bill_lee2

I respect people that give straight forward opinions and advice

like, "fix it." I think people are mean spirited to make fun of

Bryan or call him a liar. This place is almost like the LUG now. I

suppose I am inviting attacks now, huh. Bring them on.

I forgot to mention that they only sell official products with

warrantees. The current M6TTL grey price is only HK$800 less than

the official product which I purchased at HK$12,200.

The only two places where I would buy photo equipment in Hong Kong

are Wing Shing and Man Shing in Mong Kok. They are the only two

honest shops that I know of in Hong Kong. The sales people are

generally friendly, but don't expect much service in terms of giving

you product information, etc. You can expect to get very fair prices

and complete products without stuff taken out of the box (adapters,

caps, etc.). There isn't much bargaining at these places because the

prices that they quote are pretty good to begin with. I bought a new

M6TTL from Man Shing two months ago for HK$12,200. That was the

price he quoted right off the bat and there was no room to move.

Credit card payments are not charged another 2-3% like some other

places, but they don't like American Express. Happy shopping.

I use an Op/Tech Classic strap adapted for my M6. The Op/Tech straps

are a comfortable neoprene which are soft and make the camera feel

lighter. I took the original Leica strap and cut it (yup, I cut it)

to remove the metal ring and the plastic cover for those rings. Then

I used the original rings and hooked them on my Op/Tech strap to

attach it to my M6 just like an original Leica strap. I wouldn't

worry about cutting your original Leica strap since they are very

uncomfortable and you'll probably never use them again anyway. Give

it a try.

I just saw the movie last night too. If memory serves me correctly,

Brad Pitt was actually using one black and one chrome M4-P in ever

ready cases with meters attached to the hot shoes. It was nice to

spot the Leica's and the movie was great too.

 

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Like to take this chance to congratulate you on your marriage Alfie.

Hop down to Hong Kong if you can. You can pick up a brand new

official M6TTL for around HK$12,200 or US$1,560. That's pretty

good. Grey market is even cheaper.

Wow! Thanks for so many great responses. It is so hard to decide

because there are just so many great places with their own unique

character and attraction that we want to visit them all. It is

doubly hard because it is our honeymoon vacation and so we would like

it to be especially romantic.

 

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I am trying to imagine photographing my bride in all these different

places to help me decide. I think we would like to avoid places that

are too cold in January so we don't end up with a lot of pictures

with ourselves looking like cartoon characters from South Park in

heavy winter coats. I had considered Bali and Mauritius but it is

heavy rain season in those types of places during January and we

would end up with too many pictures of a soggy bride.

 

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Thinking about my honeymoon destination has made me think about how

wonderfully diverse and beautiful our world truly is. Most of the

news has been dominated by the craziness that has recently affected

everyone and could really leave one wanting to just cocoon. But

there is much beauty in our world.

 

Anymore suggestions? Thanks a lot everybody. I'll let everyone know

about where we decide.

My bride and I can't decide on where to go for our honeymoon in mid January. There is a lot of travel experience on this forum and I would be very interested and grateful to hear about the different places that people would recommend as the perfect honeymoon destination for newly weds traveling with a Leica. I would prefer to avoid the Middle East with the way things are going right now. We will be leaving from Hong Kong and will be returning to Vancouver after the honeymoon. I would appreciate any suggestions.

 

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Thanks a lot.

My Elan 7E is very quiet for an SLR. If you haven't checked it out

yet I am sure that you would be surprised too. Combined with USM

lenses you get a very quiet system.

Check out the Voigtlander VC meter at the Cameraquest site:

 

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http://www.cameraquest.com/voivcmet.htm

I take back what I said about newer lenses not fitting on my M5.

After I read that Cing-Dao had no problems I just tried it again

without pressing the lens in too firmly and it turned properly into

place. I guess I just never bothered to fiddle with it very much

before and I just matched older lenses with it. Stupid me. I never

take my 50mm lux off it anyway so it was never a real problem, but

its nice to know that I can use newer lenses on it. Thanks.

My M5's film advance lever sets at the end of the stroke in the same

way as you describe, although I wouldn't say it is as harsh as

a "clunk."

 

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I love my M5 with the uncluttered framelines. I use it with the

previous version 50mm lux with the rigid hood. The only thing that

bothers me about the M5 is that I can't use newer lenses like my 35mm

cron ASPH on it. The new lenses don't fit on the M5 because the

mount on the lenses aren't machined as thin as the older versions, so

they get blocked by a pin in the camera body which moves the metering

cell arm. Plus they don't even bother to make the groove for this

pin on the newer lenses. I hope this description makes sense. Maybe

someone else can describe this better. Anyhow, I love using my M5

and I am sure you'll enjoy it too.

