[Leica] Re: Expectant proud new M6 owner

[Simon Lamb <s_lamb@compuserve.com>]

Dan Honemann wrote:

> Hi Simon,
>
> Greetings from another newbie.  I will tell you, having just gotten my first
> roll processed, that the M6 + 50 Summicron is wonderful for handheld shots
> of children right down to 1/30.  My favorite subject is St.Clair, who
> happened to turn five years old on the day I shot this first roll through
> the M, and the photos are incredible.  In fact, I experimented with a range
> of aperture and shutter speed settings and under a variety of lighting
> conditions (indoors and out), and the M came through every time.  Amazingly
> enough, I have handheld shots of St.Clair at min. focus distance, f/2 @ 1/15
> second, and sharp as a tack!  I had expected great things from this camera,
> but this borders on the miraculous!
>
> The only problem I had with the first roll is framing.  There are some shots
> that I clearly composed (out of habit) based on the full finder view and not
> on the 50 mm brightlines.  That, I am sure, is a habit I will break over
> time.
>
> Congratulations on your new purchase, and welcome to a great list.
>
> Dan

Dan

Thank you for your welcome.  The type of photography that you mentioned
is exactly the reson that I am buying the M6.  Glad to hear that is has
been a great success
for you.  I might get the 50mm f/2 as well.  It is reasonably priced and
everyone seems to think it is an excellent piece of glass.  I may skip
the Tri-Elmar and go
for the 35mm and 50 mm to accompany the 90mm f/2.  I know the T-E is f/4
but it seemed like a good choice for daylight (10am-4pm) photography
with three focal lenghts
in a compact lens.  Perhaps I need to buy everything!

I think it will take a few rolls to get the hang of things, especially
using the framelines as you said.  You mentioned in another post that
you went through the same .72 vs .85 dilema as I did/am.  I think your
advice is good - try both in the shop and see which best suits my eyes.

It is going to seem like a lifetime waiting until 2 May to get my M6!

Simon

> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> > [mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of Simon Lamb
> > Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2000 12:34 PM
> > To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> > Subject: [Leica] Expectant proud new M6 owner
> >
> >
> > Hello everyone
> >
> > Another lurker surfaces and faces the inevitable!  I have phoned the
> > camera shop and will be picking up my chrome M6 .85, 90mm f/2 APO ASPH
> > and Tri-Elmar 28-50mm f/4 on 2 May.  Just by way of introduction, I am a
> > Nikon user (F5, 80-200mm f/2.8 AFS, 85mm f/1.8 AF-D, TC20-E etc. etc.).
> > I love two types of photography, wildlife and portraits (particularly of
> > my two girls ages five and two - they are the subjects for the portraits
> > although sometimes the wildlife!).  I really wanted a camera that would
> > enable me to take protraits with more creative control and in a less
> > stressful way for the children.  The F5 with SB28 flash and big 85mm
> > lens can be very overpowering for children and it is difficult to take
> > candid portraits with such a big camera, even when using it handheld.  I
> > have followed the newsgroup and believe that the M6 will be the ideal
> > camera for portrait work, especially with the 90mm f/2 in available
> > light.  I did consider the new Nikon S3 2000 rangefinder but it is very
> > much priced for the collectors market and did not make financial sense.
> > I also believe that the 90mm APO ASPH lens will be better than the 50mm
> > that Nikon will initially offer with the camera.
> >
> > I will keep the F5 as I do not believe that the M6 will be able to catch
> > the action wildlife shots that the Nikon makes possible.  The F5 is an
> > amazing camera, as is the M6, and I believe that each can offer me some
> > major benefts in the type of photography that interests me.
> >
> > One thing is for sure.  I have seen all the posts from new users and I
> > hope I have learnt many lessons, especially how to savour opening the
> > boxes and loading the first roll of film.
> >
> > I will, as appears customary, let you all know how my first days go with
> > my camera and hopefully become an active member of the newsgroup.  One
> > immediate question.  I take most of my portraits with Kodak Portra 160
> > NC.  Does the ISO dial on the back of the M6 allow 160 to be set?  I
> > notice some small increments between 100 and 200 and assume that these
> > are increments of 20, so that I can set the dial at three increments
> > past the 100 mark.  Is this a correct assumption?
> >
> > That's all for now.  Sorry it ended up so long.
> >
> > Simon