Re: best 35mm.bayonet?

[chucko@eskimo.com (Charles E. Albertson)]

At 07:05 AM 2/10/96 -0800, Kalessin@eworld.com wrote:
>>>Imagine taking a $2000 M6 and a $2200 Summilux 35mm/f1.4 on a street 
>>>photography session.
>mugging factor.
>
>My other cameras, the SLRs and the automated PnS stuff, seem to attract a lot
>more attention than the Leica M does. In the case of the SLRs, the lenses are
>much larger and the click-clack of the shutter and mirror immediately signals
>that something is happening. The automated cameras, with their whirr/whine of
>focus mechanisms and film advance rewind, also signal people that something
>is going on. 
>
>The Leica M is unobtrusive, the lenses are physically small (except for the
>cannon of a 90mm f/2 that I have ;), and it makes only a very quiet snick ...
>very few people even notice it's there, and fewer still notice that it's
>anything expensive. Most who do see it think it's some kind of cheap camera
>'cause it ain't got motor drive! 
>
     I agree --- your average junkie tends to go for the flashier,
easier-to-fence SLRs and the like. I've noticed that an M6 attracts little
attention on the street, though I stick a piece of black gaffer tape over
the red Leica logo, which can act like a beacon when you're trying to blend
into the background. 
     When I'm traveling, though, as a rule I don't go through the lobby of
whatever hotel I'm staying in with a camera hanging around my neck. As far
as thieves go, hotel lobbies tend to attract connoisseurs. Wait until you
get a block or so away before you pull anything out of the bag.

Chuck Albertson
Seattle, Wash.