Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/12/05
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hi, I have Leica RF's (M2 M6), SLR's (R6,R7) and Nikon SLR's(including the D100) . At various times I use each of them. One thing that I can say is that the Nikon D100 has changed everything. There are things that I simply won't do with film any more (theater photography, events, etc.). I'm leaving for Japan on Friday and I will pack my M6, the tri-elmar, 90mm tele-elmarit, 35 'lux, 75 lux and a Nikon Coolpix 990. This will all fit with film, the sf20 flash and the winder in a messenger bag. That combination just shines when I travel by plane. When I look at the images that I have taken over the years, I have to say that there are more Nikon SLR images that I like than the RF images. That's primarily due to the Nikon f100 / 20-35mm f2.8 zoom combination. The leica SLR's are great outdoor cameras and very reliable I use them at sporting events (although the D100 is used more and more for that) and outside in rough weather. Leica finally brought out a wide angle zoom... but alas too late for me. As far as Leica lens quality goes, I think the 50mm summicron, 35 lux and 75 lux are very special lenses. When I compare these to the Nikon 28-70 mm there are real differences and the Leicas win. On the SLR side, the new Nikon 28-70 is superior to the Leica 28-70 and the 35-70 zooms and it is a stop faster. At 90mm Nikon 80-200 zoom is better than my 90mm sumicron M when used at f5.6. I have found that film differences and exposure situations make a bigger difference than the optics. For instance, I can shoot at much lower speeds with the Leica RF than the SLR's. In my opinion, while the shooting situation may have a large impact on the equipment that you choose, I don't believe that the equipment you use, per se, is going to have a huge impact on the work you do.Many very successful photographers find the automation and quality that Nikon and Canon provide to be quite suitable for their work. Many of the people on this group are rabid fans of the RF. In the end, it's the image that counts. Tom Lianza Technical Director Sequel Imaging Inc. 25 Nashua Rd. Londonderry, NH 03053 - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html