[Leica] Owl says thank you and speculates wildly

[owl at postmaster.co.uk (John Owlett)]

"Excellent," said Owl, "I've received some replies to my maiden LUG post."

Owl was sitting on his favourite branch by a clearing in the Wood, gazing at 
a laptop that was propped incongruously against the trunk.  The other 
animals, who were sitting in the clearing, looked up enquiringly.

"Go on, then," said Rabbit.  "What do they say?"

"They're very welcoming and make a number of different useful suggestions, 
for which I'm most grateful.  Rather pleasantly, they don't push Leica, but 
stress that my camera choice should flow from my picture-taking; and they 
regard a wish for lighter weight as being quite understandable.  I'm also 
grateful for the disagreements they voice."

"Grateful?  For disagreements?" said Eeyore.  "Nobody is grateful for 
disagreements!  You're just saying that."

"No, I don't think so," replied Owl.  "Insults aren?t much fun, but 
disagreements are good.  You can learn a lot from them.

"One LUG member thinks I'm mistaken to say I need a full-frame sensor.  In 
that I've never owned a digital camera before -- though I've used the 
Pussycat's AF Nikon -- and he clearly has substantial experience, he's 
probably right."

"Wait a second," put in Piglet.  "Pussycat?  I thought the Owl and the 
Pussycat were from a different fairy story."

"You're right of course," said Kanga, "but in this Wood, the owls are not 
what they seem."

"He suggests," continued Owl, ignoring the interruption, "that for light 
weight and moderate size prints, Micro Four Thirds or APS-sized sensors, 
what Nikon calls DX, are just fine.  Nikon's top DX camera, the D300s, is 
five years old -- middle-aged in Nikon's terms -- so maybe I should wait to 
see what the rumoured D400 has to offer.  After all, I've been using film 
cameras since 1959; I can wait a few more months."

"Fair enough," said Rabbit, "but there does seem to be a drift towards 
full-frame sensors.  Both Canon and Nikon said that full-frame was not 
needed ... while they didn?t have full-frame products to offer.  Now, both 
of them offer only full frame in their first-tier cameras.  And Leica has 
followed suit."

"Possibly," replied Owl, "but I  must be careful not to infer what I need to 
have from what the camera companies want to sell.  In any case, I followed 
up the Micro Four Thirds suggestion, and went to have a look at Olympus OM-D 
to-day.

"Beautifully small and light; but there is a medical problem.

"I suffer from buildqualititis, and its related complaint, softlensophobia.  
When I pick up a polycarbonate camera, a shudder runs down my wings. On the 
other hand, when I use a Compur shutter that is 75 years old and still works 
perfectly, I feel like purring.

"Leica, surely, cannot be a problem.  First-tier Nikon (D4) would be 
wonderful; but too heavy.  Second-tier Nikon (D800) would be good; but still 
a bit heavy.  Third-tier Nikon (D600) -- which I also looked at to-day ? 
just wouldn"t be enjoyable.  And when I did buy a third-tier Nikon (F80) 
once, it just wasn?t as reliable as the first-tier cameras, and was the 
exception that proves the rule."

"Owl, dear," said Kanga, "Isn't there another condition you should have 
mentioned ... Leicaphilia?"

"Indeed," snorted Eeyore, "and it's all Robert White's fault.  Suggesting 
that a Rolleiflex user try out a Leica M6 is a bit like a tambourine man 
offering a customer the latest high."

"Ah.  Well.  Not really,? spluttered Owl.  "I must admit it handled 
beautifully, and left a feeling of 'some day?' ... but I did go on to buy a 
second Rolleiflex instead.  Robert didn't seem to mind.  I am very fortunate 
to have him as one of my local dealers."

"Dealers.  That's an interesting question," said Rabbit, thankfully changing 
the subject.  "For Nikon, you've been a loyal customer of Gray Squirrel of 
Westminster.  If you buy a Leica, will you go to Red Squirrel of Old Street?"

"Who knows?" replied Owl.  "There is much to do before I am ready to buy 
digital.  I need to borrow or rent a Leica rangefinder to see how well it 
suits -- a most useful suggestion.  I need to wait a while to see whether 
Nikon will release a new second-tier DX camera.  And I need to sort out my 
thinking on an interesting suggestion by e-mail from David Ching."

"What sort of animal is David?" asked Pooh.

"I cannot be sure, but since he lives in Singapore he may well be a Chinese 
Panda."

"It must be a good idea," said Pooh, "if it comes from a type of bear."

"He picks up the second half of my original post," said Owl, "where I 
suggest a set of prime lenses as a cheaper step up than an f/2.8 zoom.  He 
points out that the primes lenses would also weigh less ... and that, 
although first-tier Nikons weigh more than Leica, Nikkor lenses weigh much 
less.  So a set comprising a D800E and some primes could weigh less in total 
than an M-240 and the equivalent primes.

"The walkabout set, that I have half in mind when I think about Leica, is an 
M-240 together with 35mm and 75mm Summicrons.  According to Leica's website, 
that weighs 1365g.  With 1.5 cropping, I can get 24mm, 36mm, 50mm and 75mm 
from a set comprising a D800E and 24mm and 50mm primes, which weighs 1290g.

"Very interesting.  I shall need to think about that one carefully.  Build 
quality is against it: I do not feel comfortable with the build of Nikon 
short autofocus primes (even though they are very light and inexpensive), 
and I doubt whether the D800E build will match than of the M-240.  In its 
favour, the Leica kit costs nearly three times as much."

"We should also point out", said Kanga, "that although he calls 
buildqualititis a medical problem and call himself Dr Owl, he is not a 
medical doctor."

"Bah!" said Eeyore.  "Anyone who takes medical advice from a fairy story 
deserves what he gets."