asimrazakhan

<p>Is there a place in the Boston/Cambridge area that services Leicas? I have an MP and a 50 Lux Asph that I'd like to have calibrated. But would anyone be able to do it between Jan 29 and Feb 2 while I'm visiting there?</p>

<p>Also, does anyone know of any good camera stores in this area that I could just go and visit?</p>

<p>thanks</p>

<p>I'll be in Cambridge/Boston (right next to MIT) on Jan 30-Feb 2 (4 days). Is there a place there that can do proper slide film developing? I have a couple of rolls of Provia 100F that I'd like to process. <br>

These are important photos because they are the only film photos of my newborn daughter. <br>

Oh, and I won't have a car with me but I could take a taxi I guess. I'm familiar with Boston because I lived there 20 years ago.</p>

<p>Also, does anyone know of any good camera stores I could visit? I shoot with Leica equipment and wouldn't mind having a look at some camera stores just for the fun of it.</p>

<p>I agree with everything PC B has mentioned. The two second delay is really a moot point since you have to spend a few seconds on composition and aperture settings. I would totally go with the M7 because it is just what I love in a camera (on paper at least). The only thing is that I would prefer having a fully manual camera if I were to only carry around one camera. I have the MP at the moment. My other cameras are Pentax film cameras. I often think that I should get a backup M-mount body like the M7 or Zeiss ZI. I want one with a built in meter but also something that is not too old and unreliable.</p>

<p>Whatever camera you get... just make sure you use it instead of putting it on the shelf. Leica's are best when used.</p>

<p>PC B... could you please clarify what a 6-frame finder on the M7 is. This is new to me and I'd like to learn about it. Thank you.</p>

<p>I think the electronics of the M7 would be much more successful/reliable if it didn't rely so heavily on the DX coding system. From the second you put the film in till when you take it out, everything hangs on the reliability of the DX coding. If there's a problem with that then things get ugly.</p>

<p>People have also reported that the blinking dot of an M7 is annoying. It blinks if you have the the camera set to anything other than what the camera wants it to be (different ISO, exposure compensation). So if you want to push or pull your film or just shoot at a different ISO, or even over or under expose then a dot will always be flashing in the finder.</p>

<p>Also, the ISO dial gets easily turned. There's no lock on it. You could end up shooting a whole roll in an undesired ISO setting (especially if you've gotten your brain used to ignoring the flashing dot).</p>

<p>"<strong>On/off switch causes several second delay.</strong> When the unit is first turned on there is a several second delay before the shutter will work. During this delay, the DX detected ISO speed is displayed in the viewfinder (incidently, if DX is not set, then the display of the manually set ISO speed will blink). This can definitely cause the loss of an important photograph. The solution, of course, is never to turn the camera off, and never store it in such a way that something can rest against the shutter release button to cause the meter to stay on and thus drain the battery" (Tony Rowlett, Photo.net, Leica M7 Camera Review).</p>

<p>I wish Leica would give an upgrade option of totally disengaging the DX reader from the rest of the camera. ISO would just have to be set manually and there would be no flashing dot. There would be no sensitivity issues with the reader reading the wrong ISO speed or not being able to read it at all. The camera would just be one step closer to being mechanical but still have the aperture priority.</p>

<p>I would still go with the MP. I might consider a Zeiss ZI before an M7.</p>

<p>I would go for a Leica MP... here are some things to consider:</p>

<p>1. If you need it to compliment a digital camera, then having an all-manual 'other camera' is, in my opinion, a good idea and psychologically comforting.</p>

<p>2. A used Leica MP is a tough camera to get a hold of. A Leica M7 is readily available. Get the Leica MP if now if you have one in sight and if you later decide you'd rather have the M7 then you won't lose any resale value and the thing will sell very fast.</p>

<p>3. This isn't a big reason, but rather a difference to point out. Aesthetically the MP wins. It is a couple of millimeters shorter, it has classic looks, no red dot, and a black paint version looks even nicer with brassing (not just my opinion but seems to be universally accepted). <br /> A chrome Leica MP also looks beautiful, as does the Leica M7. MP just doesn't have the red dot.</p>

<p>4. The MP has the knob rewinder while the M7 has the crank. The crank is much faster but the knob is more durable. The knob can have a crank attached to it.</p>

<p>5. The M7 has two shutter speeds that work without batteries. The MP fully functions without batteries.</p>

<p>6. The MP is supposed to have a better (more vivid?) viewfinder. I have not made a direct comparison.</p>

<p>7. The M7 has automatic shutter speeds that go up to 30 seconds (i think) along with aperture priority. The MP is fully mechanical so it only has the shutter speeds that are on the shutter speed dial. You'd have to use B setting for longer.</p>

