RE: [Leica] Re: R8 motor-winder or drive (again)

["Dan Honemann" <ddh@home.com>]

Hi Pascal,

Thanks for your summary of advantages and disadvantages of the motor-drive
on the R8.  I did read your review on your website, which states pretty much
what you've said here: nothing wrong with the winder, but the drive is more
ergonomic and faster (also allows for auto-bracketing).

My concern was that the R8 suffers from shutter lag if shot without any
motor or with the rather weakly powered winder.  Has this been your
experience at all?  I'm relieved to hear Ted's clarification, but it sounds
like he never uses the R8 without the drive.

My plan is to use the R8 with no drive at all (manual winding) or with the
motor-winder, which--as you state--feels like it is an integral part of the
camera and not a bulky add-on.

As for you remarks on the drive....

> better vertical grip plus, for some, the leather strap)

I actually found the handstrap to be difficult to use when trying it out in
the store.  Maybe it wasn't tightened properly for my hand.  What I found
was that I had difficulty reaching the shutter speed dial when my hand was
under the strap.  I also found using the strap meant using the horizontal
shutter _anyway_, since it would be an extra step to remove my hand to
re-grip vertically and use that shutter release.

Finally, the camera + 100 felt too heavy to comfortably hold with just my
right hand/arm using the strap.  I'd want an neckstrap on it, which would
obviate the need for the handstrap.

> - easy to carry around the camera (you can hold your combination by the
> leather strap)

With, say, a 70-180/2.8 attached?  Seems unlikely to me, but maybe I need to
workout more....

> Plus you get rid of the problem of the neckstrap being entangled
> with your finger on the camera shutter release button.

Now this concerns me.  Of course I've never tried it with the neckstrap as
they never have one on it at the store.  I could see how this would be a
real bother; I have enough trouble getting my shooting hand around the
neckstrap on the M6, but that's thin enough that I can wrap around it.

> - it can only use a proprietary rechargeable battery. No standard AA
> batteries. This is a serious inconvenience. You can never be too far
> away from a power outlet when on an extended trip (plus you'll have
> to carry the brick-size charging station).

This was an eye-opener to discover as well, and another reason I'm leaning
toward the winder.

> My advice to you is to try out the motor-drive BEFORE you commit
> money to it since it alters the behavior and feel of the camera
> completely. The  motor-winder, by comparison, is like a standard
> add-on (same footprint, almost no weight penalty, but only to be
> considered as a convenience tool, i.e. as an "electric thumb").
> The R8 with motor-winder actually looks and feels as if it had
> always come like this in the first place.

Agree, and having tried out both at the recent camera show, I can say the
winder fits like a glove and the drive is (to my hands) too bulky.  But for
some odd reason the motor-winder costs nearly as much as the drive, adding
another $700 to the price of the camera!  That feels a bit steep to me; I
wish they'd just included the winder with the R8 with the drive as optional.

Dan