[Leica] Leica and coming digital age

[Dave Yoder <leica@home.com>]

Yep, Walt, you got it right. The Coming digital age is exactly why I bought into these Leicas
recently. My newspaper is outfitting me with digital cameras in the next couple months.
I figured wer're coming to a crossroads where soon if you're not going for ultimate quality you
might as well go digital. I've always cared about the quality of my work, and figuring digital
won't be as good as film for at least another ten years, and that hopefully those ten years will
be the best of my career, it made sense to indulge. You only live once, and you get the chance at
capturing these passing moments on film only once. Makes sense to make the most of them.
To me it's kinda like why Spielberg (for notoriety's sake, I'd prefer to invoke Wenders) shoots
his movies on film rather than videotape.
In this rush for the latest gadgetry, photography has been the victim.
And by the way, I just bought a 50mm lens after spurning it since J-school because it was the
commoner's lens or something stupid like that. All I can say now, is, it's immediately one of my
two favorite lenses (28mm being the other) and I wonder at the compositions I've missed in the
twelve years since I picked up a camera.

> Date: Sat, 24 Jul 1999 08:42:27 -0500 (CDT)
> From: Walter S Delesandri <walt@jove.acs.unt.edu>
> Subject: Re: [Leica] Re: Leica Users digest V10 #37
>
> Hi, Dave, and thanks for the post....
>
> However, in my third paragraph, I state that none of the folks
> I have known use M exclusively....at least two of the three you
> mention DO use Ms, on occasion....as you imply you would, too!
>
> Some folks can use M for over 90% of their work (me, for example...
> I've never done sports/heavy politics, so I've usually had unlimited
> access to my subjects--exc one Reagan convention (84) :) :)
>
> Others can use it for only 5% of their work, but still keep it
> around.   Some just don't really like RFDRs, but have one for
> extreme low light, slow shutter speeds, quiet surroundings or
> whatever.
>
> Also, I think as the digital age continues, there has been a
> resurgence in fine documentation (kinda as "art"?) in some smaller
> publication, at least in our area.  Twice in the last year an
> "equipment burdened" young pro (25-30 yrs old) has come up to me
> and said something to the effect "I've been using my 35/50
> more and more!"...one of them even wanted to buy a 50!....he's
> not owned one!!....I think as digital replaces film for the
> Sports, Wire, and major magazine photographers, we'll see more
> and more fine "essays" in "alternative" publications...seems to
> be the trend where I live....or am I being selfishly optimistic?
>
> Walt
>