Leica thoughts

[Charles Dharapak <cdhrpk@pipeline.com>]

On Sun, Feb 25, 1996 6:50:54 PM  at C.M. Fortunko wrote: 
 
>I think that a successor to the M6 must have all of the M6 features: depth

>of focus scales on the lenses and should be a manual camera first. 
 
THANK YOU. This is one of my favorite features of using Leica M cameras and
their lenses. When using 28mm and 21mm lenses, you don't even need to use
the rangefinder if you're stopped down enough. Just zone focus. It's a
shame that most lenses that are coming out today for the autofocus marvels
lack a good scale or do without it totally. 
 
On the subject of Leica's entry into the luxury point and shoot category, I
was a bit disappointed to see that they chose 40mm as the focal length. Too
tight for my tastes. Maybe Leica felt that inexperienced photogs using
point and shoots usually don't crop tightly with their viewfinders and
passed over the 35mm focal length which is common for point and shoots. 
 
Anyone in the market for a high-end point and shoot I highly recommend the
Nikon 28Ti which has a fantastic lens and what I feel is a useful 28mm
focal length. The 28Ti also uses framelines where you can see "outside" and
there is a bit less delay in firing because the camera focuses (lens moves)
when you press halfway and then releases the shutter. And it's black. 
 
Another comment I wanted to make was on the preference not to use flash
with their Leica M's. If it is for physical awkwardness (large bounce flash
the size of an M body on the hotshoe) I agree, it's awkward. But it's nice
being able to see the flash light up your shot through the viewfinder,
especially if you're photographing in a very dimly lit situation. You see
the picture you take. I still think the rangefinder focuses more accurately
than any red focus assist beam that makes people think you're The
Terminator... 
 
 
-- Charlie (cdhrpk@pipeline.com) 
 
   "It ain't in the horn, man. It's only me." -- Charlie Parker