Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/01/12
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Rolfe Tessem wrote: ><Snip> > Well put. > > > The M5? Oh, right, that terrific camera that a bunch of Leica luddites > > declared to be a heretical piece of junk - and a couple of decades later > > many folks have finally realized was, for many reasons, one of the best > > Leicas ever made - even if it did have its problems. > > Hmmm. I'll side with those who say "heretical piece of junk". Does > anyone actually use an M5? I say give them all to the collectors and let > them sit on shelves where they belong. I remember my own dismay when > Leica introduced this camera and discontinued the M4 -- which I > thankfully had just recently purchased. If I'd been more prosperous at > the time, I would've bought a couple more. Plenty of people use M5's Rolfe. Some of them are right here on this list. Others have never heard of the Leica users group. I shot a roll with a Noctilux with one and i was totally sold on the camera. AND the Noctilux. I'm pretty sure it's got the widest focusing base of any M camera and it's feel is solid and exquisite. Some day I'll be using one of those bodies. Perfect for fast lenses. A built in spot meter. Terrible camera! > > > And a flash, like the Olympus, that will sync up to a 1000th? Where do I put > > down my deposit on one. And if I have to buy an M7 just to use that flash, > > where do I get one of those. > > And here is the problem -- all this focus on flash, flash, flash. If I > need a camera with truly sophisticated flash capabilities, I'm not going > to use an M camera and I'm certainly not going to use an M7 with half > the capability of cameras designed with a modern shutter such as, for > example, the R8 or even a Nikon FM3. Actually Rolf there is no focus on flash, flash, flash. You don't have to buy the flash, flash, flash and if you do buy it you can take if off your camera if you get sick of using it. It comes right off. Not built in. > > One wonders just who Leica is using for focus groups with all the recent > development centered around improving the flash capability of a camera > that is, arguably, the best camera ever produced for available light > photography. This, at the same time that films are now available which > make available light photography easier and more accessible than ever. The fact that M cameras are so excellent for available light photography most certainly means it is very stupid to ever put a flash on it. They should just make the shoe just a shoe and not a hot shoe. Skip the PC connector altogether! What the hell! Where are my blinders? > > > BTW - Is this group, quaking in fear at the idea of an evolved M, the same > > group that prattles on and on and on and on at regular intervals about 'what > > I'd like to see in an M7? > > I'm sure it is a difficult business problem for Leica that the M camera > is basically fully evolved. That surely makes it tough to sell new > cameras. But it is important to make a distinction between Leica's > problems and our problems. What would I like to see in an M7? Get rid of > the plastic parts, put the Vulcanite back on, make the goddamn shutter > speed dial turn the right way and shrink the body by 2.5mm. > > I'll buy one tomorrow. Rolf the build on the M6 is as good as the times will bear. They could give it the build of an M3 and charge 5 grand for it and we'd all be talking about the camera company which died years ago. The fact is the build on the M6 is excellent - second to none - and the camera is a proven tool. Where is the plastic which bothers you? The thumb advance? What should that be made of, Titanium? Carbon Resin? I'm sure a good machinist could make one for you. I have faith in Leica as a modern company that it is capable of making a newer camera still with features such as auto exposure which even conservative people are delighted with. It certainly feels right at home on the XPAN. I think the M7 will do well for Leica and expand it's market base. For those who don't like where Leica is heading or where it's at now they are sure free to languish in it's older bodies and lenses of decades gone by. There are plenty of those out there for sale. And they still work. Just like the M7's will be in 20 years from now when the M8 comes out. Mark Rabiner Portland, Oregon USA http://www.markrabiner.com - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html