I'd go for the Yashica T4 with its Carl Zeiss T* 35mm f/3.5 lens.

The Yashica's $169 price is much better value than the Contax T3 at

$699. I would be less nervous about handing over the Yashica to a

stranger to take family snap shots for me when on vacation, compared

to a Contax or Minilux. I also don't have to worry too much about

the Yashica's 35mm focal length making me look fatter than I already

am in my family photos--especially when I am asking a stranger to

compose for me. I would avoid any compact with a wider lens than

35mm. Strangers, and myself, almost never bother with the zoom

function so I'd avoid that. I also wouldn't get much use out of the

T3's aperature priority, manual focusing, or even the f/2.8 etc.

Sometimes I just want a high quality point and shoot camera to

supplement my M when traveling. I'd only go for the T3 if it was

half price though. The Yashica T4 is really good value. My 2

pennies.

I recently posted a question about Leica prices in Hong Kong and I

got some great advice and help from Eddie, Hoyin, and Wayne. Take a

look at this thread:

 

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http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=005kqF

 

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Tin Cheung grey prices are at www.tincheungcamera.com.hk

 

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The Leica agent in Hong Kong is Schmidt & Co. You can find a list of

authourized Leica dealers and the official price list of all Leica

equipment in Hong Kong at their website www.schmidtgroup.com

 

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I will be traveling to Hong Kong in August and I plan on buying a

grey market M6 for US$1400, which comes with a Leica Germany

warranty. The price of an official product with a one year

international warranty after some bargaining should be $1550. It is

unlikely that there will be anything wrong with a grey market

camera. In the event that there is a problem, and although Leica

Canada will not touch grey market and Leica New Jersey will fix it

but charge me, I can take the $150 and send it to Leica Germany for

warranty repair.

 

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I'll post my experience when I get back.

After reading the question I right away went and poured myself some

Glenlivet 12. I will try his recommendation about the Pelligrino and

lemon peel, sounds delicious. I would go for Macallan 12 or 18 too.

They are wonderful. I haven't tried their 25 yet.

 

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I think a Leica also pairs very well with a nice aged tawny or

colheita port. Play with a black paint M4, sip some Niepoort and

smoke a Cuban Upmann. Mmm. I don't own a black paint M4 but that's

what I'd do to celebrate if I got one--and take photos with it

ofcourse.

I would be grateful if Leica users in Hong Kong would give me an idea of how much a new M6 TTL 0.72 would cost over there. I am considering buying in HK when I head over there next month. I usually visit Man Shing Photo Supplies in Mong Kok but perhaps there are other places that you would recommend. I believe I will have a one/two year international warranty that is effective in Canada, but please let me know about international warranty details if you can. If the price difference isn't big or if the warranty is a problem then I'll just buy in Canada before my trip. Any help is much appreciated.

Residential real estate developer. Permanent residence in Vancouver

BC Canada. Home away from home is Hong Kong. I will also be soon

opening my first restaurant--why not? Other interests include,

playing the bamboo flute, martial arts (Wing Chun, Aikido), and the

art of chinese tea. Love horses and dogs. Used to ride english but

don't have time now. Have a rottweiler. No, rottweilers are not

vicious. They only sometimes have very stupid owners (just like kids

sometimes have very stupid parents) so they suffer. Sometimes I also

catch the golf bug.

 

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My father used to own a camera store. He had all sorts of stuff but

he loved Leicas the most. My father passed away over ten years ago.

Now I love that I use and appreciate the same Leica that he

cherished. Every time I can enjoy any Leica camera I always feel the

memory of my father, every time. Thank-you Leica.

Thanks Jim,

 

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My camera is an Elan 7E/EOS 30. Looking at the screen it seems like

it shoud be removable but I am not sure. It doesn't appear scratched

from my previous attempt at cleaning it but from your advice I will

not try it again. It really isn't that dirty but I am one of those

retentive types. Perhaps I'll bring it into my local shop for them

to take a peek. Thanks.

Is it safe to use lens paper and cleaning fluid on a Canon Lasermatte focusing screen? My focusing screen is getting dusty and blowing it is not doing the job. I have actually already tried using lens paper and fluid but the ridges in the screen make it difficult to clean. Only after trying to clean it did it occur to me that the plastic may not accept the cleaning fluid very well. Anyone have any suggestions or experience? Or should I just bring it in? Thanks.

Jason,

 

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To better understand your needs may I ask you what aspects of your 28-

200mm do you not like? Why do you think it is a big mistake? What

equipment did you use before and what did you like/dislike about the

handling and the results?

