At 09:34 AM 6/4/99 +0200, you wrote:
>Carlos,
>
>I just bought a IIIf with the collapsible 50mm Elmar to supplement my M
system.
>I am having great fun using it and it makes a nice compact package with
the lens
>collapsed. But if your main concern is safety, then perhaps you should
carry an
>Olympus Mju 2 instead of a Leica in those situations. It is far cheaper,
has a
>nice 35mm lens and is weatherproof. A good Leica IIIf will not be that much
>cheaper than an M2.
>
>Nathan
>
>Carlos Blanco wrote:
>
>> hello,
>>     I am thinking of buying a screw mount leica (esp. of the III serie). I
>> own an M2 but I think that for some kind of photos the M2 is either too
>> expensive (there is an unsafety wave in argentina nowadays) or too
intrusive
>> (for the metro for instance). But I don't really know if I am right or not.
>> In the first moment I had thought of a IIIf with a 35mm but the adition
of a
>> viewfinder represents a disadvantage.
>>     Suggests of all kind are welcomed
>>
>> leically
>> carlos

I would second the suggestion of a cheap compact if safety is much of an
issue.  I say this because I had someone reach in through a car window
once, try to grab the camera I was using, and then hit me when I held it
out of his reach. At that point I shut the window! We were stuck in traffic
while that happened and since there were several angry young men gathering
around the car within the few seconds that this took, I regard it as
fortuitous that the traffic started moving again at that pont and we were
able to drive off out of trouble. In a situation like that, it might be an
advantage to be able to take the cheap compact camera that performs
reasonably well and toss it to the threatening party while making ones
escape. One could say something like "Here, you have it, I've been meaning
to give up photography anyway". An Olympus Stylus or similar would be fine
for tossing to the crowd, I think. 

Joe Berenbaum