Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/10/18
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]B.D. I'm with you in part on your thoughts on the final para. though I'd have to disagree about which were the better cameras, to my mind Canon had much better design than Nikon. That dreadful focusing wheel on the Nikon which could barely move the lenses while Canon developed revolving prism viewfinders and integral parralax compensation built into the accessory shoe, not to mention a built in lightmeter 10 years ahead of Leica. But no matter. Leica lived on because they could not afford to lose the r/f market, both Nikon and Canon could see plainly that the new market for SLRs was vast in comparison to the amount of R/F cameras they were then selling, so they left the market to concentrate on making big bucks. That Konica should inspire Leica to greater heights I fully concur. That the market could wish for a bells and whistles alternative to the Leica I agree also, and for that matter, the Voigtlander and the Yasuhara, no matter what ultimate description is laid at their door, are in the same boat. They will end up inspiring the use of a rangefinder type camera (and yes, I appreciate the current Bessa-L is only a viewfinder camera) which will ultimately lead photographers on a route to Leica, providing they remain pre-eminent and justified of their leading position. But the wish that Konica could make a better camera than Leica might be a little too far for me to come along with. Jem and thanks for the smiley ;-) - -----Original Message----- From: B. D. Colen [SMTP:bdcolen@earthlink.net] > Jem - Hardly the first time I've overstated my case..:-) However...I really do disagree with your last statement...Think about it...First came Leica, then came Contax, then Nikon and Canon...all exellent rangefinders - particularly the Nikons and Contaxes...and yet Leica not only lived on, it was the only one of the four to survive. I really do hope the Konica is a really piece of quality rangefinder work because I am convinced that that will both expand the base of rangefinder users, and push Leica forward...I think there is room for both a mechanical rangefinder - the M6 - - and one or more rangefinders with modern bells and whistles, either the Konica alone, or the Konica and an M7... (And while I am certainly impressed that a tiny manufacturer tried to make a new screw-mount rangefinder, given your description of its short comings...I don't know how exagerated my response was...Similarlly, it isn't even really fair to describe the "Voightlander" body as a rangefinder, given that it doesn't have one. It's a box with a shutter.) Best, B. D.