Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/02/07

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Subject: [Leica] Re: Laos Not ! Leica digital R on a Canon platform
From: Cummer <cummer@netvigator.com>
Date: Sat, 8 Feb 2003 11:15:26 +0800
References: <200302080017.QAA15531@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>

Hello Luggers
I have been back from Bangkok for a few days - didn't make it to Laos 
(although wife Esther did with my Contax T3) as my first night in 
Bangkok I came down with Thai Tummy and three days later was at the 
BumRunGrad Hospital on Ciprobay plus Electrolytes plus Buscopan plus 
charcoal pills. By Friday I was more or less stabilized but not fit 
for the eight hour bus trip to Vientiane from Bangkok so I came home 
and Esther went off into the wilds. She will be home to Hong Kong on 
Saturday (today). I only shot three rolls of film in Bangkok and 
don't have much except "happy snaps" to show for it. I took the Hexar 
RF with the 3E and my M6HM TTL with the 90 Summicron. On the first 
day out we went to the Sunday market and I had the M6 on the floor of 
the taxi and the jarring was enough to put out the horizontal aspect 
of the rangefinder. I took the camera yesterday into Schmidt and they 
promised me an estimate in 2 to 3 weeks - minimum HK$250. Compare 
that with Konica where I have had the viewfinder of the RF adjusted, 
three times, I think, while I wait and at no charge. Have bought some 
more Canon equipment, an EOS3 with an ECb rangefinder focusing screen 
(so I can focus Leica R lenses on the rangefinder spot) an EF 28 - 
135 IS zoom and I replaced my 420EX flash with the 550 EX (now that 
it is in stock again). Using the EOS3 with the Canon lenses really 
shows up how crappy the auto focus of the D60 really is! No wonder 
they have already discontinued it. Hopefully the replacement will be 
based on the EOS3 focus module and not be any more expensive than the 
D60. What Leica really needs to do to get into digital quickly 
without a decade of R&D is to take over the D60 from Canon, replace 
the matt focusing screen with a rangefinder one, and go on from there 
using aperture preferred / stop down metering. Focus confirmation 
would also be a nice addition.
Oh yes, about what Leica R lenses will fit on the EOS3. I can confirm 
that the 19 Elmarit R will not fit. I put it, via the R - EOS 
adapter, on the EOS3 with the shutter on bulb and the mirror fouls 
the lens cowling as it tries to return causing the "bc error" signal 
to appear. However, the good news is that the latest Leica 50 
Summilux R does work on the EOS 3 without fouling the mirror and so I 
have added a very useful lens to my EOS - R use list. As reported 
previously both the 19 Elmarit R and the 50 Summilux R work nicely on 
the D60 (due to its smaller mirror) except for the uncertainty of 
checking focus in the laser matt focusing screen. A pity it can't be 
replaced with a rangefinder screen like can be done on the EOS3.
Nice to be back
Howard Cummer
Hong Kong.
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Replies: Reply from Alastair Firkin <firkin@ncable.net.au> ([Leica] Re: Laos Not ! Leica digital R on a Canon platform)
Reply from "Greg J. Lorenzo" <gregj.lorenzo@shaw.ca> (Re: [Leica] Re: Laos Not ! Leica digital R on a Canon platform)