Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/07/03

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Re: To M7 or not to M7, c'est la question - LONG
From: John Brownlow <lists@johnbrownlow.com>
Date: Wed, 03 Jul 2002 07:32:56 -0400

On 7/3/02 6:44 AM, "Rei Shinozuka" <shino@panix.com> wrote:

>> reasons I pay for Leicas
>> 
>> * they are tiny compared to modern SLRs
>> * the lenses are tiny compared to modern SLR lenses
>> * the glass is wonderful
>> * they are practically indestructible in everyday use and almost totally
>> weatherproof
>> * the lenses are far more solid than most autofocus SLR lenses
>> * the viewfinder is unique and allows you to selectively compose without
>> moving your eye
>> * very quiet
>> * don't draw much attention from non-pros
> 
> very good!  and while we're in an enumerative mood:
> 
> for me, a large part of the m6's charm is its distillation of size and
> features to minimalism.   case in point, the m6 (classic) and lens has exactly
> 11 controls: 1) shutter speed dial 2) shutter release 3) aperture ring 4)
> focusing ring 5) film advance lever 6) rewind knob 7) rewind lever 8) lens
> release button 9) viewfinder frame selector 10) ISO meter setting and
> 11) bottom removal key.   of these 11 controls, only the first 4 affect the
> qualities of a specific image.

I disagreed with this until I thought about it. It is not really a fair
comparison, but with my Leica my picture taking process goes...

- -- pick up camera
- -- meter
- -- set aperture and shutter speed (adjusting for backlight etc without even
thinking about it)
- -- focus
- -- click

Whereas with my Nikon 5000 the process goes

- -- pick up camera
- -- turn on camera and wait for it to boot up
- -- check battery and replace if necessary
- -- check available storage
- -- figure out what mode I left it in, change to correct mode
- -- check what sensitivity it's at and change if necessary
- -- preview on LCD
- -- dial in exposure compensation if necessary
- -- take picture (compensating for lag)
- -- wait for picture to write to card

Clearly this is more akin to a MF or LF workflow. With a D100 or even my old
T90 the process would be more like

- -- pick up camera
- -- shoot

so in this case the argument doesn't hold (for me). Moreover I don't
particularly find the multitude of controls on modern multimode cameras
confusing, although the ergonomics are often inconvenient.

sorry for ambivalence of this post... no conclusion is also a conclusion

- --
JB

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