[Leica] Need advice on a "car camera"

[jbcollier at shaw.ca (John Collier)]

Get an old M and an old incident meter Tape the hell out of both and  
leave them with the receptionist.

John

On 9-May-09, at 2:08 PM, Peter Klein wrote:

> Yesterday I was walking along Seattle's Lake Union during lunch  
> time.  I spotted a female mallard duck standing at the door of a  
> marine financial and brokerage firm, as if she wanted to get in. It  
> would have made a great picture, just the kind that I like to take.
>
> Except that I didn't have a camera with me.  Why?  My employer now  
> bans all personally-owned cameras in the workplace, including cell  
> phone cameras.  It's not negotiable. I would have to either leave my  
> camera with the receptionist every day and pick it up at lunch and  
> after work, or leave it in my car. I'm not comfortable with the  
> first choice, as it makes a non-work activity impact the workplace  
> (bad politics). And I certainly don't want to leave a Leica in  
> either place.
>
> All this is a big PITA. So far I've just left my cameras at home,  
> and I've missed a few good shots.
>
> Maybe I need another camera.  One that I could leave in my car, and  
> if it were stolen, it wouldn't be the end of the world.  The  
> question is, what camera?  I'm thinking of either a fixed-lens  
> rangefinder like a Canonet or an Olympus XA, or perhaps a decent  
> secondhand digital.  I hate autofocus lag on P&S cameras.  And I'm  
> not sure I want to deal with film again on a regular basis.
>
> I'd like the camera to be pocketable (or at least fit in a belt  
> pouch). It should be focusable (no fixed-focus or guess-focus).  
> Autoexposure is OK, but I'd prefer to have full manual shutter/ 
> aperture control available, and not so hard to use that I wouldn't  
> use it.  I want sufficient image quality that I wouldn't be  
> embarrassed to show the pictures.  I'd prefer a 40-50mm f/2 lens or  
> thereabouts, as Seattle is often very gray.
>
> A final wrinkle--if I left the camera under a car seat, would it get  
> too hot if I park outside during the summer?  At work we have an  
> indoor garage, but invariably the camera would sometimes get left in  
> the car during errands, in the driveway at home, etc.
>
> Any thoughts?
>
> --Peter
>
>
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