Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/07/12

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Subject: [Leica] Bill Pierce on the Leica today
From: mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner)
Date: Tue Jul 12 18:15:55 2005

On 7/12/05 4:23 PM, "Didier Ludwig" <rangefinder@screengang.com> typed:

> 
>> I think that the quietness of the M shutter is much more a myth than a
>> reality unless it's compared with an old pro reflex workhorse.
> 
> Not shure, Luis. Even the newest Bessa R3a rangefinder camera is a little

>snippet<
My cute little unobtrusive Bessa L goes off like a Clapper! Makes me laugh
out loud sometimes I'm not ready for it. Gotta wear earmuffs. Needs a
muffler.
I think those cameras which look like an Olympus E1 look like video cameras
and that would be a different ballgame when you point it at somebody in the
way they feel about it; when they feel they are being videoed that is. I can
say myself I feel a bit different about someone clicking at me then them
filming me in live action and sound. That's really being caught red handed.
If I was into the Olympus system I'd certainly use that EVOLT body; for me
it's the main reason d'tre for the whole system. Call it the major selling
point at least. However from an obtrusiveness standpoint BD's pictures speak
for themselves. So somebody doesn't mind being videoed. Or he edited out the
ones of people flipping him the bird.

Leicas used to be a lot quieter Than Nikon Fs or Canon F1's but I think the
reason they were and are less obtrusive even before in the past few years
the flagship cameras became welded to their motor drives and inflated by a
bicycle pump is the fact that the lens does not have an automatic aperture
opening and closing up front in your face.
That diaphragm opening and closing is what people notice not the sound in my
opinion.  They think that's the shutter taking the picture. And maybe they
think "I just had my picture taken. Do I like that? Did I have any say in
the matter?"
The cameras are all quite now anyway.

Mark Rabiner
Photography
Portland Oregon
http://rabinergroup.com/





In reply to: Message from rangefinder at screengang.com (Didier Ludwig) ([Leica] Bill Pierce on the Leica today)