scott_doffek

No opinion on rigidity, but have a strong opinion on the TT products. I love them. I have the

Airport Acceleration and Change Up. Love them both and can atest to their qulity. Good luck

on the decision, either one will be a strong pack I'm sure.

Scott

Very nice gallery Jim. I too have a D3 for travel and am finding that I am using it more every

day, on the road or not.

Cheers.

Welcome to the D3 world. It has its pluses and minuses, but so far I am very impressed. I

am beginning to love the B/W mode. Sorry, I don't have any secrets, just need to get used to

the feel of it. Hope you enjoy the camera. A few recent pics from the D3.

http://www.pbase.com/snj/irvine_4th_of_july_5k

I have the Leica version. Its a nice feature packed camera. But so is the Panasonic. I talked

to the local Leica rep, who said it really is a small diff in the firmware. Either one is a great

GP camera.

Cheers....

BTW - the Leica classic brown cases are starting to hit the market again finally.......great

classic Leica styling....

A couple of documentaries that may interest you:

Alfred Stieglitz: The Eloquent Eye

Annie Leibovitz DVD - Directed by Rebecca Frayn

American Experience: Ansel Adams - A Documentary Film

W. Eugene Smith: Photography Made Difficult

All great DVDs. Several Leica sightings in them. All available through Blockbuster

Online.

Cheers.

Scott

Some despise the Everready case, but I use the lower half as protection and only put the

cover on when transporting. They can be had used for a reasonable (relative) price. Check

KEH or ADORAMA used sales.

Lots of good discussion here. My recent introduction into the Leica world has made me a

huge fan of the cameras form/fit/feel/function. I've shot a few differnt models of the

Canon line up, and still shoot a ton of stuff with their digital bodies. But as an all around

cam, I carry an M6. I've gotten to really enjoy the slower pace of shooting with it. (slower

on purpose, although I am sure some folks can shoot faster).

I bought my Leica equipment about a year ago. I found a vendor that had an auction of

old stock from a store foreclosure. Recently I've seen the same bodies going for the same

or more $$ than what I paid. There are some great deals to be had.

Personally, I don't see the death of film in the near future. Maybe my head is buried in the

sand to deep, but I just can't see it happening soon. Long live film...!

Cheers

Her Leica M6

<img src="http://www.snjphoto.com/her_leica.jpg"

<center>

<img src="http://www.snjphoto.com/lafilming_sm.jpg">

</center>

My completely biased and unscientific (emotion based) recommendation is go M6TTL and buy

tons of film with $$ saved n M7. Neither camera does nything if you don't have the means to

put film in and get it developed.

I am not a life long Leica user, just started recently (12 mos or so ago, w/M6TTL) and have to

wonder why I didn't start using them earlier. My shooting style has slowed down and

improved since I started using them. Part of that I attribute to the fact I am not using the AE

or any other reeal automation with these bodies.

Nuts - no. About to buy a Leica and love it - mostly likely so. My 1st leica was a year or so a

go. I now have 3 and various lenses for them. Hopefully you have a loving and encouraging

wife as well....

BTW - I've started shooting more and more MF (RZ67 pro II) in recent years. Guess the

infactuation with the digital stuff (shooting it since the intro of the Canon 10D) is starting to

wear off for me. Absolutely love Velvia and B/W from the RZ67 ...

One thing you said earlier that really shows a potential for you is the topic of not wanting

to carry those bulky camera around. I use the Leicas as a walking camera and feel that is

one of the beauties of it. I have carried a 1DsMkII and other similar rigs, which draws too

much attention to be used for walking around (IMHO). The M6 allows me to walk and

pretty much go unnoticed. As for all the other tings to consider, yep...they are sturdy and

built for heavy use, extemely well engineered and they have some of the best lenses

available in the world.

I started using Leicas a year ago (new to Leicas, not photography) and currenly have 3 M6-

TTLs and a few lenses. All were bought used. All have performed flawlessly.

Cheers.

Scott

What do you consider economical? Seems most the big names have a head in the

$700-1000 range with packs costing that much or more. Then there are a couple on ebay

that come from china that are a bit cheaper, but I haven't found anyone thats used them at

all. You may want to see what the Alien Bees light is like when it hits the street in a

couple weeks. Or you can call them direct and preorder. They have a couple varieties

coming out (AB and White Lighning) with the AB version in the $399 range. Here's the AB

info.

http://tbreedlove.googlepages.com/ABR800info.pdf

Scott

Currently have 3 M6TTLs and love them. I can't vouch for the "better than" aspects, but can

say I have no regrets so far on the M6TTLs. Built like a tank and very basic, no frills

functionality.

Scott

As JK was implying, you can do this like we used to do in the darkrooms and such. You

can simply do a color print and compare and take mental notes about how far off the

colors are, but that kind of defeats some of the WYSIWG benefits of the digitizing of the

images. Sad to say, but somethings don't really get easier just because they are part of

the digital age.

A good photographer willl always be a good photographer, regardless of media used.

Enough pondering, time to go shoot something for awhile.....

Cheers..