[Leica] R8 motor exposure bracketing & Pascal response

[Ted Grant <tedgrant@home.com>]

 R8 motor exposure bracketing!

Folks I have to admit, as great as this auto bracketing is,  man do you
ever burn film like no tomorrow.  

Look at it this way.  If you do the auto thing on every different shot, 
that equates to only 12 different situations per 36 exposure roll !  (if
you're lucky!)  It's like "Wow the film budget is shot in no time!" As
much as I like this auto bracket gizmo, it still requires some very
astute discretion as to it's use simply because if you keep using it on
every shot and think "OK I'll just do the auto bracket. Save time and
fiddling with manual bracketing."

It's going to give you one hell of a film bill at the end of the month
if you don't take care to only use it where absolutely necessary. And
that sure as hell isn't on every shot of different content..  So one
must be discreet in it's use without question.

However, it works so beautifully it's very hard not to just flick the
lever and blast three away! I'll get the hang of it very quickly after
the next month film bill comes in! That or when Sandy starts haranguing
me about burning film like it was pop corn! :)


R8 METERING POST and response to Pascal:

> On 23-03-2000 01:06 Ted Grant wrote:
> 
> >For those of you who are not R8 users,  therefore unfamiliar with the
> >accuracy of the R8 metering system let me say this,  the metering of the
> >R8 is so extensively correct under the wildest and best of light
> >conditions one tends to become a lazy "exposure photographer," accepting
> >the camera selection as is.   Because you know without question,  it's
> >going to be correctly exposed .
 
Pascal responded: 
> Now here I must stop you Ted :-)
> 
> The multiple light metering systems of the R8 certainly do an excellent
> job, but for your camera to drive "automatic pilot" one should obviously
> use the matrix metering.>>>>>>>>>>>>

Pascal mon ami,

Nope! I find the matrix metering only good for negative films, B&W or
colour neg. My experience is that the matrix isn't worth a damn for
colour transparency as it tends to over compensate creating "hot
images!"  ie: a tendency to over expose.  certainly to how I like mine.

> And while this will, in most cases, work out nicely, I can think of many
> situations where it simply would not work effectively as I have
> experienced myself already many times. Mind you, many other cameras will
> have as much problems as the R8 under some tricky lighting conditions, so
> this is not a Leica-specific issue.>>>>>>

I don't doubt, as I've experienced with Canon EOS

> But on the other hand, it must be acknowledged, even by avid R8 users
> that a "simple" 6 field matrix metering cannot simply stand comparison to
> the most advanced systems in the market, and here I am thinking of Nikon
> in particular which has the most elaborate system technologically-wise,
> e.g. the F5 RGB-color matrix plus 3D flash matrix.>>>>>

But Pascal before we had all this whiz bang electronic ittsy glitzie
metering, many of us got excellent results merely by holding up a hand
meter, set camera, Click!  And a perfect exposure. :) To some degree I
believe much of the "modernization through electronics has been
merely a sales ploy to sell more cameras.

I find much of the electronic wizardry of Nikon and Canon way beyond the
needs of probably 90% of photographers, simply because, who the hell can
remember all the buttons and settings required to do what Nikon and
Canon have loaded in their boxes.

Leica is at least KISS,  "keep it simple stupid"  technology with a
choice of 3 settings and not the every twitch of an eyelash meter of the
others.  Quite frankly, I don't know too many photographers who know all
the settings when on a shoot and if they did it still comes down to a
quick reading and it works without having to change a number of dials
and knobs.  The Nikon/Canon internal wiring maybe great for guys working
in a studio where everything is completely under their control, rather
than the light coping situations of everyday light on the street.
 
> Too bad, but that's the way it is!
> A reality check now and then is always useful. That doesn't mean that I
> am ready to give up the R8, however ;-)>>>>>>>>>

Well Pascal I surely would hope not, as it's one very fine camera and as
far as I'm concerned the best I've had in my hands.  And now with the
motor attached it really is one of the great cookie cutters of all time.

Yeah I know I'm bias, but what the heck the R8 really works for me. :)

ted