jean_dark1

Try The Huntigton in Pasedena. Great gardens, galleries etc.

Ahmen.

Check out www.blurb.com. They have free software to help organize books, then can print copies and also sell them for you. Cost is not bad. I am expecting my first off tomorrow, so I can't yet comment on the quality. But I will let you know when I get my copies.

Sorry to hear this.

We just got back from 5 days in Seattle on Sunday. We visited the museum area of Tacoma. There is a place called the "Museum of Glass" there that was very interesting. No photography inside the display area, but interesting opportunities in the hot shop watching the artisans work the glass. Outside there are some exhibits. There are interesting waterfront and skyline views etc nearby as well as some "walking around" photo ops.<div></div>

Oh yea, the thing for trimming the film. Sorry if I took yours. LOL

As a Leica user and somewhat collector (hoarder?) I am amazed by the things

that show up on eBay. Two of my favorites, the waterproof Neverready case for

the IIIf that continually shows up priced at $898, and those little thumb

winder baseplates at about the same price. Considering that a nice IIIf costs

about $300, I wonder if anyone actually buys this stuff, and if they do, what

they do with it. Anyone care to name some other high-priced weird gadgets,

leica or otherwise?

You have to remember that the R4 is a fairly old camera, 20+ years. The R8/R9 is 10 years old, and it is one hell of a camera. However, it is as big as it is capable. While the R4 lacks some of the TTL flash features etc it still has P mode and the other exposure modes that the R8 has. An R4 sold last week on ebay for 75 bucks with a missing focusing screen and some damage to the screen mounting frame. Certainly a repairable body. I bought 4 good screens (all different) for 45 dollars on eBay. Winders go for about 35 bucks, motor drives for 65. So you can not only have three bodies, you can have motors for all of them. Yes, the viewfinder is probably the worst thing about the camera. I wear glasses, it is hard to see the leds, especially in bright light. The image is a bit dim and focussing is tricky for my old eyes.

 

Here are some links for info on R series Leicas:

 

http://www.angelfire.com/biz/Leica/page6.html

 

http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/index-frameset.html?LeicaR.html~mainFrame

The R4 is cheap these days, I suspect mostly because of bad comments from those who know nothing about it and will badmouth anything except the equipment they have chosen to use. You don't need to concern yourself about repairs, another used body is cheaper than the simplest repair on any camera would be. I have a nice R4 that I got for $100, if anything goes wrong with it I will throw it in a drawer and just use another R4. Many of these offered for sale have seen little if any use, so there is no point in buying a "user" when a clean, close to new or new body can be had for just a bit more money. I have 3. Accessories are cheap, but Leica lenses are not, as I think they can be used on digital slr cameras perhaps. I have been happy with them, in fact my R8 stays in the bag mostly and I use the lighter and more expendable R4. I use the 50mm/f2 a lot. Watch out for sticky dof preview levers, the dof preview may not be important but as it worsens it might cause the lens to not stop down during the actual exposure. The lever should move easily and return on its own. Foam seals are easy to replace, but you don't want to if you don't have to, 2 of mine were fine, one I had to reseal.

I wouldn't say LA is different, maybe "more" would be better. It is a neat place, very interesting and lots to do. Here are some of the places we visited last January:

 

- Disneyland. Most photo ops anywhere.

 

- JPL. The Jet propulsion Labratory of Caltech has tours daily, book in advance from their website. Extremely interesting.

 

- Rodeo Drive - excellent spotting of celebs and other "beautiful people." We spent an entire day just wandering in and out of the stores, very friendly staff even though they know you aren't buying any $35,000 diamond rings. Good restaurants too. The entire Beverly Hills downtown, Wilshire Blvd are very interesting.

 

- The Huntington in Pasedena. Grounds and art galleries the best I have ever seen. Also the Getty Center in downtown LA. Not as good as The Huntington though, go on Sunday if you can get nice weather for lots of folks wandering through the gardens.

 

-Get tickets on-line for TV show tapings. You won't be able to take any cameras in, but loads of fun anyway. This was the tour that I found refreshing from the usual studio tours and tourist traps. But consider Universal Studios, and other adventure parks.

 

There is so much to do and see there. Use the internet to search out places, then plan your itinerary accordingly. Travel around the city is good, but in the surrounding area at rush is murder. We stayed in Pasedena, half the cost of in town but a killer commute.

 

Keep low profile, small cameras work well. The less left in your hotel room, the better.

 

Have fun. We were going again this year but didn't work out. I envy your trip!