Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/08/09
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hi Paul, Some months ago, I was in Ardêche, a region of France where the landscapes and villages are at least as beautiful than those of Riviera are but where there is (still) some free space. In a small village, there was a little square with a commemorative monument of the two World Wars (as in each village of France) with a cute little church in the background. The widest Leica lens I had at that time was a 35 mm. The monument and the church were placed such a way I could not get the two at the same time on the picture. I could not go back either because the square was too small and 2 meters higher than the road. That's why I decided to buy a 21 or 24 mm (I finally made my mind for the 24). If someday, I'm back to that place, I'll be able to make an otherwise impossible picture. Yes, I do have a 24 and even a 18 mm in my Nikon system but I'm not ready to carry all day long 2 Leica bodies (M5 and M6) with some lenses *plus* two Nikon bodies and some lenses (two of each because I do color and BW pictures). Later I could not resist buying a third body, a mint M4-P. What did it bring to me? Well only the ability to have two different BW films at the same time (100 ISO for landscape and fine (?) art and 400 for street photography). That's something. I do enjoy being able to suddenly decide to shoot people instead of places without having to unload a reload a body with another film. But : 1) That does not allow me to take new kind of pictures like buying the 24 did. 2) It's economically stupid. As another lugger wrote, you can spill a lot of unexposed film for the price of a third body. 3) I love my M4-P (I find it smoother than the M6) but I should have bought a M6HM instead. Of course, I do not regret the third body but if I had to choose between it and a new (useful) lens, I would choose the lens. All the best. --- Jean-Claude Berger (jcberger@jcberger.com) Systems and RDBMS consultant (MCSE), Lyon, France http://www.jcberger.com > -----Original Message----- > My choices are: get another body so I can > have all three > lenses ready to go, or live with the bodies I have and get > either a 24 or a > 135. > ... > I'll continue to use my N with its 24 and 180, and maybe > spend the money on > an M6 or M6HM. > > Paul Chefurka