[Leica] 16-16-15 lens comparison

[len-1 at comcast.net (Leonard Taupier)]

I'm afraid with the depreciating dollar and Leica's increased prices,  
it's getting very difficult to afford new Leica equipment. I bought  
my Noctilux in January, 2006. It now costs $2100 more. I got my WATE  
in April of this year. It's now $1500 more. I'm afraid if I wanted to  
buy these two pieces now I would do without. By the way your Arctic  
photos are the best I have ever seen, anywhere, in any book.  
Congratulations.

Len


On Nov 4, 2007, at 10:39 PM, <afirkin@afirkin.com>  
<afirkin@afirkin.com> wrote:

>
> Yeah, I like the wate on the M8 as well. If it has a downside, its  
> that the 16/19/21 ratios are a bit close: I could have been happy  
> with a bi-elmar, and perhaps that would have allowed a bi-elmarit  
> 16/21 ;-)
>
> My dealer was convinced by Leica that the DMR was due to be  
> upgraded, making updates to our R series more efficient and  
> "cheaper". I think he was "sucked right in" and I always suspected  
> that the DMR was a temporary unit. Still having to now wait (even  
> with the WATE) over 2 years for a digital body to use with the R  
> glass is very frustrating and cannot auger well for the future of  
> the R. Some smart lad might find a CMOS sensor which can replace  
> the CCD on the DMR, it would draw less battery power and if  
> configured with M8 DNG format could be 15 or 20 megapixel without  
> increasing the size of the files. Should be easy: a bit of solder  
> and a steady hand ;-)
>
> I took the DMR to the Arctic with some trepidation: what if it  
> failed. My back up was the film back, and I suppose I could have  
> taken the R8, BUT I thought there would be film on the boat (there  
> was 12 months ago), but 12 months is a long time in the new  
> photography/computer world and the company were selling memory  
> cards and cd's not film, so my back up reverted to Helens E500. I  
> bought her an E510 now so I can at least have the E500 to act as  
> back up to the DMR should I travel with it again.
>
> OH back up for the M8: with the price going up perhaps I should  
> rush out and get one soon: especially as the Dollar here in OZ is  
> strong BUT if I buy a back up M8, I will find it hard to buy an R10  
> M9, so I will have to ride naked sidesaddle and just hope the  
> wonderful electronics only fail at appropriate times. So far the  
> DMR has had to go home to Germany when I wanted to travel with the  
> M8 and the M8 has been back twice during the times I wanted to use  
> the DMR, so they have at least been behaving themselves ;-)
>
> Cheers
>
>
> --- len-1@comcast.net wrote:
>
> From: Leonard Taupier <len-1@comcast.net>
> To: Leica Users Group <lug@leica-users.org>
> Subject: Re: [Leica] 16-16-15 lens comparison
> Date: Sun, 4 Nov 2007 22:23:49 -0500
>
> Alastair,
>
> I have wanted the DMR for some time. When I bought my R8 the intent
> was to get a DMR to go with it. I'm afraid I waited too long. Since a
> lot of my shooting is either birding or macro, like flowers, The long
> Telyts and the APO 100mm macro Elmarit on a 20D worked just fine.
> But I found my wide angle shots on a 1.5 or 1.6 crop body lacking. So
> I went to the canon 5D which I consider a very capable camera. Leica
> wide angle lenses don't work too well if at all on Canon bodies.
> Nikon lens are hard to focus without a focus confirmation adapter. I
> don't like the Canon wides. So I'll just wait for the D3. Fortunately
> the WATE on the M8 works just fine.
>
> Len
>
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