luther_berry

Frank,

<p>

Have you considered calibrating your film speed rating per John

Shaw's approach in his Nature Photography books, using your most

often used speeds? This might help some. But if one or more of your

speeds are "off" in the wrong direction and do not fit the

calibration of the other speeds, you might just have to remember to

adjust that speed by 1/2 step more or less as needed.

Good luck. LB

Doron,

<p>

Please personally handle both an M6 and an R8 before making up

your mind. Do NOT take someone else's opinion for what YOU would

prefer. As the previous posts have indicated, there are substantial

differences in handling and uses of the cameras. Only you can decide

which camera style you prefer.

I happen to be like Andrew's friend. I love the size and handling

of the M camera but simply cannot adjust to using the rangefinder for

focusing. (Have used SLR's for 30 plus years.) I own an R8 and love

it but many others prefer the M cameras. If you like the M camera,

you may be limited in close-up photography due to lack of equipment

available, parallax errors, and exposure compensation. R cameras are

better suited for close-up shots. M cameras are better for small

size and quick handling. Both cameras are great but they have

different "personalities". Since it's your money, pick the one you

like most. Happy shooting with your choice. LB

Ray,

<p>

I think we all share your pain and frustration. None of us likes

to see a fellow Leicaphile unable to use his/her camera due to

mechanical malfunction. Couple of questions:

- Do you know anything about the qualifications of local person

attempting to repair the R8?

- Have you considered sending one or two of your lenses along with

the body for testing the repair/adjustment?

- Would it be safer to send the camera all the way back to Solms

for repair?

<p>

Best wishes for a speedy and satisfactory repair/adjustment.

<p>

LB

Bill,

Women always seem to enjoy Hawaii and there are lots of things to

photograph. I took my wife there for our 25th anniversary and wound

up going again the following year. Each time we visited two of the

islands. Oahu and Hawaii were our favorites although Maui and Kauai

were also great. Best wishes for a long and happy marriage.

LB

Well, I definitely am not rich and probably am not highly talented

as a photographer. But I do appreciate fine quality photographic

equipment and enjoy using it to take pictures for my own pleasure. I

also continually strive to improve my photographic skills.

Am glad I don't have to qualify as a "talented pro" or have someone

else's approval in order to spend my hard earned money for Leica

gear. I'm happy with my choice and that is what matters to me.

I hope the new Leica Summicron-R 90mm lens will be an APO. Currently

using an older 90mm Summi-R as my "normal" lens on R8. Would like to

have a new super-sharp version since I shoot most of my pictures with

this lens. LB

Peter,

I also habitually adjust the ASA rating or exposure override on my

cameras to fine tune the exposures. For years I rated K'Chrome 64 at

80-100 in N cameras. Am now experimenting with new Leica R to

determine what ASA setting I prefer with this camera (and projector).

My preference for usage is to set a consistent ASA rating for the

film and reserve exposure override changes for adjustments to

specific, individual shots. Good shooting. LB

It is an absolute sure thing that Leica cameras and lenses will now

be sold at huge discounts! In the last 8 months I bought a Leica R

plus 6 lenses/extenders. Just as it always rains after I wash my car,

prices always drop AFTER I buy an item (especially an expensive item).

Have your checkbooks ready. :-) LB

BTW, it isn't just the M camera users who have a closet full of

skeletons (excuse me, camera bags). As a previous Nikon user and

current Leica R user, I tried various brand X and Nikon bags. I even

confess to having used a Halliburton hard case. Now use a Lowepro

MiniTrekker and some LowePro Street/Field System units. Good

shooting! LB

Friends,

Thanks to all who responded in such depth. Your helpful postings

have given me much to think about. It is clear that I underestimated

the learning curve, complexity, and difficulties in scanning/printing

K'chrome slides. (And I am addicted to K'chrome!)

Your responses also enabled me to see this before spending

considerable time and money. My photographic interest is definitely

still with film images. Does this make me a dinosaur or an old

codger resistant to change? Hope not but I really do enjoy using my

Leica R8 and lenses to create (hopefully) beautiful images. For now,

I will concentrate on taking more K'chrome slides. My lesser

interest in digital scanning/printing can wait until another time

when technology changes may simplify the process and improve the

tools even more. Will save this valuable information for reference

when I again consider entering the digital image world.

Thanks again. LB

(Sorry, hit wrong key and sent message prematurely.)

<p>

Primary photography related books (as opposed to painting, drawing,

etc.) consist of Time-Life books (25 in collection) from the 80's:

- Photographing Nature

- The Studio

- The American Wilderness series

- World's Wildplaces series

Would that my results were as good. LB

Robin,

I haven't set a fixed price limit but am interested in a quality

consistent with my photo gear (Leica R8 with 50/1.4, 90/2.0, 180/2.8

APO, 280/4.0 APO and APO extenders). Then will decide if I am

willing to pay the price required. As a general guideline, might be

willing to pay about the price of R8 body for scanner and printer.