Take a look at the June 2001 issue of Popular Photography which is on

the rack right now. They have an article on 24mm to tele zooms which

discusses exactly what you are asking about. It is an interesting

read. They basically point out that the angle of coverage changes

significantly with the change in the wide end: from a 35mm's 63

degree angle of coverage to a 28mm's 75 degrees (19% increase); and a

28mm to a 24mm's 84 degree angle of coverage (12% increase). I hope

this helps.

I was hoping someone could direct me to where I can find a complete list of prime lens specs, or maybe even zoom lenses too. I found the official Canon site not very helpful. They only have specs for a select number of lenses. I actually got more useful information from B&H's web site. What I am looking for specifically are which primes have ring USM if any (so nice and quiet), IF, filter sizes, weight, etc. I am looking to purchase 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, etc. for various types of photography. Any recommendations?

 

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Thanks a lot.

Bob is absolutely right. You are not to blame for what happened

because under no circumstances should a person be assaulted and

battered. I am sorry if any part of my response came accross as

blaming you. You did just fine since you were able to leave and talk

about it. I also agree with Bob's advice about seeking help if you

continue to be troubled by the event. In the past I rehearsed the

events of when I was physically confronted over and over again to

analyze what I did wrong too. It is normal to do that, but sometimes

it is helpful to have a professional help us figure things

out. "Maybe I should have done this, or said that..." You didn't

ask for it to happen and was able to get out in one piece so over all

you did really well. I would bet my house that half the martial

artists that I train with would have done worse--and that's being

conservative.

 

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Sincerely,

Bill Lee (not Bill Mitchell)

I Hope you are doing OK. How are your injuries? I too have faced

hostile people, crazy people and have been mugged before and it was

always very disturbing.

 

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"When should a photographer give up his camera?"

 

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A photographer should give up his camera whenever he/she feels

physically threatened.

 

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When I am not taking pictures I am a dedicated martial artist. I

train five to six days a week for mental and physical exercise and

for self defense. The more power and skill I develop the more I

realize how easy and how seriously we can be injured. It only takes

a few seconds for the whole thing to start and finish with someone on

the floor needing an ambulance. It doesn't matter how skilled I am

because I know I could be faced against someone better. I could also

have had a few drinks (in a bar) or I could be sick or injured to

begin with--there are too many factors to the outcome. No camera,

watch or wallet is worth the risk.

 

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You were extremely lucky. Though I can understand if you don't feel

that way right now. What happened to you was wrong. It was unjust.

It wasn't fair. You didn't deserve it. What happened was wrong and

what also could have happened could have been a tragedy. You were

able to leave and tell about it instead of being in a hospital in

Melbourne. You were lucky.

 

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I don't care if other photographers fought so and so and survived

this or that and got a Nobel Prize photo. Your life, your health,

and your ability to survive and care for the people you love is more

important. I do admire people who are willing to risk their lives

for a cause greater than themselves. But recklessly risking your

life for a camera isn't worth it.

 

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What would I do now? I would try to find a positive result from the

negative event and learn from the situation. That is how we gain

wisdom and find meaning to the events in our lives. I would try to

be grateful that I wasn't more seriously hurt. I would try to

understand my priorities in life and in a conflict situation. I

would examine how I behave, feel, and react in a conflict. The

aspects of self defense are not limited to a mat, a gym, or a dojo.

They include an awareness of your surroundings and people as well as

communication skills for angry and hostile people in conflict

resolution. I think everyone should learn these skills.

 

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I would not seek vengeance. I have a policeman in my family and I

know that they wouldn't have done more than what they did for what

was in their eyes just a bar fight resulting in a few cuts and

bruises. Police don't go looking for more confrontation if

everything has already settled down and ended. I believe lawyers

probably cannot help you also because you have no witness and the

police report was useless. I am sure there are lawyers reading who

could offer better advice though. Anyway, the more you seek

vengeance the more you can't let go, and the more they will continue

to hurt you. If you really want revenge then let them continue being

the way they are and have their lives suffer for it. Those two guys

and the "door bitch" will get theirs. Don't waste more of your life

on them.

 

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There was no glory in standing up to them and becoming their standing

target. The little red dot isn't your family crest and you don't

need to protect Leica's honour with you life. Almost everyone who

has responded has told you to give up your camera. The only time I

would fight is if my loved ones were in danger or if they give me no

other option. Lord have mercy on MY soul if that happens.

 

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Sincerely,

Bill Lee

I would like to carry two bodies with me and have colour film in one and B&W in the other. If you were to carry two bodies with different lenses on them, which lens would be preferred for colour film and which one for B&W? I would really like to learn from everyone's experiences and preferences so I will leave the specific focal lengths open to suggestion.

 

<p>

 

I am sure the answers will vary with individual style and interest in photography, and I think I can learn a lot because of that.

 

<p>

 

Thanks in advance.

 

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Bill