<p>8. The M7 has DX coding for reading your film speed. There is an old version which made it a bit difficult to take out the film since it was held in place inside the chamber. But there is also an upgraded version (you can still get old ones upgraded) which is optical and the film just slides out of the chamber.</p>

<p>9. With all things taken into consideration... I would go with an MP. Even though an M7 has two shutter speeds that work without batteries, it should also be noted that THE POTENTIAL for other things to go wrong with an electronic camera is higher. If the electronics do mess things up, you often won't even be able to use the two battery-free shutter speeds. Messed up electronics often means the camera has to go for repair. This is what I think makes the MP a much more sought after camera than the M7.</p>

<p>10. The best looking bodies are A. Black Paint. This is only available with the MP unless you do the 'a la carte' on the M7. Black paint is glossy and looks nice when it wears away... known as brassing. B. Silver/Chrome. Any camera looks nice with this setup. Both MP and M7 are available in silver/chrome. C. Black Chrome. This looks like a matte black finish. It it very rugged but when it eventually wears away it makes the camera look a bit ugly.</p>

<p>If you don't get the answer here, you could ask on www.rangefinderforum.com</p>

<p> </p>

<p>you may find a lot more users of both systems at <a href="http://www.rangefinderforum.com">www.rangefinderforum.com</a></p>

<p>it seems that is the place where everyone owns a leica and mamiya 6/7. and many own a variety of other rangefinders as well. </p>

<p>two layers of double sided tape with a piece of cardboard sandwiched between.</p>

<p>or</p>

<p>a tiny square of velcro taped to the hotshoe.</p>

<p>either of these could add some pressure to the finder and hold it in place.</p>

<p>I actually love the khaki color of the Land Rover photo you took. It looks like they also have a tent fitted on the roof rack. Its a great vehicle for long distance expeditions but its not comfortable at all. A honda civic is luxurious compared to the grumbly ride of a Land Rover. </p>

<p>the picture of the black one was mine in Dubai. I used to be able to get off the main roads and take short cuts to various locations in the city. I had planned to get a roof rack and a roll cage for protection but I moved from Dubai after a year and sold it as I had bought it. </p>

<p>The great thing about Land Rovers are that they never change the looks of it so the resale value always stays high. The body is also aluminum so it never rusts. I ended up making a profit on mine.</p>

<p>The Tomb Raider you see here was my brothers. It was fitted with everything. I think it could do about 1500 kilometers on one gas fill up. It also had a 50 liter supply of drinking water. and it had all the tools to get out of the worst situations. the tires were also fully off road tires that could go through very soft sand. but on the road it sounded like and even looked like a military vehicle. the tires against the road were so loud that you couldn't have a conversation while sitting inside. the tomb raider could carry about a 10 jerry cans on its body (not inside). In the picture you can see the sand plates on the side, a tent on top, and a canopy on the top corner. </p>

<p>personally i think the land rover is a work of art. to me, it looks best from the back. i love how the rear door opens and there is so much room to carry things. the 110 has seats for nine people. but you could squeeze 12 slim people in easily.</p>

<p>Hi once again. <br /> I went to www.rangefinderforum.com and posted the question on your behalf under the 'Leica M' section. I thought I could save you a few hours and perhaps when you wake up in the morning you'll already have a few responses. The title of the post is "URGENT: Need a Leica in Taiwan". My username on that site is 'Asim'</p>

<p>Sorry I can't be of more help, I'm sitting in Turkey and the last time I went to Taiwan was about 25 years ago.</p>

<p>Again, good luck!</p>

<p>sorry to hear about your dillemma. </p>

<p>i don't have the answer to your question... but i want to make sure that you post your question at rangefinderforum.com. the majority of members on that sight use leicas. you might get an answer there if not here.</p>

<p>good luck</p>

<p>Are there more Leica M7 bodies out there with the old DX coding or the new upgraded optical DX coding systems?</p>

<p>I am planning on purchasing a chrome M7 in EXC condition from KEH.com and was wondering what the chances are that I'll end up getting one with the old DX coding system. </p>

<p>In 2012, if someone has a used M7 with the old DX coding system, is there any way of getting it upgraded? does Leica still do the upgrade?</p>

<p>I'm not sure what specifically I want to ask.... but I guess i'd like to get peoples opinions of the benefits of a 35mm focal length versus a 50mm focal length.</p>

<p>I've used 35mm lenses on various brands for years. I've also used a 43mm on a Pentax extensively. In fact I replaced my Pentax 50mm for the Limited 43mm and 77mm lenses and was quite happy with the combo.</p>

<p>Now I've just recently gotten a Leica M6 with a CV 35mm and a 75mm and I'm at times thinking that I might be better off with just a 50mm along with a very wide such as a 24mm. I like shooting with the Leica.</p>

<p>I shoot only travel photography... which itself includes a variety of styles. I like to take environmental portraits, landscapes, street and architecture shots, as well as minimalist detail shots (a doorknob, a pot of flowers, a cat sitting on a wall, etc...). </p>

