Let's Face It: We're All Wankers and Fondlers

C'mon we all spout about mechanical quality, heft, precision,

materials, butterry smoothness, compactness, how to clean lenses,

piece of dust in my lens, filters to protect our "investment", camera

cases, line-pairs, Erwin, focus ring smoothness, new design (APO,

ASPH must be best)/old design (must be poor), Leica glow...etc.

 

We probably own Rolex watches and Mont Blanc pens for the same reason.

 

Money is no object, I want perfection.

 

Si o No?

Money is an object, but I like whatever nice stuff I can scrounge up. The M2 was a beater from Ebay that was brought back to life by Sherry for a reasonable cost. The Rolex was a wedding gift from the Wife, probably will be my only one for quite some time. My next �M� body will most likely be a Bessa-T. So I guess I wank/fond what I can get a hold of��.

Gee, now I do feel bad...I in fact to own a Rolex, a Mont Blanc plus a collection of Waterman fountain pens. I guess the only saving grace is that the Leicas have all paid for themselves, I've had a collection of short stories and poems published, all drafted with the Watermans....and I'm always on time ;-)

I think wanking and fondling is fine, but I don't know what that has to do with cameras.

 

I use a watch that works rather than a Rolex. I use pens with soft grips. Not sure if Mont Blanc makes one, if it costs about $3 (what I pay now) I might buy one.

But Jeff, It's a proven fact that the ink in a Waterman has far greater depth of color than a $3 pen...and I've also heard that the seconds in a Rolex are far more precise than less expensive watches ;-)

Here's the tools -

 

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<img src="http://www.spirer.com/images/tools.jpg"></center>

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I should make it clear that these are not tools for wanking and fondling.<p>

 

The watch is great because it has a digital stopwatch that I use for long night exposures and with my pinhole camera. It also switches time zones without requiring changing time.

Owning and using Leicas, Rolexes etc. makes one an ecclectic, not a wanker/fondler.

 

Owning but not using Leicas, Rolexes etc. makes one a collector, not a wanker/fondler.

 

Owning but not using Leicas, Rolexes etc. but refusing to acknowledge that you're a collector...*that* makes you a wanker/fondler.

Not guilty, I'm afraid. My Leica and my Hasselblad are both super cheap beaters and I use Pilot G1 pens (£1 a box of 25 from Poundsavers). I do have a gold fob watch but that's because my skin reacts badly to wrist watches and there don't seem to be any cheap fob watches around.

 

What's more, I drive a six year old Peaugeot...<div></div>

$3 for a pen? I can't hang with you opulent-lifestyle types.

Here's the wanking and fondling tool:<p>

 

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<img src="http://www.spirer.com/images/tools2.jpg">

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Yeah, it's $3 a package, not $3 a pen. But I will resell them at $3 a pen if anyone is interested. If I can sell 5000 of them, I can buy a Rolex.

 

The Sharpies cost a bit more, but these days there is always a store going out of business where you can pick them up.

Funny you should mention Rolex. If I had to name a watch company most similar to Leica I would name Rolex #1.

But Rolex is more similar to Rolleiflex. They start and end the same.

Jeff, you're using genuine 'Sharpie' brand sharpies?! Rub it in, why don't you!<div></div>

Very astute comparison. Rolexes are also mass-produced but many people mistakenly think they are individually made by hand, too.

As someone who writes between 2000 and 2500 pages a year, my fountain pens are anything but wanker/fondler items. They're practical tools. Yes, I do have a Mont Blanc (No. 149), but it stays at home in the display case most of the time because compared with my Pelikans and Parkers, the nib is second rate. And, yes, my cameras get used -- just wish I had more time to spend in the darkroom.

Steve, to answer your question honestly, the only reason I own a Leica is because there aren't many options -even today with Konica and Voigtlander in the market- if you want a long-lasting, quiet, manual camera body that can be serviced. Pay $300 for a Bessa R that has all the tactile quality of a $99 camera body, clacks like a mouse trap when you fire the shutter and can't be serviced, or save a few bucks and buy a used M6. The M6 can be serviced, if needed, and you can likely sell it for about what you paid for it, if you decide to become a full-time Wanker/Fondler and buy an MP.

Guilty - I have a Mont Blanc, I found it in the Home Depot parking lot. I have 2 watches, one is a Timex, on the other is printed 'Time'. I wonder, is the 2nd watch a Timex factory defect, or did the maker assume I needed instructions? Whatever- the watches' buttons are so fiddly that I leave one on daylight time, the other on standard time. Now, if I could only figure out which is which....

�If I had to name a watch company most similar to Leica I would name Rolex #1.�<p>At least you�ll still be able to use your Rolex when film is gone ;-)

I know a guy who collects watches...his insurance company eventaully refused to insure him because he had so many, so he sold some rather than fit the all-singing, all-dancing burglar alarm they wanted. £6,300 (that's not far off $9,000) for his most expensive Rolex - makes Leicas look cheap.

LMAO!

LMAO was in reference to Sheldon's observation about Rolexes still being usable in a few years from now.

I use 1950s Leicas and drive a 1960 Pontiac.

A Seiko and a Timex. But they're battery dependent and the Timex is not working at present. Pilot Precise V5. Black, no battery. I intend to invest in a sundial and a quill as soon as possible.

Jeez.... It just occurred to me I shook hands with Jeff before having lunch with

him yesterday... How about a warning next time...