Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/08/10

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Subject: Re: [Leica] NEW Leica screw,,Really?
From: TTAbrahams@aol.com
Date: Wed, 11 Aug 1999 01:44:12 EDT

Marc,
I disagree with Cosina being "a piece of shit". It is cheap yes, but it is a 
highly capable camera. In 1953 a 3F cost about $160 with no lens and, though 
I don't have the cost index conversion handy, that is substantially more than 
the Cosina Rangefinder at $400 is today. I would not say that the Cosina is 
better than the 3F or 3G, it isn't, but it has incorporated features that are 
useful to me today. The meter is very good, as good as the one on the M6. It 
has a flash-synch of 1/125 and a top speed of 1/2000. It is made of plastic, 
it is noisier than the M or screwmount Leica and it will probably not last 40 
or 50 years without requiring service or several rebuilds, but I will not use 
it as a substitute for a Leica, it will be a complementary camera instead, 
for those times when the features I need are not available on the Leica 
rangefinder.
 The Cosina optics has already proven themselves in my mind. The 15/4,5 beats 
the Zeiss Hologon hands down and at a fraction of the cost, the 25/4 Skopar 
is no Leica 24/2,8 Asph, but it does not purport to be it either. It is a 
lightweight, good quality lens that comes in handy when you do not need the 
speed or quality of the Leica, or when the environment you are working in is 
such that the loss of a lens or a camerabody is a possibility. Personally, I 
rather loose a $5-600 package in a river or a chemical plant than  $5-6000 
worth of Leica
 I am impressed with the fact that someone is taking the time and effort to 
make these lenses (and camera bodies). This does not diminish my admiration 
for Leicas knowledge and capability as one of the premium lensdesigner and 
manufacturer in photographic history and I am certainly not giving up any of 
my Leica gear to get the "alternatives". These days designing and building 
equipment is more than a hobby for me and I would be a bad designer if I did 
not study what other designers come up with and in that context the current 
trend in Japan has proven very interesting. They are willing to take a chance 
with a product and they are using modern technology to improve design and 
manufacturing. It has been the downfall of most manufacturers to regard what 
the competition does as "junk" and they ignore it at their own peril.
 If these lenses were incompatible with the Leica cameras that I use, my 
interest would have been lukewarm, but the fact that I can use them on my M 
and screwmount cameras and that they can provide me with a different view or 
solution to a photographic problem makes them worthwhile.
Marc, you should also remember that all of these 39mm thread mount lenses 
could provide you with an entire new publishing venture!
Tom A