[Leica] Need feedback on possible trade up. Or should I saydown?

[pklein at 2alpha.net (Peter Klein)]

> Only a rank beginner would worry which way the knob turns."

Depends.  Some people are very good at switching between various ways of
doing things, and it drives others crazy.  Think of musicians who "double"
on various instruments.  If they feel a clarinet in their hands, they
automatically use clarinet fingerings.  If they feel a sax, they use sax
fingerings.  No strain.  On the other hand, there are classical musicians
who take days or weeks to transition from one violin to another.

I own both an M6TTL and an M4-P, so I've got speed dials that work in both
directions.  It's never bothered me.  BUT. . . I almost never use two
Leica bodies at once.  Also, since one body has a meter, and the other is
used with a separate meter, the processes and motions are different, so
it's easy to differentiate between the two.

I think it *would* drive me nuts if I had both an M6TTL (or later) and a
classic M6, and tried to use both of them at the same time.  Because then
I would be moving the dial by feel while metering, and each camera would
work differently.  I did feel this frustration when metering with a Nikkor
or Jupiter lens, where the diaphragm moved the "wrong" way.  I got over it
easily, but there was a period of awkwardness with each lens switch. For a
pro, that could mean a missed shot.

All this is most critical in fast shooting with multiple, dissimilar
cameras, when not looking at the speed dial.  For many types of shooting,
it really doesn't matter.

So. . . if you have a choice, get cameras that with the same dial. If
you've already got the two dial versions and it doesn't bother you, don't
worry about it. If it gets in the way, change one of the cameras.

--Peter

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