andrew_davidhazy

<p><img src="http://web.me.com/andyd/pictures/2009_0111_F_27_lagirls.jpg" alt="" /><br>

<br /> <img src="http://web.me.com/andyd/pictures/2007_0426_D_22_milanfans.jpg" alt="" /><br>

<br /> <img src="http://web.me.com/andyd/pictures/2009_1004_A_09_startingline.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>Alberta Street, Portland<br>

<img src="http://web.me.com/andyd/pictures/2008_0616_21.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<img src="http://web.mac.com/andyd/pictures/2008_0803_A_22.jpg">

Headache on the Seattle/Brainbridge ferry

This is actually an M6 classic. The M6 TTL and M7 both have a slightly taller top plate,

especially noticeable by the amount of front plate area over the small right rangefinder

window. It is a shorter top plate, and therefore could only be an M6 classic. Oh, and yes, I

believe that is indeed Scarlett Johansson. ;)

Hi... sorry to post this question here, but being that I'm a Leica user and that there doesn't seem to be a

more appropriate forum for this already in place, here goes...

<p>

I live in the United States and have purchased a lens from a gentleman in the Netherlands, and we're both

a little unsure about the best, most reasonable way of shipping it. We need to insure the value of the lens,

but I also don't want to pay a premium for FedEx, UPS, DHL, and the like who will likely charge 100 Euros

or more.

<p>

If anyone has any experience shipping from Europe to the USA, I would love any recommendations on

regular shipping methods and costs, etc.

<p>

Also, if you're a US resident, have you had to pay any duty on incoming camera gear?

<p>

Trust me, I've tried talking to the USPS and going through their website, but it's hard to get actual helpful

advice.

<p>

Thanks much,<br>

Andy

Pico, this thread is about a very nice picture taken by Seb. If you care to start some other

kind of rational discussion elsewhere, please do. I am very saddened if your comment is

representative of a broader group here. And if so, I'll quietly go elsewhere. Not that it

matters to you, but I would encourage you to tread a little lighter on the feelings of others

and understand the facts of the matter before putting your foot in your mouth.

Seb, my apologies. It's a great photograph. Just as you made it. I think everyone here,

mostly, were simply trying to help make it an even "better" photograph. This forum should

be about constructive critique and information sharing, neither coddling mediocrity or

demorilizing our spirit. As Ian so rightly pointed out, sometimes it's possible to ruin what

was already special to begin with--losing all recognition of it's original meaning and

character. Technical perfection can be rather boring sometimes if you ask me. Andy

Ah. But an external de-magnifier will not provide more scene area around framelines, like an

internal one should. Correct? I am most interested in gaining more visible scene around the

35 frameline. Thanks.

Though less ideal, I would be interested in at least trying a .85 de-magnifier. I have only seen

the ones sold on eBay for about $60, but like with most things there, I'm rather skeptical. Any

leads on a "quality" version that you think I should try would be helpful. Am I correct in

assuming that a de-mag attachment will actually make the focus white patch smaller as well,

perhaps making focusing a little more difficult?

on the front you mean? yes. I believe all current Leica's have the magnification labeled on the

front window in the silver bar.

Hi Paul. Perhaps from a resale perspective, a .72 may be better? More popular and flexible,

just in case that factors into your configuration.

For me, the .72 is the best and safest option, but I ended up having a couple more camera

options at my disposal than I expected, which makes having one of them a .58 more

desireable. I don't like extra gadgets on my cameras (or big lens hoods for that matter),

keeping them as small and uncluttered as possible, which is why the internal VF is

preferable. I like being able to stuff the camera in pockets and small places, and have less

stuff to get hung up on. I almost exclusively shoot with a 35 and 50mm. Perhaps the

Summilux 50 (pre-asph) a little more. The 35 frame lines are fine at .72, but I have to

work a little harder than I'd like to see beyond the lines to help compose shots. I would

like to try a 28 or 24mm someday too, which would obviously benefit from a .58.

