Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/10/04
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]>I was indeed thinking SP, Karen - and everyone else. The S3 was a >stripped down SP - the kind of entry level camera Leica should have >produced..... BD : Err... OK then say what you mean and mean what you say. Sloppy thinking/writing doesn't behoove your argument. BD said: > >Dream on, Mark. Feature for feature, capability for capability, M3 v > >S3, the S3 - as a body - would win hands down. But this is one on which > Even comparing the SP against the M3, the M3 has: * Faster lens changing (the S/Contax bayonet is a pain) * Availability of third party lenses * Brighter finder / rangefinder * Long optical (69mm) and effective baselength (63.7mm) The only advantage of the SP is the broader range of viewfinder frames possible. Nothing that an accessory viewfinder couldn't fix. There's a reason that Nikon dropped RF development after the SP (or SX) and went with SLRs. From the histories published in Japan, Nikon saw the writing on the wall: they could not compete with the M3. So they went with the SLR which was a niche market, but had potential. KN -- Karen Nakamura http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/