[Leica] Re: thank you

[Brian Reid <reid@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>]

> Enjoy that M6, and tell us what you think of the Elmar!

Well let's see. One of the things about Leica is that you can spend an
infinite amount of money; there is almost no such thing as "enough". I
have a collapsing Elmar 2.8/50 for my IIIf, and according to my records
I have shot 1472 rolls of film with it since I bought it in 1966. (I
also have a 4/90 Elmar, which is rather a dog in the clarity department
but which works fine for portraits) and a 3.5/35 Summaron that spends
most of its time in the plastic case; it has never stirred me.

So at the moment what I think of the Elmar is that it is the lens I
know (albeit not in its modern coated M configuration). I'm keeping an
eye on the used-gear department at Keeble and Shuchat in case a
Summicron-M might become available (fat chance).

The collapsible Elmar in the past enabled me to have the camera with me
all of the time, instead of just some of the time. It fits in a pocket
or a briefcase. I actually had my IIIf in my briefcase, loaded with
Tri X, when I went to pick up the M6. So now that I have a camera that
has built-in metering I don't have to carry the outboard light meter
along with the camera (I have always used a Minox meter, which is
probably my most irreplaceable and treasured piece of photographic
gear); the meter is calibrated for f/3.5 ASA 80; to use it for any
other speed I have to do the arithmetic in my head.

So what I think of the Elmar is that it's a great lens; it is not a
Summicron-M Aspheric and it is not a Noctilux, but it will fit in my
pocket. Well, it will as soon as I get a decent lens cap for it; the
one that came with it is a piece of plastic junk. (Jeff said he'd
order me a real lens cap).

I hope I don't horrify any of you with talk about putting an M6 in my
pocket not wrapped in a silk cloth or something. To me what this camera
is about is being there, not being in my camera case in my darkroom.
I'll never be able to sell it as EX++, but then I've never sold a
camera. Maybe my heirs will someday...?

I'm going to Barcelona in a couple of days on a rushed business trip.
(Stopping over in London for a few hours to go to church at St. Albans'
Cathedral). I'll try to take some pictures and put them on the web.

Brian