Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/07/09

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Subject: RE: [Leica] Full circle with Nikons
From: "bdcolen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net>
Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2003 13:57:20 -0400

This has turned into one of the deepest rabbit holes I've ever seen
develop on the LUG...Mr. "If you want to talk about those crap cameras
that aren't Lecias go do it somewhere else" is apparently struck by
lightning and "discovers" the Wonderful World of Digital and Nikon. And
before you know it, the Mad Hatter is hosting a Nikophile tea party....

Time for a serious reality check....:-)



- -----Original Message-----
From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
[mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us] On Behalf Of Mark
Rabiner
Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2003 1:48 PM
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: Re: [Leica] Full circle with Nikons


Joseph Yao wrote:
> 
> on 9/7/03 8:19 pm, Mark Rabiner at mark@rabinergroup.com wrote:
> 
> > Nikons are very Leicalike.
> 
> Hmmm..... I beg to differ.  Optically I think Canon are more 
> Leica-like, especially the FD lenses.  For example the FD 50/1.4 
> S.S.C. was very close to the Summilux 50/1.4 in terms of their optical

> character.
> 
> Come to think of it, thirty years ago I got into Canon FD because 
> their lenses gave the same look as Leitz lenses.  I took up 
> photography with a Leica IIIc + Summitar 50/2.0.
> 
> With camera bodies, I would say the original Canon F1 was similar to 
> the Leicaflex SL.  They handled and felt similarly in my hands.  Both 
> were built like tanks.
> 
> Historically, early Canon LTM bodies were modelled on the Barnack LTM 
> cameras, and Nikon RF bodies were based on Zeiss Ikon Contax bodies.
> 
> Thirty years on I find myself still using Leica and Canon: M and EOS.
> 
> Bests,
> 
> Joseph
> 
Recently i read that in 1935 the first rangefinder camera out of Japan
was a Canon (what was soon to be Canon). The camera had a Nikon lens on
it!!

When i think of Leica i think of simplicity and quality. A camera with
an eyepiece with a laser beam in it following your eyeball around so it
knows what you are looking at kind of gives me the creeps!! Canon EOS's
remind me of alien spaceships. (Which means not the ones from earth) :)

The First Nikon F was sure like a Contarex as I had the latter and
constant access to the former. Not real ergonomic unless you are an
early Terminator model. Except instead of 12 micro-screws in a circle
the F used one in the middle. The basic lens formulas I'm sure all came
from Zeiss. Most of them at least. Has Leica come up with a "classic"
lens formula? 


Mark Rabiner
Portland, Oregon USA
http://www.rabinergroup.c
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Replies: Reply from "Eric" <ericm@pobox.com> ([Leica] Re: Full circle with Nikons)