Re: [Leica] Reflex vs. RF

["Frank Farmer"<frankandaubrey@mindspring.com>]

Tom,

Maybe I'm off base, I haven't been on the list long, but I don't think you'd
find very many people that would disagree with you about it being the image
that counts.  The RF or any other body for that matter is only a tool to reach
that goal.  However, I think that many people on the list, including myself,
enjoy the mechanical process of making an image plus the history of the Leica
system.  Not to say that automation is bad - I know that it is not and I
thoroughly enjoyed my F100 and 20-35 2.8 combo.  It was certainly a wonderful
set-up.  But as I mentioned earlier this week, I enjoy the process.  And for
me, (stress - "for me") that includes setting the aperture and the shutter
speed and focusing and, ack, advancing the film too.  Perhaps the M7 may erode
this process a bit with the little automation that it posesses (having not
used one I'm not qualified to comment on it in an educated manner).  However,
I think my point is that going throught the motions of photography involves a
certian number of decisions.  I like to make those decisions so that I can
learn from my mistakes.  I often found that automation hindered that process
because I didn't know what happend from a setting and technical standpoint
when I tripped the shutter release.  Oh well.  Mind you, I just shoot for fun,
no I don't support myself doing this - perhaps my opinion would change in that
case - I find that they often change for no apparant reason at all.  :-} 
Anyway, happy snaps to all and to all a good night, er, day.

Frank

On Thu, 5 Dec 2002 09:38:46 -0500 Tom Lianza <tlianza@sequelimaging.com>
wrote:

> Hi,
> 
> I have Leica RF's (M2 M6), SLR's (R6,R7) and
> Nikon SLR's(including the D100)
> .  At various times I use each of them.  One
> thing that I can say is that
> the Nikon D100 has changed everything.  There
> are things that I simply won't
> do with film any more (theater photography,
> events, etc.).   I'm leaving for
> Japan on Friday and I will pack my M6, the
> tri-elmar, 90mm tele-elmarit, 35
> 'lux, 75 lux and a Nikon Coolpix 990.  This
> will all fit with film, the sf20
> flash and the winder in a messenger bag.  That
> combination just shines when
> I travel by plane.
> 
> When I look at the images that I have taken
> over the years, I have to say
> that there are more Nikon SLR images that I
> like than the RF images.  That's
> primarily due to the Nikon f100 / 20-35mm f2.8
> zoom combination.  The leica
> SLR's are great outdoor cameras and very
> reliable I use them at sporting
> events (although the D100 is used more and more
> for that) and outside in
> rough weather.  Leica finally brought out a
> wide angle zoom... but alas too
> late for me.  As far as Leica lens quality
> goes, I think the 50mm summicron,
> 35 lux and 75 lux are very special lenses. 
> When I compare these to the
> Nikon 28-70 mm there are real differences and
> the Leicas win.  On the SLR
> side, the new Nikon 28-70 is superior to the
> Leica 28-70 and the 35-70 zooms
> and it is a stop faster. At 90mm Nikon 80-200
> zoom is better than my 90mm
> sumicron M when used at f5.6.   I have found
> that film differences and
> exposure situations make a bigger difference
> than the optics.  For instance,
> I can shoot at much lower speeds with the Leica
> RF than the SLR's.
> 
> 
> In my opinion, while the shooting situation may
> have a large impact on the
> equipment that you choose, I don't believe that
> the equipment you use, per
> se, is going to have a huge impact on the work
> you do.Many very successful
> photographers find the automation and quality
> that Nikon and Canon provide
> to be  quite suitable for their work.  Many of
> the people on this group are
> rabid fans of the RF.  In the end, it's the
> image that counts.
> 
> Tom Lianza
> Technical Director
> Sequel Imaging Inc.
> 25 Nashua Rd.
> Londonderry, NH 03053
> 
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