Thought I'd share an email I just got from Don at DAG Camera regarding this and my

suggestion that viewfinders could simply be traded...

Andy,

that's a good idea. Infact, I've had so many people contact me about this type of

conversion that I should have some kind of system that people can contact me requesting

a type of R/F exchange & I could make a list of other people's R/F requests & do an

exchange system like that. No less than 1 person contacts me a week for this,

regards,

Don

DAG

I have two MP alacarte bodies and since ordering, I have somewhat regretted not getting a .

58 in one of them. There may be very few people out there with a .58, but it seems

reasonable enough to me that someone might find themselves in a similar situation...

regretting their purchase of a .58 and wanting a .72 instead or simply wanting a change. For

me, selling the camera (perhaps at some loss) isn't quite worth it to me. Instead a $100

service charge for something that could have mutual and equal benefit doesn't seem all that

ludicrous to me. But then again, I'm the guy the bought an alacarte and didn't get it quite

right. Oh well. Anyway, there's no harm in asking, and it's of relatively little consequence.

I will post this in the classified section as well as a simple trade request, but I thought this might generate

some added interest and discussion here. I asked Don at DAG Camera about swapping the .72 viewfinder

in my brand new MP for a .58. He informed me that Leica is charging a whopping $900 for this part!!! And

a very reasonable $100 for him to do the work. Obviously, this is far more than the value of the switch for

me, and that got me wondering if there was someone out there with a reasonably new MP (or compatible)

0.58 viewfinder that would like to trade for my 0.72. We could coordinate with Don and get it done, and

save ourselves $1800 in the process. Let me know if you or anyone you know might be interested, OR if

you have any other bright ideas for accomplishing this, short of using an external VF or .85 reducer.

Thoughts and comments encouraged...

In particular, I liked:<br>

- through the airplane seat of the man seated in front of you<br>

- man checking out a SF Chronical newspaper<br>

- man seated on sidewalk stoop<br>

- legs of two women seated on transit

Very nice, Nels. It's refreshing to see such a deft demonstration of how composition, subject

and perspective matter far more than how many megapixels someone's got or how pretty

their a-la-carte M is.

I don't have any experience with this digital p/s. Were these in full auto mode or did you use

more manual aperture and focus settings?

Forgive me if I'm a little naive here, or if I'm hijacking my own thread. But I just don't seem

to get this snobbery that exists... perhaps on both sides. Who are any of us to judge who

deserves and doesn't deserve something? It sounds more of a personal problem to me. As

for a Leica, be it a brand new alacarte variety or a vintage Barnack, personally, I just really

dig and get inspired by the quality, the workmanship, the mechanical purity, the novelty,

and the

history. The Leica brand stands for all of these things in a way that a Canon, Nikon or the

like can't... not that they are any less or more of a viable photographic instrument. It's a

personal choice and I don't really see how someone's skill as a photographer really has

much to do with it. In the same way that someone with a rather pedestrian palette can't

go out for a nice dinner every once in a while. Or why a losey driver can't appreciate a

Corvette. I think we should be secure enough in our own skin, our own

capabilities as a photographer or as a discerning collector of everything nice in this world.

Maybe collectors jack up prices, maybe they don't, but I hardly see the harm, for no other

reason helping to guarantee the availability of this gear for those of us who like using it

for many more generations to come. I for one like making pictures and have grown up

with it. My dad's been doing it for 50 years. Odd that I'd even say so, as I brissle at the

idea that I have to justify my intent to anyone on this forum. Or that any of you should feel

like you have to to me. I'd like to think I have something interesting to offer our visual

landscape, but really, it hardly matters. And c'mon, lets be honest, it's not likely anyway. I

simply like making pictures. And making pictures with an instrument as fine as a Leica MP

just makes making pictures all that much more fun. Am I missing something? ;)

Thanks for checking them out!

Yes, the night shots in Chester were with Neopan 1600 and Summilux 50.

Well done, Peter. I hope to make it to the Bernabéu one day too. And yea, the two R's are

brilliant. The future looks bright.

