Leica Academy

<p>Hello all,<br /> I live in a city, (San Francisco) that hosts Leica Academy sessions, and I have wondered for a while now, is it worth doing?<br /> I shoot primarily with an m6. The Academy wants participants to use an m9 and will loan an m9, but I want to shoot with a film camera, not a digital camera. Are these tutorials nothing but a marketing ploy? Is there anything to be gained by a person who wants to shoot film? Or are they trying to pull us in like carp using the loaned m9, which I am sure is a beautiful beast, but I have picked my pony and don't want to use a digital camera... I would love to hear from those who have a thought on the matter. <br /> Thanks for input, Lenore.</p>

<p>IMO, it's probably a chunk of both. Let's face it, the ability to download an image to a big monitor/screen immediately and critique it is a *huge* advantage. There is always the sub-text of a company wanting to sell you whatever they have. The online seminars from XRite or NIK and the like have lots of good information but they lean toward the 'look what you can do w/ this neat device'. Of course Leica wants to sell you more trinkets in the end but a lot depends on the curriculum of the sessions. Did you inquire about that?</p>

<p>Hi Lenore, <br>

I was looking into this also because LHSA is in Austin this month as well as a Leica Akademie. </p>

<p>There is a guest lecture, drinks, and a field trip to the Texas Hill Country on the weekend. The free guest lecture was booked, I don't drink, and I can go to the Hill Country any time I please. That just left the Leica Akademie for me to be interested in. </p>

<p>The Akademie is $200 to shoot for an afternoon with an M9 and a guardian, and you end up with a coupon for $150 towards any new Leica item. When I read this, I was unimpressed. I'd rather spend the afternoon with a salesperson on a car lot. :-/</p>

<p>Many years ago I attended one of the 2 or 3 day Leica Schools.<br>

Howard is on the right track; one does learn much about Leica products together with some photographic techniques. You also get the shoot time with the latest Leica equipment.<br>

Jim, unless one is an underage person, I don't understand why a "guardian" is required. I certainly never experienced that at the Leica School. We basically left the building with the equipment for the picture taking session and were on our own. (grown-ups).<br>

At the end of the workshop we were offered new latest "R" bodies at a fairly attractive discount. I did take advantage of that!</p>

<p>""I don't understand why a "guardian" is required"". Could be the $7,000 cameras, plus at least another grand for a lens? For $200 , and a good pair of sneakers, you could make a run for it.</p>

<p>Hm. It sounds like a great opportunity;<em> if</em> you are thinking of acquiring an m8 or m9. But is there a point if you want to stick with film? Jim's annalysis is about on par with what I was thinking, I was just curious if anyone out there who uses an older body or mp had attended one of these things and thought it was a worth while experience in its own right. Honestly, I am a little afraid to spend an afternoon with an m9 for fear of gear lust. I need to long for another ten thousand dollars worth of Leica gear like I need a whole in my head.</p>

<p>You would get more personalized schooling and less salesmanship from your local Jr. College I would think. S</p>

I had the opportunity to be a guest lecturer at a previous Austin Leica Academy event. It was a fun day; the participants got to test drive the M9, and we all had a nice discussion. It's not as "instructional" as the Nikon School (or the Photo Mentor Series, which is pretty hardcore), but it's enjoyable & depending on who's speaking you'll probably learn something if you're new to Leica digital.