Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/03/01

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Leica vs. Contax wars
From: D Khong <dkhong@pacific.net.sg>
Date: Thu, 02 Mar 2000 06:11:15 +0000

>D Khong wrote:
>> 
>> Friends
>> 
>> I have just returned from a photo shoot up in the hills of north Thailand.
>> The Karen people, whom I photographed, are the largest tribal group of hill
>><Snip> 
>> After having used both systems, I have found that they are complementary.
>> Aesthetically, I'd prefer the leica but then that's an emotional matter.
>> 
>> Dan K.
>> 
>I am very involved with an indigenous Karen person, Karen Rabiner my wife who
>lives with me and who shoots with a Leica M6 and who almost clobbered me
when I
>tried to buy here a Contax instead. Don't try photographing her with your G2
>you'll end up for dinner!
>Mark Rabiner
>Aesthetically and emotionally if I were photographing a rare indigenous
>endangered indignant people I would not bring a Contax G2 when I had a
Leica to
>shoot with. If any situation demanded the quiet dignity and quality of the
Leica
>system it would seem to be that. Do indigenous peoples respond better to
point
>and shoots? I think they would respond better to integrity.
>

I like that Mark. When I first read about the Karen tribe, I wondered why
they have the name of a woman. Actually the tribe is best pronounced as
KAY-RAN. That was my 5th trip to photograph them and they are so used to me
that I can photograph them with almost any camera. I have used an M3 and 50
summilux but only about 80% of the shots were well exposed. As I photograph
them on the move, lighting conditions can vary markedly from one scene to
another. If I take an exposure reading everytime, I lose a few good shots.
If I got the shot, I sometimes gamble with the exposure settings. The G2
gives me more freedom and better exposures under such cirsumstances.

As my eyes get older, I find the diopter adjuster on my G2 more and more
useful.

To end up for dinner, try the Ibans in Sarawak (Borneo). Until about half a
century ago, they were still head hunters. The Kuching (Sarawak capital)
museum has a collection of shrunken human heads on display. Nowadays they
are a jolly good bunch who like their drink of "Tuak" (a potent rice wine)
to get stoned.

Dan K.