[Leica] NOW BEING A SHOOTER!

[locke at straylight.ca (Greg Locke)]

OK I'll weigh in with my equipment history story.
Long story if you want to check out now. (but typical of a professional
freelancer)

In 1983, at age 22, I left Newfoundland to work with United Press Canada
(UPI affiliate) in Toronto.

I had an M4, 21 and a 50 (inherited from an America Uncle) ...and a I had a
very complete Olympus SLR system (2 OM1's, 2 OM2's) ...and I was lusting the
new OM 3's and 4's.

Not having to shoot pro sports I never needed long fast glass much ...until
Toronto.

I was fine with my OM system, I had a 300 f4.5,  until the wear and tear of
daily use meant an overhaul and cleaning was needed.

Olympus didn't have an office in Canada but a distributor who had no concept
what-so-ever of customer service, never mind the kind of service needed by
professionals.

Now, I LOVED! my OM's. They were small, light and they were my first
professional camera system. They accompanied me on fishing trawlers, oil
rigs in the north Atlantic, supply ships, the Labrador wilds, wilderness
hunting and canoe trips, even a drunken 2 weeks in St. Pierre that is still
a soft focus memory with pictures I can't remember ever taking.

What is they say about "first loves"? I still get a twinge when I see OM's
for sale and I'm pretty sure if the opportunity arose I would buy a complete
OM system again ....just to have it.

...I used to give used OM's and 50mm lens as gifts to those in the family
who showed photographic promise.

...anyway, back to my story...

The Olympus repair thug said he could not do my gear for 6 weeks and no
amount of calls to Olympus or from my boss was going to speed it up.

What's a guy to do? I had to work.

The other shooters in the office were split between Nikon F3's and Canon
F1's and each made their sales pitch.
It was summer so I had a chance to borrow both systems while the guys were
on holidays.

Canon was cheaper and had faster glass but their Canon Professional Service
(a sore point with me at the time) was not fully operational yet and not as
advanced as Nikon's in Toronto.
The Canons just didn't seem sturdy. Very "plastically" and they didn't
instil any faith of longevity.

The Nikon's felt bulletproof and tough. Remember, freelancers have to pay
their own repair bills. Less repairs, more money in the pocket.
...and with my Nikon Professional Service card I could get repairs done in
24 hours AND they would LOAN you whatever gear you needed if you were stuck.
....AND if I needed some big glass for a shoot I could BORROW IT from
Nikon!!  ...the boy from Newfoundland never heard of such a thing!

What was happening in those days was, the freelancers bought Nikon's. It was
a business decision of long term investment. The staffers had Canon's
because that decision was made by corporate accountant because of the volume
sales made it a much cheaper deal knowing that everything would have to be
replaced in 2-3 years anyway.

So, on that fateful summer day I dragged all my gear to Classic Camera in
Toronto where a friend of a friend worked and where I had met a great sales
rep from Nikon and I traded all my OM's on a couple of F3's, a few lenses
...and a broken heart.

In a few years Canon would clue in. They developed a great Professional
Services dept while Nikon was letting their's wane. They built a great AF
system and marketed HARD to the newspaper, wire and sports photographers. It
took a few years but by the time the EOS was released they had kicked
Nikon's ass in that market.

But still today, you will see freelancers (those who don't do a lot of AF
sports) using Nikon's.
Simply put, they are more reliable.

The Nikon F's are GREAT cameras and combined with good professional service
and support from Nikon (which is lax these days) is the smart choice for
self-employed photographers who still shoot film.

I know Ted gets or got great support from Leica and Kindermann (when they
were the dealer) but that all changed too, maybe Ted can fill us in on his
experience with professional support from Leica.

I can't image them doing for me what Nikon did or does.

Digital is different world and a different story.....



Greg Locke
St. John's, Newfoundland
http://blog.greglocke.com

--TRINITY Photographic Workshops--
     September 3 -5, 2004
  at The Artisan Inn, Trinity
www.straylight.ca/trinityworkshop