peter_hughes1

December 20, 2001

</center>

50mm f/2.8 Distagon F. No shade, no filter.

December 19, 2001

</center>

Not to be outdone...

December 18, 2001

...an exhibition of photographs from South Africa taken by Arthur

Ashe's widow...I wonder is she knows that "AID$" is a <a

href="http://www.aidsmyth.addr.com/myth_themyths.htm">fraud</a> and

that her husband was murdered by his doctors.

December 15, 2001

As many of the above answers indicate, the choice is between camera-

as-object and camera-as-tool. The M4 is probably built a bit better

than the M6 and definitely does have a slightly better feel. However,

I find any 35mm camera w/o a built-in meter stifling to the

spontaneous nature of 35mm shooting. At one time or another I've

owned every M from M2 to M6 and I find the meter to be a

highly welcome addition. I now own an R8 and the extra

automation is an asset to my 35mm photography.Of course, there are

many people who feel very differently about this. And if their

methods work for them, great. For me, however, the ability to put the

camera to my eye in "A" mode, focus and shoot, without having to so

much as turn a shutter speed wheel, then shoot again without even

having to wind, is very liberating. The R8 allows me the precise

amount of interaction with the camera that feels comfortable--no

more, no less.

December 14, 2001

The Lunasix is an old meter which uses a CdS cell and batteries that

are not easily available. CdS has a memory, which is why the meter

has a shutter: to keep bright light off the cell when it is not being

used for a reading. And, of course, it does not measure flash.The

new generation of Gossen (and Sekonic and Minolta) meters use Silicon

Photo Diodes and will measure flash. I use a LunaStar F and love it.

My only complaints are that it takes a 9V battery (instead of AA's)

and it does not have a mechanicical shut-off.

December 14, 2001

I think that this is an ugly, condescending, sexist

remark.I agree. And he calls Sarah "Princess"; and in another

post he equates the diety with a "Heavenly Father." Three

strikes is out in my ball game.

December 13, 2001

If I could afford to own a closet full of cameras, I probably

would own a closet full of cameras. But then I would never

know what to take with me when I left the house in the morning. So I

keep myself to one bagfull--in this case a LowePro Micro-Trekker.

Amazingly enough, I can fit an R8 and a Hassy with two lenses each.

(Actually, I plan on expanding my Hassy system so I will probably

have to buy a bigger bag!) I find that these two cameras compliment

each other beautifully.Over the years I have owned more cameras

than I can count--everything from Nikon F's to Deardorff 8x10's. I

miss them all but I'm glad I don't still have them to burden me

down.All of the Japanese cameras, with the exception of the Nikons

and Canons, are forgettable. Sometimes I miss the idiot-proof

automation of the EOS or the built-like-a-brick solidity of the old

Nikons, but I found that the technology in the EOS cameras sapped

away my joy of photography and the older Nikons are just not

automated enough for day-to-day professional work. Sometimes I wish

the Hassy was a 6x7 camera but all of the 6x7's I've owned were less

than endearing; let's face it, one is never going to fall in love

with a Pentax or a Mamaya.I keep coming back to Leica and Hassy,

so I have now decided simply not to get rid of them. That way I don't

ever have to come back to them. I love the Leica M's but, alas, I

find that they are not really suitable for the type of work I do--and

I can't afford to have thousands of dollars tied up in a paperweight.

Still, I look at them fondly every time I go into my dealer's

showroom.

December 13, 2001

I use both a Hassy and a Leica R. I find that they compliment each

other beautifully: the Leica is quicker and more flexible than the

Hassy and allows a level of spontaneity that the Hassy (which I use

primarily as a tripod camera) doesn't allow.

December 12, 2001

</center>

December 12, 2001

...I think that being a photographer is similar to a "priest" or

shaman who can connect to Heavenly Father/God symbol etc.Your

assumptions are not shared by everyone: Even if one believes in a

deity, who's to say it's male?I saw an interview with Jerry Garcia

many years ago and he was asked why he keeps writing songs and

playing the guitar. He replied, "What else is there to do,

man?"Very few people, on their deathbed, say, "You know, the one

thing I didn't do enough of in life is watch TV." Active creativity

is far better than passive consumption. As a friend of mine once

said, either you're buying someone else's fantasy or you're selling

your own. I prefer the latter.<a

href="http://www.ravenvision.com/peterhughes.htm">Peter Hughes

Photography</a>

December 9, 2001

I notice that the ROM R lenses have a different (bluer) coating than the 3 Cam lenses. Does it make a significant difference? I don't care about the other ROM features, but I do a lot of backlight work and fear that the older coating might not be as effective at supressing flare. The difference in price is about $200 per lens used. Thanks.

