RE: [Leica] What's wrong with me??? :-)

[BOB KRAMER <BobKramer@COOPERCARRY.com>]

> -----Original Message-----
> 
> From: "Les Bonser" <lbonser@worldnet.att.net>
> Subject: [Leica] Re: Leica Users digest V15 #18
> 
> Also, I'd like to try street photography. I've thought about wearing the
> G2
> on a neck strap and having it resting on my chest and tripping the shutter
> with the remote control in my hand. But, being an autofocus electric
> camera,
> the G2 does make some whiring and clicking sounds when it focuses and
> shoots.
	 
	[BOB KRAMER]  I have never used an autofocus camera for street type
photography, but another problem you might run into is incorrect focus if
you are not looking through the viewfinder to direct the focus area to
whatever your subject matter might be.  Does the G2 have a manual override
for the autofocus?

>  I'm afraid that in close quarters, people would be weary of the
> sound.
> 
	[BOB KRAMER]  Hey, I know what you mean about people being wary of
shutter noise!  Last fall I was in Fitchburg, Massachusetts for a national
breed club dog show, and decided to take my Nikon F3 with me when I went out
for breakfast.  I found a great place  --  a real hole in the wall kind of
greasy spoon in downtown Fitchburg  --  full of colorful looking characters
who looked mostly like hispanic day laborers.  So I sit down at a booth and
snap a couple of photos while I wait for a menu.  The next thing I know, a
police officer is standing over me asking for my I.D. and wanting to now
what I am doing sitting around this restaurant at 6:00 in the morning taking
pictures!  Now THAT'S some shutter noise!  The black tape over the "Nikon"
didn't even help.  <g>

	This little brush with the law did effect me deeply!  It became
clear that the F3 just wasn't going to get it for discreet work, and that
for the price of cheap glass (which is why I bought the F3 to begin with) I
was missing a type of photography that I really loved.  So I dusted off my
M3 (actually, Sherry Krauter did the dusting), got a 50mm Summicron to
replace my fungus ridden collapsible Elmar, and have yet to be hassled by
the police again!

	Just this last Saturday night my wife and I went out to eat, so of
course I take the M3 with me.  We're sitting at the bar and I start firing
away as we talk.  And NOBODY notices a thing!  Filled with courage at this
revelation I take more photos, but even bolder this time.  Snapping photos
of people less than three feet away.  And still nobody notices!  So I
mentioned this to my wife and she asked if I had even taken a photo yet
since she didn't hear a thing.  I told her I had indeed been taking photos,
and that when I had my Leica with me, I turned into the Invisible Man!  She
rolled her eyes, and then told me to shut up and order us another drink
before the police showed up this time!
	 
> I thought with the M6, I could also wear it on the neck strap, pre-focus
> based on the light, and then hold simply hold my hand on the camera, like
> I
> was just resting my hand there or bracing the camera from swinging to and
> fro as I walk; when I see something, (near) silently trip the shutter.
> 
	[BOB KRAMER]  If you end up getting the M6, try bringing it up to
your face for the shot.  With cameras as small and unassuming as these M's,
it really is amazing how few people take notice and/or offense.

	Bob Kramer
	Atlanta, GA