Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/01/15

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Minority?
From: Donal Philby <donalphilby@earthlink.net>
Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2000 12:24:20 +0000

> >>>I may be in the minority, and I rarely post here, but it seems to me
> that
> TTL flash metering in a RF Leica is really dumb<<<

This is a topic I've wanted to discuss for some time.  The Leica
brochures even intimate that you would only use strobe when there isn't
enough light.  That has always baffled me--that they could be so, well,
dumb.

Perhaps if you make your living doing grip and grins (those award
banquet things) that shooting bang on with a bucket of light is useful. 
But I seldom use strobe light because there isn't enough light.  I use
it because the available light is often ugly, boring or at least
inappropriate for the story I need to tell.  

In a room with flourescents I might bounce a little strobe off  a wall
so a bit of light come from the side, for instance, and the eye sockets
don't go so dark and there is character to the face.  Is this not is the
spirit of M???  I don't know.  But to only think you use strobe only
because you lack enought light is to be blind (or ignorant) to the
character of light.  Sometimes you need to make a picutre (the rent come
due whether you work for National Geographic or the local Weekly).  It
is all nice and proper to get righteous about M and available light,
especially if you don't have to make a living or live up to a client's
expectations.  

And whether you use an RF or an SLR, who cares???.  Indeed, it could be
argued that because you can see the flash go off in the viewfinder, the
RF is the more appropaite camera for strobe.  I often shoot with SLR and
strobe looking over the camera so I can see the moment.

You want a list of famous, published Leica M photographers who sometimes
use strobe??  Much easier to name those who NEVER use it. 

I was standing in a camera store the other day next to a 30-some year
old fellow who was in a photo class at local university and he was
buying a vivitar 283.  I mentioned that he could also get a gizmo so he
could get it off the camera.  "Why would you want to do that?" he
asked.  I knew he either hadn't gotten to lesson one or the teacher was
pretty pathetic.

Anyway, I ask that you study David Allen Harvey's new book Cuba and tell
me then whether you still think use of flash with an M is dumb.

donal


__________
Donal Philby
San Diego
www.donalphilby.com