[Leica] Tromsoe LUG of Norway Symposium

["Otto J. Anshus" <otto@cs.uit.no>]

The First Tromsoe LUG of Norway Symposium on Leica Operating System
Principles has been successfully held in Tromsoe, Norway on 022300. The
symposium had four participants from two contries, all of whom added up to
two Volvo loads of people, Leica and Nikon gear.

All kinds of Leica and Nikon gear was admired and fondled before, during and
after sustained refreshments. The most admired instrument was the Leica M6
Millennium. It was shiny and slick, but the real surprise for some (me) was
the R8 w/winder and the latest 180/2.8 APO lens. This combo turned out to be
a class act. It did not rattle or shake. It was noiseless and smooth. It
felt solid and sturdy. The light meter continued to work even at almost
total darkness. It surpassed my Nikon F5 with the 180/2.8 AF-D in many ways,
and to top it off it was also heavier. It seems to me that to really
appreciate what the R8 is all about you have to rent or borrow one for a
week or two. To just handle it in a shop is not enough. You need a quiet
environment to listen to its sounds (or lack of sounds). It must be shaken
to find out that it does not rattle. It must be brought into the cold to
find out that it will ignore it. It must be used to find out that it just
flows along. The R8 with winder and the 180/2.8 feels like it is a single
package cut from a solid block of metal! The lens is so smooth and easy to
focus that the lack of auto focus can be an advantage in many applications.
Of course, not to be totally spineless, we had to create something not to
like: Perhaps a slightly stiffer shutter dial and a stiffer more solid
feeling film advance arm would have been nice. And the +- compensation
interface gives the impression of being difficult to use with gloves on. But
all in all, it is very well done that Leica managed to design and implement
a brand *new* SLR with such a high hit rate for what works and what does
not. So why did I buy an F5 instead? Perhaps it was because I could not find
an R8 with the 180 anywhere so I could try it and experience the sheer total
integration of the package? Everywhere I went I found the R8 with shorter
lenses and the superiority was not obvious. Nobody put the R8 and the 180
into my hands. And the question always remained: for longer lenses, would I
be able to focus manually with precision? I already knew that I could not do
so with a high hit rate when using manual Nikon lenses from 180 and up. But
the Leica 180/2.8 can be rapidly focused with just a single finger and with
full control.

We got a great report from Arne Helme on a seminar he had participated in
given by Erwin Puts. He provided us with lots of interesting facts about
Leica lenses, their use, capabilities, design, production and testing. We
all agreed that from now on we will go out into the world and try to shoot
at maximum aperture because this is what Leica enables us to do better than
anyone else. From Arne's enthusiastic report and descriptions it seems like
he spent a very worthwhile time with Erwin and other Leica users. To make
sure we got the message he had brought along a few pictures to prove it.

We admired each others pictures, and took silently notes on what lens had
been used with the better ones. We compared pictures taken with Nikon and
Leica lenses, and the contrast of Leica lenses fully open was evident.

To top it off we swapped some gear, traded a few items and browsed a stack
of Leica books, price lists and what have you. It was without a doubt
established that Leica gear in Norway is much more expensive than in the
Netherlands. As an example, when the R8 winder enters Norway its price is
doubled.

Mysteriously, nobody had brought a Leica 600mm lens. Instead a Questar 3.5
inch telescope was admired, and it created as much envy with the R8 owner as
he himself had created. Serves him well.

Otto