[Leica] Some comments on Leica SLR's

["tlianza" <tlianza@mediaone.net>]

I collect cameras, but I also use them and I make sure that I put atleast
one roll of film through every camera regardless of age.  I recently
decided to get into the Leica SLRs.  I use and love my M6 and M2 but I have
to admit that I am a real Nikon fan as well.  I started doing some theater
work and the Leicas became glued my to my hip. The M6 is with me most often.
I was looking at buying a Nikon FM3a for the collection and some light duty,
but then I saw the way the prices of the Leica R lens had tanked on the used
market and thought that it might be a good time to buy in on the Leica SLRs
and get some good lenses as well.  I looked through Sartourius's book on
identifying Leica cameras and I decided that the R6 or R6.2 where dead hits
for what I wanted: Very rugged, minimal feature, and very high quality.  I
also found a NIB R8 at a great price so I picked that up also.  I felt that
I could sell either one.

The R6 is a honey of a camera.  It takes the same battery as the M6 TTL so I
always have spares. To my thinking, it's just the right size, has the
necessary features and represents what a manual SLR should be.  It's a
camera that I would not mind taking hiking or camping and I know that if I
needed a mallet to drive a tent stake, I could use it and not worry about
damaging it.  It's a shame that Leica has canceled further production on the
R6.2.  It's interesting to note that the 6.2 prices have shot up and dealers
are unloading the R8's at lower prices.

The R8 is a true enigma.  It's a bit too large. It has a wealth of features
and I'm not sure that I could or would rely on it in the field, too much
electronics.    It doesn't seem as rugged as the R6, but I'm sure there will
be a flood of photographers that will say other wise.  The flash meter
feature is great in the studio, but when I put the 80mm 'lux on the R8, I'm
looking at something that is about as heavy as Rollei 6000 series camera and
costs about the same.  Other than a love of the Leica glass, I don't know
why someone would buy that camera. Leica has certainly dictated that choice
to the market.

After using both cameras for a week or so, the R6 seems to be the better of
the two for me, although I'm sure that there are many photographers who rely
on that R8. Maybe time will change my opinion of the R8, but I don't think
so.   I'll keep the R8 as a collector piece, but it won't see much use.  The
one area that Leica seems to be really weak in is the design of Wide Angle
zooms.  My Nikon  20-35 f2.8 is a very solid performer.  By my testing,
Nikon performance at 28mm is far better than the 28-70 Vario Elmar at 28.
I'm going to run some comparison tests of the Nikon 35-70. I have a feeling
that the Nikon will beat this lens as well, but I'm pretty certain that the
Nikon lens would not win a battle against the newer 35-70 f/4.  Regardless
of perfomance, the lack of a credible wide angle zoom in the Leica SLR line
is a limiting factor for many photographers.  I don't know a single pro who
owns Nikon or Canon that doesn't have the wide angle zoom in their bag.  On
the other hand, Leica's thinking may be to emphasize the longer focal
lengths for their SLR and they just don't have the resources to do the job
well.

If you love the M6 and you are looking for an SLR mate, the R6 is a great
companion.   The price of used R lenses is low (if you can call the price of
any Leica lens low) Here are some comparisons:  I got the 75 lux for the M
used for about 1100, the 80 lux was 725..  My 90 mm summicron for the M was
about $650 (generation before the ASPH) my 90 Summicron was about 475. I
bought a 50mm summilux from a dealer for about 500.  I haven't seen the M
version of the lens for less than 650. They are great to collect, but also a
joy to use.  I'm sure the R6 and the lenses I have for it will get a lot of
use for the rest of my life, but I'm not sellin' my Nikon either. That's my
two cents, time to stop writing and start taking pictures...It's just so
COOOOLD here in NH....



Tom Lianza
Technical Director
Sequel Imaging Inc.
25 Nashua Rd.
Londonderry, NH 03053
tlianza@sequelimaging.com

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