Re: [Leica] Initial 0-series experiences

[V8PWR@aol.com]

Dans un courrier daté du 28/10/01 00:12:07 Paris, Madrid, marc@attinasi.org a 
écrit :

> My 0 series came in and I spent an afternoon shooting some b/w negatives
>  of the local landscapes, buildings and general street happenings. What a
>  treat! Here are my initial impressions, in case others are interested in
>  the camera and the shooting experience.
>  
>  First, like my Leica Screw cameras and copies, it is a bit of a pain to
>  load. If only there was a swing open door like on the M. Anyway, you
>  trim the film and load it and make sure it winds - no different than
>  with a LSM. Once loaded, the camera is not hard to use at all! The only
>  thing I had to continually remind myself of was 'keep the lens cap on
>  until just before you shoot! Take the lens cap off before you shoot!' I
>  did not fog one shot on the first roll, and I didn't shoot any pictures
>  of the back of the lens cap either, probably because I took my time,
>  relaxed and savored the experience. After an hour, dealing with the cap
>  became *almost* second nature. It dawned on me that If I did this with
>  my other lenses I might be able to get rid of those pesky UV filters
>  too.
>  
>  Normally, I carry my M6 around cocked and more or less set to fire
>  (shutter and aperture approximated, and focus set to either a nice
>  middle range or infinity). With the 0 I made sure to carry the camera
>  around NOT cocked, but still with the aperture, shutter and focus set to
>  'be ready'. Of course, the shutter speed is slow to set since you have
>  to partially wind the film, then set the speed, then finish winding, but
>  it was daylight so I just set it to ~1/200 and figured I'd play with the
>  aperture for exposure tuning. This worked out well for the shots I was
>  doing, and on a couple of occasions when I wanted a specific DOF I took
>  the extra time to fiddle with the shutter speeds.
>  
>  Rewinding and unloading the camera is a piece of cake - no surprises
>  there. I generally bulk load rolls of 10,20, and 30, but for this camera
>  I may well load 35's because it is not easy to load on the road (or on
>  the side of a mountain, on a park bench, or in a horse pasture...).
>  
>  So, to the images! I had some terrible exposures - partly due to my bad
>  guessing, partly due to my lousy meter, and partly due to being stupid
>  and shooting BEFORE I set the aperture (this shot was made quickly - not
>  the 0 series forte). But, for the 14 well exposed shots, they are very
>  very nice. The kind of negatives I expect from my
>  Summicron/Summilux/Elmarit brigade. I have not printed any yet, and none
>  are really great compositions, but they are pleasing to me and showed me
>  the quality and characteristics of the optic. The bokay, BTW, is very
>  nice :) The resolution at 1 meter is fantastic, and at 1 meter and f 3.5
>  the background is warm and smooth. Also, the shots I made at 1/20, hand
>  held, were very sharp, probably because of the tension of he strap...
>  The whole way of shooting, holding the camera way out in front of your
>  face, is very cool. I will probably try shooting with a standard 50mm
>  viewfinder too, but I really like the flip-up viewfinder. People did
>  look at me more than I would have liked when I was shooting though - it
>  is just an unusual way to shoot.
>  
>  I really enjoyed shooting this roll of film. The camera definitely
>  requires you to slooow dooown - and that is good, for me anyway. Each
>  shot has to be deliberate and carefully executed. This is a drawback in
>  some cases, so having a Minilux handy is a good idea :) The 0 series is
>  a beautiful and very enjoyable camera, well worth the premium I paid. If
>  you are thinking of buying one, do it! It is a real treat and the camera
>  is absolutely beautiful to look at, hold (and, yes, smell - very nice
>  leather case!).
>  
>  Happy Shooting,
>  - marc

Hello Marc . Thanks for your debrief of that camera .
One question however : 
Is it possible to change the speed once the film is fully winded ?

Jo Goodtimes , France 
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