Distress

[Dave Topper <topper@panix.com>]

I am distressed about a few things and would appreciate any help
I can get.

1)  I did not get versions of this digest 84-85 and have no idea why.

2)  I am having some difficulty getting good shots with my Leica
M3.  The shots that come out good are really good, but the others are
a huge disappointment.  Here are the details:

- I'm a novice photographer and have been educating myself with books
(eg., the Leica Manual '61) on the subject.  Early shots I took with
this camera were done with slow f-stops ... hence grainy.  I think I
understand better the optimization between depth of feild vs. resolving
power a bit better now.  I plan on keeping a journal of all shots I take
in the near future.  Any suggestions on other good books would be 
appreciated as well.

- Some shots just don't seem to get enough light.  I don't know if this
is because my light meter (MC) is too old or if I'm just not using it
properly.  It might also be the film I've been using (Kodak Gold and most
recently some freebe 3m garbage).  It also might be that I haven't found
a good developer yet, but I think I've found one now here in NJ about 1/2hr
from my place.  A good mail-in lab address / phone # would be really great.

- My shutter curtain seems to leave a small line on the image every 10th
frame or so.  This problem was diagnosed by Jim Lager himself over at Tamarkin
NY.  I think I really should get this fixed ... but am wondering where I might
bring it.  Jim said that they could do it there ... but also said it would be
"a couple of hundred or so" to fix it.  I called Leica USA here in NJ and they
said it would be 6 weeks before I could get my camera back.  I don't think I can
live without it for that long!  I'd really like to get some consensus on what
are some good shops in the NYC area that I might bring the camera to.  I'm willing
to drive an hour or so if necessary.  Leica also quoted me about $500 for:

	- vulcanite replacement
	- cleaning, lube, calibration
	- shutter curtain replacement

That's alot of $$$ but I think it's worth it.  I really want to start getting good
shots with this thing.

Thanks ... email responses would really be preferred (due to problem #1 above).

DT
-- 
Dave Topper (me)
Student of:  Life, Computer Music and Art.
(email responses always preferred)
http://www.panix.com/~topper