Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/02/27
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Spotted the following in Bill Pierce's column in the latest Digital Journalist... The title of the column, btw, is "Do You Use A Hammer or A Saw?" Blah...blah...blah...blah...(and many of you may be interested in the blah...blah..blah... My favorite cameras are the tiny ones, range finder and point-and-push cameras. I have said before that people still know when you are photographing them with a Leica; it's just that they aren't constantly reminded. And, I must say, I enjoy working with small cameras that neither weigh me down nor bog me down. It gives me more pleasure to deal with the subject rather than my camera. There are obviously other advantages and some disadvantages. The disadvantages first: you can't use long lenses and you can't work at very close distances. Nor do you get that photo-like preview that you get in the viewfinder of a SLR. The advantages: you get a bright, clear viewfinder image in dim, low contrast available-light situations. You get accurate focus of high-speed, wide-angle lenses in dim light. The viewfinder image certainly does not preview the picture; everything is sharp even though your using a F/1.4 lens; you can see outside of the frame that will be the final photograph. And when it comes to news, it's often better to see what is happening and be able to predict what will happen than to use composition, framing and selective focus to make an interesting picture. In that sense, the range finder takes pictures and the SLR makes pictures. Of course, you give up some of the advantages of the range finder camera when you move to the point-and-push. Exposure automation is rarely as advanced as it is in many larger cameras; autofocus is fooled more often. Lenses aren't fast or interchangeable. And the a viewfinder image can be horrible compared to that of "pro" cameras. I don't care; I just point and push. I rarely look through the finder. When I do, the assumption is I am just a silly tourist that no one should pay attention to. I can shoot a half dozen frames of someone who is three feet away and never be looked at. I feel like Erich Salomon whose Ermanox was no larger than some of today's 35-mm SLRs. Because he wasn't using a big camera, a tripod and flash powder (and because he was duplicitous and sneaky) he was able to photograph where photographers are not welcome. Bill Pierce Contributing Writer bicpi@earthlink.net The entire column is at http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0202/nutsandbolts.htm And check out the entire issue...great feature on Sam Abell, and the new book, Sam Abell: The Photographic Life. B. D. - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html