Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/01/06
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]on 1/6/04 6:17 PM, Red Dawn at reddawn@singnet.com.sg wrote: > Dear SL luggers :) > > i have a question to ask here (and its genuine). Not being familiar with > Leica's SLRs, pray educate a 28 yr old of the decadent internet / video > games / digital everything generation on the advantages of this early Leica > SLR as compared to say.....a Nikon Fm2 / FM3a, which looks every bit as > robust to me as manual cameras go, with added capabilities, other than the > fact the SL comes from a particular German camera company and has a longer > legacy? :) Look through the viewfinder and see one of the big differences. I'm not all that impressed with the FM2 viewfinder. The FM3 VF will have to be a lot better to get my attention. You might not apperciate this at 28 yrs old but once you hit 40 you will. My hands also felt very cramped on the FM2... and then there are the lenses. The vast majority of the Leica lenses for the SL are real Leica lenses, wide-open performance and all. > Or, wat can the SL do that my whiz-bang > all-everything-if-u-want-it-to Canon EOS 1v film SLR cannot? > I'll leave that to someone who has used an EOS 1v. What I like about the SL that I don't get from most modern cameras is purposeful design, with nothing extraneous added, and optimized for manual use. > Don't get me wrong. All my personal photo projects and photography work are > done with a Leica M6 and a M3, and i certainly appreciate the value of a > well crafted all mechanical precision tool. But in the case of the Leica Ms, > they buy me advantages that my SLRs, film or digital, don't have - the > whisper quiet shutter, small discreet unobstrusive size, excellent M glass > even when wide open with a unique signature that i prefer over my Japanese > lenses, the simple and elegant use and feel of an accurate rangefinder and > well made robust body. > The SL has the excellent glass with Leica signature, the simple, elegant and robust feel of a Leica rangefinder. Compared with an EOS 1v it's probably small and discrete too ;-) > Where is the magic of the SL compared to say, the 1v, which itself is fully > weather sealed against the elements and robust with a all metal casing, 100% > bright viewfinder? You can switch the 1v to manual mode, and thereafter > manually set ISO, aperture and shutter speeds manually, so the electronics > definitely don't get in the way. Or to put it another way, why not a Leica > R6.2 or a Nikon Fm2 / Fm3a if i really want a fully manual SLR? Operationally the SL is as close to an M6 as you'll find in an SLR: all it has is controls for focus, shutter speed, aperture and film transport; the limited-area meter is similar too. From what I've read the R6.2 is a good solid camera, and I have no doubt the FM3a is too. The SL gives you the sensory feedback of a Leica, which is a whole different thing. Doug Herr Birdman of Sacramento http://www.wildlightphoto.com - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html