Either of those choices would be great--and would bring some much needed class to a

chalton/wigan match. They're both looking up from the wrong end of the table. But the M3

gets my vote. Good luck!

David... who is your local team? It would be fun to see some pics next time you do go.

I think this seeing / not seeing thing affects us all. Perhaps it has something to do with

getting jaded by our typical surrounds and then stepping outside our comfort zones. Kinda

liberates the your field of view a bit, gaining an almost child-like sense of wonder about all

the seemingly new things we're exploring. Even though, well, let's face, they're pretty much

the same things we have back home as well. Go figure.

Many of the people I met were so friendly and easy to engage. Say what you want about

football, but it certainly does help a great deal when you can participate in a common interest

with strangers. I'm not the most gregarious guy in the world, so these situations were

invaluable and made it quite easy to take their picture when compelled to do so.

The cathedral was great, though it was rather late in a long day of walking, exploring and

shooting. I did take others, but they weren't very inspired. A shame really, considering the

surroundings. This shot was on a roll of Neopan 1600.

Since several of you had been asking about not only the new camera(s), but more importantly, the first

pictures taken with it, I thought I'd share some. This is a continuation of a thread I started a couple

weeks ago upon the arrival of the first of several alacarte MPs.

<p>

Original thread: <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00KKMZ"

target="newwindow">http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00KKMZ</a>

<p>

Anyway, my new MP black chrome body arrived just in time for a 4-5 day trip to Manchester, England.

This trip was primarily to satisfy a long time dream of mine to see Manchester United play live at Old

Trafford. But as it was, it turned into much more of a photographic expedition as well. For those that

care about football (soccer), I saw three games, one at League Two, Chester City, then Man Utd vs.

Bolton at Old Trafford, and then finally, Everton vs. Arsenal at Goodison Park. And in between those

games, I did a heck of a lot of aimless wandering around Chester, Liverpool, Manchester and all the

train travel in between.

<p>

Anyway, I packed very, very light as I didn't really want to mess with lugging bags around. I wanted to

be as mobile as possible. So, I brought a few changes of socks and underwear in a small knapsack, and

a small camera bag as well. This outfit was as follows:

<p>

- small National Geographic shoulder bag<br>

- <a href="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/5782607-md.jpg">brand spanking new, custom MP

body</a><br>

- Summicron 35mm (v4, pre-asph)<br>

- Summilux 50mm (pre-asph)<br>

- Elmarit 90mm (v2, latest)<br>

- yellow filter<br>

- cleaning cloth<br>

- Provia 100 & 400 (10 rolls)<br>

- Tri-X 400 (8 rolls)<br>

- Neopan 1600 (2 rolls)<br>

<p>

The outfit worked out great, and was really no more and no less than I required. Although, expectedly,

the 90mm only got used a few times. I ended up shooting a total of 12 rolls of film split between b/w

and color. My only two complaints had nothing to do with photography. My shoes hurt, and I got pretty

darn cold a few times as a winter storm hit the area. Unfortunately, I didn't prepare the clothing quite

as well as I did the camera gear. Oh, and I failed to mention that I did in fact tuck a spare M3 body in

my backpack just in case the MP suffered some terrible fate. But, in the end, the M3 never saw the light

of day. Also of note, all films were hand checked by security, except in England. They insisted on

xraying them. No apparent harm done.

<p>

It was a great little trip. I had a lot of fun. It was reasonably easy. And the pictures weren't half bad. I'm

sure some of you will appreciate my over eagerness to take pictures with my new camera, that it hardly

mattered what it was of. So of course, there were many cliche views from the airplane and train. But

here, you can see for yourself:

<p>

<b><a href="http://www.davidhazy.org/andy/pictures/2007_england_flash"

target="newwindow">pictures from Andy's England football trip</b></a>

<p>

PS. the other two MPs are supposed to be here next week. I'm looking forward it.

<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/5785544-lg.jpg" width="640" height="417">

<p>

Portland Pirates, 2007<br>

<i>M6 classic, Elmarit 90, Provia 400</i>