December 8, 2001

</center>

I suppose the traditional meaning of the phrase "Leica Photography"

would mean documentary images, shot with M cameras with wide angle

lenses. Since this type of photography doesn't appeal to me, and

since the M proved unsuitable for the kind of photography I do, I

ended up trading it for an R8.But why Leica?My dealer

said to me recently, "You buy Leica for the lenses." That's certainly

partially true: the 90mm Summicron, in both its M & R incarnations,

is in a class by itself. But the R8 is a magnificent camera in its

own right, easily the equal of an EOS-1v or an F5, but with a

wonderfully different design philosophy--part electronic marvel, part

back-to-basics minimalism, integrating the best of both worlds in one

camera, without the frustrating limitations and quirks of the M.

December 7, 2001

My first �real� camera was a Kodak 35. Then an Argus rangefinder that

belonged to my father. Then, in the early Sixties, my dad bought me a

Konica FP with a 50mm f/1.4 Hexanon lens. A couple of years later I

got a Nikon F Phototomic (non-TTL!) and a 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor. I went

to RIT with the Nikon & a Calumet 4x5 with red bellows. In my last

year of school I bought an M2 with the idea that I could get into

photojournalism. But I never meshed with the Leica and I was far too

shy at that time to even think about confronting people with

my camera. Still, a few years later, the M2 long gone, I bought an M4

w/4 lenses. I never meshed with that Leica either so, you guessed it,

I sold it. (That outfit would be worth a small fortune today!) In the

mid Nineties, I bought another M2. But I didn't produce much with it

so I sold that one also. Then, earlier this year, I bought a beater

M3, which I dropped a few weeks later and essentially destroyed. So I

got an M6, but, although I loved the camera and finally

produced a lot of good work with it, I found it very difficult to

focus reliably. So now I have an R8, which I love and which seems to

fit me and my style of shooting much better. It's a perfect

compliment to my Hassy 2000FC/M.Of course, no one on this forum

has to ask why, if I didn't mesh with the Leica M's, I would keep

buying them. But, I must say that the R8 has the timeless feel of the

Hasselblad about it, and I predict that I will be keeping this Leica

for some time.Strange, but a few months back I bought a beautiful

Nikon F2 w/standard prism that my dealer had in stock, but I returned

it because I couldn't focus it well, even with a f/1.4 lens, a

diopter and the focusing screen of my choice. But I have little

trouble focusing the R8.I've also had 5 AF cameras: N 6006, N

8008S, EOS 3, EOS-1v, Elan 7--the latter I still own. But whether

it's the Leica optics, or my obstinate desire to focus the camera

myself, I have no plan to go to AF again--or, for that matter, to any

Japanese camera.

December 7, 2001

Motorized R8 v. EOS-1v HS

1. Vertical release better placed than that on the EOS-1v HS. I do not have to raise my arm as high to get the camera to eye level.

2. Shutter Speed wheel and Mode dial much easier to use than the buttons n' dials method on the EOS-1v, which is maddening. (Plus they go all the way around; no need to backtrack.)

3. PC socket perfectly placed, as opposed to the poor placement on the 1v, which made the PC socket seem like an afterthought, and which places a strain on the plug when the camera is used vertically.

4. Second Curtain Synch for studio flash.

5. Built-in flash metering.

6. A well-thought-out Exposure Lock. I have owned five 35mm auto-everything cameras in the past seven years (N 6006, N 8008S, EOS-3, EOS-1v, Elan 7) and this is the first one that has an Exposure Lock that I can actually use.

7. Metering Mode Select and Exposure Compensation +/- switches very well-placed and with effective locks. I�ll say it again: the buttons n' dials method on the EOS-1v is maddening!

8. Leader In/Leader Out selection brilliantly executed. No need to resort to a Custom Function.

9. A Battery Check that actually works. The Battery Check on the EOS cameras are basically useless: by the time they register low battery the motor is already slowing down--even assuming that you check the damn thing in the first place.

10. No need to carry the instruction manual and/or quick reference card with me, as I had to do with the 1v.

11. Depth-of-Field Preview easier to find with the fingers.

12. Motor can be easily disengaged and the camera can be wound manually. Rewind can also be done manually.

13. Rotation Safety for preventing the camera from rotating on the tripod head, especially useful when shooting vertically.

14. Locking Diopter Adjustment.

15. No need to resort to a Custom Function to lock up mirror.

16. Auto-bracket much easier to engage.

17. Weight: Motorized R8: 920 gms; EOS-1v HS: 1380 gms. Thus, the R8 is 460 gms. lighter. Of course, the NiMH pack on the R8 is heavier than 8 lithium AA�s but (I�m guessing) probably comparable in weight to Canon�s equivalent pack for the PB-E2.

18. The R8 has a Leica nameplate, which, to those in the know, signifies elegance, luxury and uncompromising quality. It says, �Here is a person who is not merely a professional but who seeks out the very best, regardless of cost.�

- I am here evaluating the R8 for use primarily as a fashion and portrait camera. Obviously, for certain purposes the autofocus and faster motor speed of the 1v will be a deciding factor in its favor.

- The R8 will allow me to take 37 or even 38 pictures. Frankly, I wish it would limit me to 36, which is the number of frames a negative filing page will hold. (OTOH, the 38th frame just might be the keeper!)

