[Leica] The Leica Day in DC

[Simon Stevens <simon@camera-craftsman.com>]

Dan wrote:

Mitch, Simon, Steve and I attended a "Leica Day" just outside of
Washington,
DC on Saturday.  While it was a nice opportunity to meet each other, and
to
have our Leicas checked out by Brenda Olesin of LNJ, the range of new
equipment available to qawk at was a bit disappointing.

I'd go along with this. It was fun putting some faces to names, but I
share the sentiment about the equipment. It's not like the M lens range
is huge so there isn't any reason they couln't have had at least the
more common ones there. I was particularly surprised they didn't have
the Noctilux or the R6.2, which is, after all, a current body. The rep
did say the M motor would be available in a "month or two" which whets
the appetite (although I probably don't need one) but again, no sample
was available to see. One thing they did have was the bizarre lens
holder which bolts to the bottom of the camera. It seemed very well made
but also quite bulky with an enormous locking nut and it would take a
while to trust it not to dump an expensive lens unexpectedly. I wonder
also about the effect on balance and handling, but I could see uses for
the gadget when a camera bag is just too clumsy. I also looked at the
R8, but this again just confirmed the fact that I have small hands which
barely stretch around its (to me) very thick body.

Overall, it was particulalry nice getting the cameras and lenses checked
by Brenda who was also interesting to talk to. What they had was also
interesting to see. But had I not had the chance to meet the fellow
Luggers, I would have been very disappointed.. The only other gripe (and
this is nobody's fault) is that I wish I had known that the Hasselblad
folks were there checking bodies and lenses too. Oh, well.

Simon Stevens