[Leica] Leica Goody Review (long)

[Charles Dunlap <cdunlap@es.UCSC.EDU>]

I just got back from a trip to Keeble and Shuchat in Palo Alto. I had the
pleasure to meet fellow LUGger Jeff Alford (hello, Jeff) who works there
and to handle a bunch of new Leica gear. While it's fresh on my mind I
thought I'd pass along some impressions for those of you who, like me, do
not live conveniently close to a well-stocked Leica dealer.

The Goodies:

1) The new M6 HM: I want one. I don't wear glasses and I don't use the 28mm
lens. I do use a 90. The difference in the 90 framelines is, in practice,
profound. The difference in the 50 didn't strike me as strongly (although
it is there, of course). The 35mm lines are almost as far out as the 28mm
lines on the normal M6, but I didn't have to strain to see them--I was
worried that my eyelashes would be brushing the viewfinder window or that I
couldn't rest my cheek on my thumb when viewing, but neither was the case.
The 35mm lines are a bit harder to take in, but the tradeoff is well worth
it for me, even though I normally use the 35mm lens over 60% of the time.
One thing that isn't improved in the new finder is the occasional flaring
out that can occur when focussing on dark scenes with an adjacent bright
light source. The larger focussing patch, however, meant that some portions
of the patch were not flared, a potential small advantage.

2) The new 35/2 ASPH: Two physical improvements over the last version
struck me. First, the slip-on lens cover clips on to the front of the lens
shade, so that the shade can remain on when the lens is stored securely.
This can be added to the older version of the lens, and it's a nice
feature, well implemented. Secondly, the extra 100g weight of the new lens
balances beautifully on the M6. I felt that I could hold the camera more
steadily than with the lighter, non-ASPH Summicron. This is important for
me since I like to shoot wide open at low shutter speeds. It's a benefit of
the new lens design that I hadn't considered. The concave front and rear
elements look cool, too. The focussing tab is wider than on the previous
version (can't see it matters either way), and the aperture ring is a bit
wider on the ASPH--an improvement in my estimation. Jeff said the Bokeh on
the new ASPH is comparable to that of the old one and not  harsh as the 35
Summilux-M ASPH can produce. I haven't had a chance to see this for myself.

3) The Minilux Zoom: Well, if you've seen my recent post you know I don't
much like it. On inspection I saw two more problems. First, the manual
focus has about ten click stop distances. Manual focussing, therefore, only
lets you set the focus to one of a handful of zones; it does not provide
continuous electronically assisted focussing. This might not matter given
the small max. aperture of the zoom lens, but I was still disappointed.
Second, the viewfinder provides no information. In fact there's nowhere on
the camera that displays the shutter speed or aperture in use. The
viewfinder is small but reasonably clear and sharp. It's very reminiscent
of any number of other point and shoot viewfinders; it's better but not
enormously better. I'd still like to see photos from this camera, but the
drawbacks to the body are numerous (compared to the Contax Tvs).

4) The Leica 21mm Viewfinder: I definitely want one. It's very bright, very
sharp, and places the full 21mm field within easy view without great
curvature. The Contax viewfinder for the G lens pales by comparison. The G
finder is not as bright (it's fine, it just doesn't reach the same level)
or as crisp. The G finder does not have as much eye relief, is bigger than
the Leica finder, and has a much more curved and distorted view. If you're
going to use a 21mm lens with any seriousness or frequency then do yourself
a favor and get the Leica finder.

5) The Abrahamson Rapid Winder: Someday I'd like one. The 21mm finder is at
the top of my new wish list, followed by the M6HM and 35/2 ASPH, but this
gadget is nice. The black is shinier than the M6 top plate, but is quite
attractive. The device is very well made and operates smoothly. It is very
intuitive and simple to use. As soon as I picked it up I had two fingers
naturally wrapped around the lever and was sliding it along the bottom to
advance the film without a second thought. Even when not neccessary the
extra 1.5 cm (estimated) in height that the winder adds to the camera gave
me a better grip than normal. If I were considering one of the Leica hand
grips I might consider the winder instead since it provides much of the
extra handheld stability. The winder also centers the tripod thread which
could help balance the camera when using a ball head.

6) The Abrahamson Soft Release: It's wider than the old Fred Ward version
and a bit shorter. I like it. I'm going to get one in black when they are
available.

7) Billingham Simplies lens pouches: These are really nice. The are nylon
with a padded bottom. They are big enough to hold a 90 Elmarit-M, but small
and compactable (a word?) enough to hold smaller lenses. I have some
generic black pouches that shed black fibers and are a bit thicker than
neccessary for my well padded camera bag. I'm going to get a set of the
Simplies pretty soon. At $24 per pouch, however, it's not on the top of the
list. I'll use the others for a while yet.

8) Giotto's Ball Pod Mini: A shirt pocket, plastic ball head, table tripod
with very sturdy telescoping, rubber tipped aluminum legs. I bought one.
This little guy is just what I've been wanting in a table tripod. I'd love
it more if the ball head were machined aluminum, anodized black, but it is
small enough that I will take it with me and sturdy enough that I will get
sharper photos. 4 inches long collapsed, 2 3/4 inch legs telescope smoothly
like a thick car antenna to almost 7 inches.

That's about it. Happy shooting (really more fun than shopping any day).

- -Charlie
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             Charles E. Dunlap
         Earth Sciences Department
          University of California
            Santa Cruz, CA 95064
Tel.: (408) 459-5228    Fax.: (408) 459-3074

         mailto:cdunlap@es.ucsc.edu
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