[Leica] Owl says thank you and speculates wildly

[images at comporium.net (Tina Manley)]

I think you are on the right track and can't go wrong with the 240 or
whatever it is they are going to call it.  I'm not in the market for one
right now since I have the perfect color camera, the M9, and the perfect
B&W camera, the MM.  I can't imagine wanting live-view or video but I will
probably be there someday.  I hope you will be able to get some good candid
shots of Christopher Robin and Roo.  My son is named after one and my cat
the other.

Tina

On Wed, Jan 30, 2013 at 5:22 PM, John Owlett <owl at postmaster.co.uk> wrote:

> "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."
>
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-- 
Tina Manley, ASMP
www.tinamanley.com