Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2014/05/17

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Subject: [Leica] Violins, lenses and cameras
From: kcarney1 at cox.net (Ken Carney)
Date: Sat, 17 May 2014 18:50:28 -0500
References: <537690C9.3020405@threshinc.com> <2uVU1o04N0AFV7C01uVWwf>

There were at least two of them, to the same effect.  One of the modern 
ones will set you back about $30k, but then in 300 years it would be 
worth about $11 million at a 2% appreciation rate. Probably about the 
price of a new Hyundai, loaded.

Ken


On 5/17/2014 1:29 AM, Nathan Wajsman wrote:
> I remember reading recently about a blind test where modern, mass produced 
> violins were at least on par if not better than Stradivarius--the test 
> subjects were professional musicians, not just casual listeners.
>
> Cheers,
> Nathan
>
> Nathan Wajsman
> Alicante, Spain
> http://www.frozenlight.eu
> http://www.greatpix.eu
> PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws
> Blog: http://nathansmusings.wordpress.com/
>
> YNWA
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On May 17, 2014, at 12:27 AM, Peter Klein wrote:
>
>> A number of my friends are symphony musicians.  Today, one of them posted 
>> on Facebook that she had found a great online deal on a set of high-end 
>> violin strings, and wondered if they were OK.  This led to a discussion 
>> of the fine points of shelf life, variants of the brand, and whether a 
>> platinum-coated E-string is better than a plain tin one.
>>
>> And I wished that the "your camera (or lens) doesn't matter" crowd were 
>> listening in.  Yes, musicians argue over instruments, strings, reeds and 
>> mouthpieces, just as artists *do* argue over paintbrushes, and 
>> photographers argue about cameras and lenses.  Does anyone seriously 
>> believe that  a cheap school-orchestra fiddle should sound as good as a 
>> Stradivarius or Guarneri violin?  Yes, the best players might be able to 
>> make the bad fiddle sound reasonably good, but no way would it sound as 
>> good as the Strad.
>>
>> So why do some of us constantly down people who prefer Lens A over Lens 
>> B, or Camera 1 over Camera 2?   The lens "resonates" the light, 
>> emphasizing some aspects while diminishing others, just as the instrument 
>> resonates the sound.  The camera's ergonomics and design are optimum for 
>> one type of picture over another.  And a camera that you have to fight to 
>> get the shot is just as hampering as the violin with a bad "wolf" tone in 
>> an exposed passage.
>>
>> Yes, of course musicians can get cultlike about this brand over that, 
>> just as photographers do about cameras and lenses.  Yes, a good 
>> photographer my be able to take a decent picture with any camera or lens, 
>> just as the musician may be able to turn in a decent performance with any 
>> instrument.  But if my friend is going to play a big solo, she wants the 
>> best violin and strings she can afford. If you handed her a cheap school 
>> fiddle and told her that "instruments don't matter, it's the musician 
>> that makes the music," she would probably think you were an ignoramus (to 
>> be charitable). And she'd be right.
>>
>> The hard truth is:  Tools do matter.  Maybe not so much with Web-sized 
>> JPGs, and maybe not to rank beginners.  But once you're doing things "for 
>> real," they do matter. A lot.
>>
>> --Peter
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>
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In reply to: Message from pklein at threshinc.com (Peter Klein) ([Leica] Violins, lenses and cameras)