<p>using the 35 gets me thinking that I could improve my environmental portraits with a 50mm as well as take detail shots without having to switch to a longer lens ... there would be less distortion and enhanced out of focus blur. </p>

<p>and i could have a 24mm for my wide shots. </p>

<p>I guess the feedback from this question would lead me to ask whats a better combo.... 24, 50, and 90... OR... 21, 35, 75.</p>

<p>By the way... I've thought of the 40mm lens route but have decided against it.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Buying locally means spending about 300-400 dollars more on just the body. Thats 50 percent more than her budget. She would have to downgrade to a lesser body in order to stay within the budget.</p>

<p>I posted this question on the nikon and canon forums. i use pentax, leica, and rollei, but i wouldn't suggest these for her as they are not readily available in turkey.</p>

<p>thank you everyone for all the suggestions. i'll keep checking back for more ideas.</p>

<p>A close librarian friend of mine who lives here in Turkey needs suggestions on which DSLR body to get. Canon and Nikon are prevalent here, so she believes that it would be best for her to go that route (better services and accessories available if needed).</p>

<p>She is new to photography but I can already see that she has the right attitude as she said to me 'the photgrapher matters more than the equipment.'</p>

<p>She doesn't yet have a style developed, but is really interested in learning photography from the ground up. </p>

<p>She has 700 - 800 US dollars to spend. Her friend is visiting NYC and will be making the purchase at B&H photo.</p>

<p>Of course it would be a big plus to purchase a kit so that she can end up with a lens as well in this price range.</p>

<p>Please make suggestions on which body and perhaps which lens she should go with. Again, she is fine with either Canon or Nikon... she just wants the best bang for the buck.</p>

<p>Thank you very much...</p>

<p>A close librarian friend of mine who lives here in Turkey needs suggestions on which dslr body to get. Canon and Nikon are prevalent here, so she believes that it would be best for her to go that route (better services and accessories available if needed).</p>

<p>She is new to photography but I can already see that she has the right attitude as she said to me 'the photographer matters more than the equipment.'</p>

<p>She doesn't yet have a style developed, but is really interested in learning photography from the ground up. </p>

<p>She has 700 - 800 US dollars to spend. Her friend is visiting NYC and will be making the purchase at B&H photo.</p>

<p>Of course it would be a big plus to purchase a kit so that she can end up with a lens as well in this price range.</p>

<p>Please make suggestions on which body and perhaps which lens she should go with. Again, she is fine with either Canon or Nikon... she just wants the best bang for the buck.</p>

<p>Thank you very much<br>

</p>

<p>still nothing compares to the brilliance of a film slide show. even just looking at the slides on a light table is fascinating. slide film is the only form of photographic medium that keeps me going with photography. if slide film were finished, i guess i would start drawing pictures.</p>

<p>with digital, people feel that the instant feedback is one of the high points. i am lucky that i don't have the itch for instant feedback...</p>

<p>i move around quite a bit and don't have access to slide developers for up to a year. in fact i just had a year's worth of slide film processed all together in toronto when i visited for a month. now i'm back in turkey for another year. i guess next summer i'll be doing another batch. that's how little i need instant feeback, and how much slide film is worth it for me.</p>

<p>hahaha... yeah... or maybe a large format box on sitting on a wooden tripod. </p>

<p>i've never gone digital. i've been shooting slide film since i was 7 years old. i'm 40 now. there's really no snobbery involved in me shooting film. i only shoot slide film because its the best way (in my opinion) to view photos... by projecting them.</p>

<p>but his k7 did look nice. it seemed like a really solid camera...moreso than my wifes kx.</p>

<p>So I was traveling around a touristy area of Spain taking photographs with my Pentax MZ-S (film flagship camera) when I noticed a man in his 40's walk up behind where I was shooting and start taking the same photo I had just shot. He had a digital pentax and a big sigma zoom. I rarely see pentax bodies (its always canon or nikon), so I thought I'd go up to him and make some friendly 'pentax conversation'. I said, "Nice camera." To which he replied, "Thank you" as he glanced over at my camera. Then he proudly added, "Yes, this is a K7." Looking at my camera he continued with a smirk, "You've got a really old one there." <br>

I said, "Yeah, I shoot film". And thats when I noticed that he wasn't even listening anymore and was instead just shooting away at the distance landscape with his big sigma zoom. I just walked away at that point wondering if he was being snobbish or not.</p>

<p>As I did walk away, I thought about how he might have reacted if I opened my bag and changed the 43mm which was on the body with my 77mm and then back to my 31mm or FA 20-35 zoom. Maybe he would have thought, since they were small lenses, that they were inferior to his big sigma zoom.</p>

<p>Oh well, I'll remember the guy when I project those provia slides when I get back home.</p>