rico_tudor

Are we talking about Nocti-Monkey? That thread alone was worth a year's subscription to PN!

Hmmph. With a wife like that, I would insist that I reduce my use of her so that she stays valuable for years to come.

 

I'm in the market for an early chrome 35, and Stephan is right about the eyes: many more offerings, and cheaper. Nonetheless, I'm avoiding them.

Sorry, John, but EOS lacks MLU capability, only mirror pre-fire. Unless Marc <i>tapes</i> the mirror up (and that sounds dicey), symmetric WA's are out. I've played the "hand-held" adapter game with Contax SLR lenses in front of a D30 - fun stuff! For Leica and CV M lenses, you need the real-deal MLU from the RTS III, Nikon F, K1000, etc.

Sandy, you're a Prince among men. Thanks also to Josh, Tony et al. Happy New One, all.

I'm like Didier: visited this forum every day (for a year), didn't register or post, finally bought an M4 two weeks ago. If this place is a nut-house, color me insane!

Alex, thanks for the write-up. I considered the Nikon S3 as a first RF, but decided that Leica M had the critical mass I wanted. As for Contax RF repair, have you considered Henry Scherer at zeisscamera.com? Web coverage of his repair methodology for pre- and post-war cameras is so impressive that I'm still planning to get one of these shooters.

I feel much better. If I have to explain to my wife why there are 6 SLRs and 14 lenses on my shelf, I can just point to this thread. In fact, I have plenty of head room - which is good since an M4 body just arrived today. Two more lenses should do it. Uh, huh.

I was genuinely inspired by CV on learning of them at Gandy's site: broad product line, practical features, attractive designs. The clincher was pricing - cheap compared to Leica.

 

Then I began to hear of the heavy wear on camera finish, and rickety construction. That's when I decided that Cosina (as usual) could not be trusted to ship a robust body, even for $500. So I bought an M instead.

 

Now I'm looking for a starter optic, and know about CV lenses coming apart. Yet that price is so alluring! It's clear from Charles' report - and Gandy's response - that a CV lens is false economy. I will continue to entertain Konica and Minolta options, in addition to the Summaron 35.

I bought wine in the '80s from Christies, during the reign of Michael Broadbent MW. The mark-up... I mean, commission was 15% to the seller and 10% to the buyer. While this seems high compared to e*ay, the buyer enjoyed significant benefits.

 

Most importantly, the buyer had a contract with Christies, who was responsible for correctly describing, delivering and taking payment for the wine. The seller (or cellar) was unimportant, except if you wanted to expand your collection of relics from Balmoral Castle. With a uniform description from Christies of a bottle's condition, you are able to make a remarkably informed decision to buy. Really expensive items can be viewed in the flesh.

 

The mark-up is worthwhile for wine, given its delicate nature and the genuinely rare and unusual selections that Christies can produce. There were many restaurant buyers in the audience: did you think Veritas ages their mature wine in the basement?

 

Buying Leica equipment from Christies is silly. Nothing, including gold-plated M4-2 and Karung leather editions, is so rare that the mark-up is tolerable. Well, until you hit the $10000 level.

I cannot devote the time to scan ten frames at a sitting, let alone hundreds. With all its warts, a DSLR is ideal for banging out the images for digital destinations like the Web or a CDROM. Lately, I prefer 4x6 prints with the occasional enlargement, and 135 film is perfectly up to the task (easy, too). Travel plans call for a Contax Aria with two small primes, but my new M4 may take pole position.

I thank digital for getting me back into photography but -like Fazel- I largely reverted to film after a year with the D30. Digital conspires to distract me from the pure picture-taking moment, what with the batteries, camera modes, blinking lights, and the god-awful weight. I currently enjoy the Contax manual-focus SLRs, but am ready to sample the rangefinder way. I settled on Leica M after long thoughts about the Contax IIa.

 

Jack may yet return here!

A long-time lurker comes out of the woodwork, registers at PN, and casts another vote for Josh as Moderator of the Year. That the status quo is being preserved is one of three reasons that I've bid for (and won tonight) a Leica M - first RF for me. Second reason is Leica's reversal on repair parts for 3rd parties. Third reason is the publication by Solms of lens MTF. Taken together, I get a broad sense of support for what looks to be an expensive hobby :-)

 

I don't think PN can expect the self-assembly of Encyclopedia Leica using this web interface, and with this unruly crowd. I see an attempt at this on contaxinfo.com, and the results are stultifying. The use of "site:photo.net" with a Google search is very effective at ferreting the rich Leica content from rough-and-ready PN archiving.

 

My take on various forums on the Web. Teutonic Order rules at contaxinfo.com: technical info accumulates, but divergent conversation is edited without mercy. DPReview.com is kiddy chat incarnate: good info exists, but finding it is like fishing for krill with a tea strainer. Usenet rec.photo.*: absolute chaos, but thrilling in unexpected ways, and archived for all eternity. PN: lousy interface, but really the best mix of chat, technical reference, pictorial content - with a dash of the picante to keep us awake.

 

BTW, I was angling for an M3 or M2 but, in its capricious way, Ebay would not cooperate. Jay will be please to hear I finally turned to the charms of the M4. Now I need a 35 with grub screws!