[Leica] A Red Dot story

[Paul Chefurka <Paul_Chefurka@pmc-sierra.com>]

My buddy Owen just related an amusing conversation that I had to pass along.

He's an avid flower shooter, with a real passion for gear that has been channelled entirely into Nikon stuff.  He has always looked longingly at my M6's, though every time he's picked one up he's handed it right back with a grimace of distaste.  This last week he went to NYC to visit his son (a a very successful investment banker), and he decided to try out the M6 to see what this "street shooting" thing was like.  We traded cameras for a week - I got his F5 with the 80-400 VR zoom, and he got my M6 with the 35 Summilux ASPH.

He came back with a newfound respect for street shooters ("that's really hard!"), a final realization that he's not a Leica kind of guy ("it's way too small and hard to use"), and a story about a chat with his son.  They were out together in Soho one afternoon, and son says "Cool camera.  It looks a lot like a Leica."  Owen says "It *is* a Leica!"  Sons says "No way - where's the red dot?"  Owen says "Well, Paul put this little piece of black tape over it..." to which son said "Wow, what a great idea - nobody'd even think of stealing it like that!"

So, even investment bankers can see the point of Black Taping your Leica :-)

Paul

PS - an F5 with an 80-400?  Not on your life.  I shot one roll with it, went back into the house and grabbed the .85 with the 135, and spent the rest of the afternoon happy.  That's not a camera, it's bodybuilding equipment.