RE: [Leica] Leica C1

["B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net>]

What follows is NOT meant in any way as a swipe at Lee, but a general
comment on the state of Leicaholism -

How can anyone possibly suggest that a P&S with a maximum aperture of f 10.5
at 105 mm, and f 4 at 38 mm is a "winner"? "Winner" in what way? Would you
call it a "winner" if it was a Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Minolta, etc. etc...of
course not. It would just be another crappy me-too zoom P&S for the
photo-challenged to use to take flash pictures at birthday parties. F 10.5?
Come on...Would anyone even vaguely consider buying a 105 prime with a
maximum aperture of 10.5? Or 5.6 for that matter? Of course not.

Presumably, for someone vaguely serious about photography, a P&S is the
camera to keep in the briefcase, the car, where ever, for those times when
you see the perfect shot and don't have your "real" camera. You still want
to be able to shoot the way you normally would - i.e., available light when
ever possible. So spend $89 and get an Olympus Stylus Epic, whose 2.8 35 mm
lens is certainly as good as a lot of the earlier generation Leica lenses a
lot of list members shoot with. Get a T-4 (?)if you want to spend more money
for a slower lens. But don't just pay for the Leica badge.

And - I for one think Solmes is way off base if they think that a
significant number of new users are going to be attracted to a product of
this sort by the Leica name. If they know enough about Leica to understand
what it is and represents, they'll pass this up in a heartbeat. And if they
don't, they won't spend the money for it anyway.

Just my opinion - with which I know a good many will disagree - vehemently.
;-)

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> [mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of Lee Yan
> Zhan
> Sent: Thursday, November 18, 1999 2:40 PM
> To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> Subject: [Leica] Leica C1
>
>
> Hi,

> Just got some information on the latest C1 compact camera for anyone
> interested.  They may actually have a winner here :
>
> -    Outer housing is made of extremely durable metal;
> -    Vario Elmar f4-10.5/38-105mm;
> -    Auto & manual focus from infinity to 0.8m;
> -    Center weighted metering;
> -    1/30 - 1/500 shuttle speed, up to 99s;
> -    Flash range 0.8-3.35m with 38mm, or 0.8-1.24m with
> 105mm(ISO 100);
> -    Viewfinder field equivalent to 85% of film(what does that mean?)
> -    Self-timer 10 sec;
> -    Width 129.5mm/Height 67mm/Depth 46mm;
> -    Weight 260g without battery.
>
> Its also interesting to note that Fotohobby Germany is
> already selling them
> online at around DM850.
>
> I think I'll probably get one!!!
>
> Cheers,
> Lee
> Singapore
>
>