[Leica] Hold it right there, or the Editor gets it

[Mike Johnston <michaeljohnston@ameritech.net>]

> Heck no Dan I wasn't picking on you I was picking on Mike Johnson!
> mark rabiner
> :)


Obviously <g>. 

At any rate, I'd better clarify.

First, all I was saying was what's true for me. I wasn't suggesting anyone
else ought to feel the same way.

Second, of course there _are_ workingman's Leicas...the concept just doesn't
seem to be relevant to Leica's recent directions in marketing, is all I was
saying. Is Jim suggesting that hardcore pros are the ones who buy Leicas,
simply because the chromes look better? First of all, that's not true, but
if it were, then why all the emphasis from Solms on limited editions,
special finishes, premium prices, etc.? Does a working pro really need an
O-product or a black-paint M6 with the old-fashioned script on the top-plate
and an M3-style rewind knob for $600 more than a plain M6?

I, uh, don't think so.

That's all I was commenting on. Yes, I would like there to be a
stripped-down, bare-bones, entry-level M to be part of the product lineup.
Not to the _exclusion_ of all the fancy, highfalutin' stuff, just in
addition to it. 

About the TTLs, I'm not against them, I just don't prefer them. Again, it's
not a judgment. I'm just used to the traditional shutter-speed dials after
shooting with them for years. I've spent a lot of time making M
camera-handling intuitive, and it would be hard to reverse years of
conscious habit-forming. Same as automobile transmissions. I don't like
driving cars with automatics. I've never bought, owned, or driven a car
without a stick-shift. I don't want one. That doesn't mean I'm against
automatics, or I think no one else should be allowed to buy them. It's just
a matter of taste, is all. I honestly am not attracted to the TTL features.
I've never used flash for personal photography. My previous post said I'd
most like a Classic with 3 framelines and single framelines for 35mm, and
that's the truth. 

If it also had that cool black paint so it could brass out over time, so
much the better, but of course that's not necessary...especially since black
paint has gone topsy-turvy and become a premium, high-priced option instead
of the cheap-out option, which is what I think it was originally. What I
*really* need is a way to hold Leica lenses in front of film without having
to worry about them all the time because they're so #@$! valuable. I'd like
a solid, utilitarian $600 or $800 M body. A workingman's Leica. The closest
thing is a used M6 Classic...which is exactly why I was saying that I find
I'm not all that interested in current Solms products.

Nothing against current Solms products. I think the LSHA is very nice, or I
wouldn't have ranked it #2 in the "World's 25 Best Cameras."

- --Longwinded Mike

P.S. Oh, and Mark, it's "Johnston" with a "T" (the name originates in
Scotland--a land where it was necessary to find a nice word for "cheap,"
i.e., "frugal"--say it with a nice brogue <g>).