- The R8 viewfinder image is rather green. I don�t know why this is but it seems to be peculiar to the entire Leica R line.

- I rarely, if ever, use on-camera flash so the E-TTL feature of the 1v is unimportant to me. And as for the EOS Link software, well, what can I say but that this is a complete waste of time and energy.

December 7, 2001

</center>My first shoot with the R8 confirms my belief that the R8

is indeed easier for me to focus at close range then the M6

0.85.It is true that the M is a less imposing and less threatening

camera then the R8, which is much like the EOS-1v HS in that

regard.A Canon or Nikon nameplate signifies professional to

a client. The Leica nameplate signifies elegance, luxury and an

uncompromising pursuit of quality. Now, if only I had a Porsche and

some handmade Italian suits to go with it!

December 6, 2001

Jacques -- Thank you for the thoughtful and informed response. I'm

glad this thread has returned to the matter at hand....the

question of the eventual lack of precision in the linkages between

your lens...I'm quite sure my M was aligned properly. When it

was in, in was in. But I don't think the rangefinder is as

adept at discerning the difference between the eyeball, eyelash

and/or the eyeglass frames as a SLR would be.Frankly, even as a

once-time EOS-1v owner, I am mightily impressed by the R8. It is an

ergonomic masterpiece, the high points of which I do not have time to

list right now. Suffice it to say that the love affair was firmly

established when I realized that, for once, the PC socket was

situated in a logical place: the 1v's is on the left side, which

means the PC plug either fell out or put pressure on the strain

relief; the M6's is on the back, which means that I am always

wrestling it away from the eyepiece. In fact, the R8 is the first

35mm camera I've owned in recent years that did not need gaffer's

tape to hold the synch cord in place!I hate to punch a hole in

your theory, but the Monterey women artists were shot mostly with an

EOS-1v; only the photo of Claire Lerner was shot with an M--an old M3-

-with the 90mm Summicron.I find a motor drive almost essential for

both fashion and portraiture. The closer focusing distance will be a

big plus. And the Aperture Priority mode will certainly come in handy

on occasion....I'm sure that you WILL soon re-purchase a

M...Arrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

December 5, 2001

Andy -- The Goth portraits weren't "accidents" but I did have a lot

of failures due to poor focus.

The result is that I swapped my M6 for a motorized R8, which I

believe will suit my subject matter and style of shooting better. I

can focus over the entire groundglass, there is no parallax, and the

90mm Summicron-R focuses closer then the M version.

December 5, 2001

I do most of my shooting with a 90mm Summicron-M wide open and at close distances. I have an M6 TTL 0.85 with a +0.5 viewfinder diopter installed, which compensates for my somewhat farsighted vision quite well. Unfortunately, however, I still get a lot of OOF shots. (I know, I know, get the 1.25x viewfinder magnifier.)My question is, would an Leica reflex with a 90mm Summicron-R be any easier to focus? I know this is a very subjective question, but I'd like to hear of any opinions and experience you may have in this matter.Thank you.<a href="http://www.ravenvision.com/peterhughes.htm">Peter Hughes Photography</a>

December 5, 2001

Shapness isn't everything. Personally, since Bokeh is very important

to me, I would stay away from APO & ASPH lenses.My 50mm f/2.8 F

Distagon is a bit Bokeh-challenged for a Zeiss optic--amorphous areas

are good but I have to watch out for straight lines--but what do you

want from a high-speed retrofocus wide-angle lens for a medium format

camera!

November 30, 2001

</center>A beautiful bouquet of Hasselblad optics.<a

href="http://www.ravenvision.com/peterhughes.htm">Peter Hughes

Photography</a>

November 29, 2001

I knew a guy years ago who smoked three packs of unfiltered butts a

day, sopped up at least $20 worth of shellac thinner in the local bar

every night--and had a $70 a week pot habit on top of all of that.

And he whined to me once that he couldn't afford a camera.It's all

a question of priorities, I suppose.

November 29, 2001

I was at my dealer's looking at an R3 the other day, very reasonably priced, with a 50mm Summicron, but he told me that, since the R6.2 and R8 have built-in diopters, Leica no longer makes them for older R's. How easy is it to find them used? And where might I try looking?

November 29, 2001

Looking for a 35mm SLR to compliment my M, I naturally looked to the Leica R's. But I was very surprised to find that none (I tried an R3, R4 and R8) have a ratchet on the film advance, a feature which I consider almost mandatory and which I equate with high-end 35mm cameras. Leica M's and Nikon F's have ratchet film advance, why not Leica R?

November 27, 2001

I always thought that Steve McCurry's "portraits" were glorified

travel snaps. I laughed when I found out that some people considered

him more than just an adequate photographer.<a

href="http://www.ravenvision.com/peterhughes.htm">Peter Hughes

Photography</a>

November 23, 2001

I can't find too much on Photo.net on the Hasselblad 50mm f/2.8 lens.

Will anyone who owns (or has owned or used) this lens please comment

on its quality, sharpness (both wide open and stopped down), "bokeh",

etc. Thanks!

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