Will that get me a quality setup or will the price be higher?

<p>

Douglas,

One of my interests involves "doing it myself" so I have not

considered having the slides scanned by a lab. If it were possible

with K'chrome, I would also develop the slide film myself. (Did some

B/W lab work years ago.)

<p>

My initial search efforts discovered the Nikon 4000 film scanner

and H-P PhotoSmart 1218 (is this a scanner or a printer?). Have had

good experiences with H-P printers. How are their photo printers?

Thanks again for your interest and suggestions. LB

I would like to scan my K'chrome 64 slides of scenics and animals, possibly do some "minor" manipulations to improve the images and send them to friends on the internet or print for framing and displaying in my study or office.

Any suggestions for a) scanner brand or specs required, b) PC software, c) printer/paper brand or specs? Sorry to include so much in this question, but I want to make sure all equipment is compatible and not run into a dead end. Am also planning to replace my PC.

Thanks for your advice. LB

For those with more Leica knowledge, why are the Leica R lenses generally larger and heavier than the equivalent M lenses since they both have to cover the same image size? Is it because the R lens must sit farther from the film plane due to mirror clearance?

This is not a criticism of the R system but just curiosity. I very much like my Leica R8 and lenses. The fine precision, silky smooth movements, and fantastic images make the equipment a joy to use. Thanks for your input. LB

"Similitudes" is indeed an English word. Have misplaced my Spanish

dictionary and do not know if it is also a Spanish word. In English,

it means "image, likeness, counterpart, etc.". It is an appropriate

word for a Leica photographer to use. I think we, as photographers,

share many common similitudes, no matter that we may live in

different parts of the world. LB

My first "real" camera was a Kodak rangefinder (Colt?) with fixed

lens (1 yr). Then came a Minolta SR7 (3 yrs) which was replaced by a

Nikon F2 Photomic (5 yrs). Added a pair of Nikon F3HP's (20 yrs).

Just this year replaced most of the Nikon stuff with a Leica R8 and

the following Leica R primes: 50/1.4, 90/2.0, 180/2.8 APO, and

280/4.0 APO with 1.4X APO and 2X APO extenders.

As you can see, I like SLR's and long lenses. Except for prints of

my family, I shoot only Kodachrome 64 slides of wildlife and scenics.

Project the slides onto a 72" screen with Leica projector. WOW!! LB

Dan,

Be careful to protect the body opening from blowing sand when

changing lenses, especially at the beach. May be an obvious

precaution to you but it wasn't to me! I once had a brand new Nikon

SLR film advance lock up solid shortly after a trip to the beach.

Service shop called me just an hour after I dropped the camera off

for repair and asked me if I had recently been to the beach. They

blew a single grain of sand out of my new camera and it worked

perfectly again. Lesson learned! LB

My thanks to all of the posters on this forum! I never met any of

you personally and yet I have felt a closeness to you this week.

Sharing our grief, anger, frustration, disbelief, and hope has helped

me try to deal with this unbelievable act of terrorism. I keep

waiting to hear some newsperson say "And this concludes Orson

Welles's latest thriller from Hollywood". But this is REAL, although

I still have difficulty grasping the truth of that.

Thanks again to all. I look forward to sharing better times and

happier thoughts with you. LB

I have also noted the M bias on this site and am a little surprised.

If you like the Leica M or Nikon or Canon, etc. that is great. Is

your camera/car/house better/bigger/more expensive than mine? Who

cares? I hope everyone can buy and use the camera system they prefer.

<p>

I recently left the N system after 30 years and joined the Leica R

family. I thoroughly enjoy the manual focus, slick precision build

quality, superb lenses, and intuitive, easy-to-use controls which let

me exercise my creativity in taking pictures. I don't care for

autofocus or motors/winders. I like manual focus/manual advance

cameras and manual shift sport sedans. The Leica R system is a joy to

use and (when I do my part well) provides great images/slides.

<p>

Having said all this, I do enjoy reading opinions, experiences, and

suggestions from others on this forum. The exchange of ideas and

knowledge can be very interesting and frequently helpful. LB

Fabio,

I believe the SCA351 uses an analog signal while the SCA3501/3502

use digital signals. The M6 and R8 both use digital signals,

therefore you MUST use the SCA3501 or 3502. But since the Metz45 CL4

uses analog signals, you must also use the SC3000 converter between

the SCA3501/3502 and your Metz flash. I use this combination on my

R8 and Metz 45 CL4. It works great, just as Metz says on their

internet site. Good Luck, LB