stuart d

Can't answer you about the colour of the laptop sleeve, but if you want to carry a laptop in addition to your photo equipment, then yes, the 445 is the smallest that would work. However the design is such that the laptop would be in the outside pocket, furthest away from the body. Ergonomically that isn't ideal. Without photo equipment, a 15" laptop would fit in a Large Hadley or a Packington - both are tall enough.

The Hadley's not really geared up for today's DLSRs - it's perfect for rangefinders and non-motordriven SLRs of yesteryear. The Packington is a possibility, but I think you'd come to find the lack of a handle on top a PITA for the times you are carrying everything at once.

Damn! Robert White's special price on the black on black 445 is pretty sweet. Must resist. Do not succumb to tempation...

Patrick - As a Billinghamoholic, I'd recommend the 335 for that gear. Among other models I have the 225 and it's a wee bit tight for the system you describe. My 550 (now replaced by the 555) is great as a weekend bag but I'd hate to lug something of that size full of camera equipment.

For Cuba, I believe most of his photos were taken with the 28mm and 35mm focal length. His photos in that book preceded the introduction of the 28mm Summicron, so his widest work would have been with a 28mm Elmarit. No matter - he isn't/wasn't one to insist that Leica Ms be used as natural light cameras only - there's ample evidence of slow sync flash.

I used to own a Digisix. But just like half the mobile phones on the market, some things can be too small for their own good. Too many functions on one button, so I'd think I was taking a meter reading, and the 30 second countdown would go off. Not the most robust pieces of kit either. In a year of carrying around in my laptop bag alongside an M2, it took a beating. I gave up using it when it'd take 4 or 5 button presses to get any kind of reading.

 

Yes, the 308S is bigger, but it still fits in the palm of my hand. Its interface is much more intuitive, and it feels more robust than the Digisix.

As does the L-308S. Aperture range is f/0.5 - f/90.

Bob, I wish you luck in your venture. I hope that lulu does a better job with its calendars than with books.

 

The site claims that the paper used on the latter is archival, but the print quality on two books I purchased last month was absolute garbage. Text was fine, but the photos looked like a step down from newsprint 30 years ago. Very low quality reproduction indeed. All photos were B&W, so I have no idea of lulu's colour print quality.

 

One of the authors emailed me the first chapter of his book in PDF format. The fault was not in the original scans of B&W negatives - the PDF was leaps and bounds ahead of the hardcopy.

 

I won't be buying from lulu again unless I hear of a marked improvement in their output.

The last pre-ASPH version of the 50mm Summilux (with a 46mm thread) focuses down to 70cm. All earlier versions focus down to 1m.

David - Four questions for you:

 

(1) What M equipment do you own?

(2) Are you the principal/official photographer for the wedding, or are you a participant?

(3) Is this holiday a free pass to buy any 'critical' equipment that you don't currently own?

(4) Where you are going on holiday, could you easily get access to a replacement M body if yours breaks down on you?

 

Minimalist and official wedding photographer don't quite go together. Truly minimalist = 1 body, 1 lens - either 35mm or 50mm. Official wedding photog = at least 2 bodies and 3 or 4 lenses plus flash.

 

Having hauled 3 M bodies and 4 lenses (24/2.8, 35/2, 50/2, 90/2) all over England on a trip a few years ago, I wouldn't do the same again.

 

Have a fantastic trip, but don't let the photography get in the way of enjoying yourselves!

Having replaced my 24 ASPH with a 21/3.4 SA, I picked up a VC 28/3.5 about a year ago, figuring it would be small enough to throw into my bag, "just in case". I probably used it no more than a half dozen times, and sold it a week ago. I think the 28mm focal length requires a significantly different way of looking at a scene than does 35mm, and I never quite got it.

 

When I truly want wide (wider than 35mm), the 21mm comes out. Here's a tip I picked up from the late Roy Moss in a back issue of the LHSA Viewfinder: the short side of the 21mm gives approximately the same angle of view as the long side of a 28mm, so it's possible to crop a portrait-oriented photo taken with the former to look like a landscape-oriented photo from the latter.

 

Needless to say, the 21mm would require yet another external VF over and above the 28/35 mini finder...

Just don't put an open vegemite container under your sleeping bag pillow, and the bears won't prove ornery enough to snack on your noggin... Some folks hang their food (and gelatine?) in bags up a tree, but others swear by bear-proof containers. Depending on when/where you're going, you'll probably be more in need of your cork hat and deet to keep the mozzies at bay, than bear spray and bravado.

Evan -

 

If Mike's had an M6 for sale at $900, I pity the fool who traded it to them. Probably got $300 as a trade towards some other (overpriced) equipment.

 

We're not all that well served by camera stores any more on the Front Range, but a few I can think of that you might call are:

 

S&S Optika. Kathy often has consignment items.

Englewood Camera. Seems to be the least-worst supply of used cameras, but it has been 18 months since I was last in there.

Camera Trader. Occasionally have used items, and very occasionally have some deals. Again, it's been a while since I visited.

 

All three stores are south of downtown Denver. The downtown stores I would have recommended 2 years ago are no longer viable. Werner's Mile High is out of business, and Denver Pro Photo seem to be hurting.

 

But I'd be very surprised if prices you find in the stores are even close to what you're hoping for. I'll email you offline with some other options. Your best bet may be to post a WTB ad here on the forum.

Evan,

 

Yes - that M6 TTL is long gone. This year has been a bust photographically for me, with too many other things going on. As for Mike's, I wouldn't have thought about them being a logical choice to look for Leica equipment. Sure, they put on Leica Days twice a year, but their inventory was almost always non-existent. That was till about 2 months ago, when Leica must have thrown them a bone with this rental program. Their own (non-rental) inventory includes an MP, 35/2, 50/1.4 (pre-ASPH), 50/2 and 75/1.4. The Leica rental inventory includes an M7, 21/2.8, 35/2 and 90/2.8.

 

Of course, if you do decide to buy a Leica, I'd strongly recommend finding a good used M6 or M6 TTL. As Rob said, their prices are relatively flat. But the used lens prices have continued to rise in line with the new prices. So if you had to get one before the other, I'd say buy the lens first, and the body second...

Evan,

 

You ought to try a rangefinder to see whether it's something you're comfortable shooting with, before selling your Nikon equipment and taking a leap of faith that Leica will transform your phototgraphy.

 

Assuming you're still in Boulder, the best way to do this is to rent the M7 and 35/2, plus perhaps the 90/2.8 at Mike's Camera for the weekend, and shoot as many rolls of film as you can. Mike's is participating in Leica's recent 'try before you buy' (aka rental) program. They have a limited range of M and R equipment in the program. I was quoted $50 to rent the M7 and one lens - fully refundable if I actually bought something afterwards.

 

Cheers, Stuart

"Even adjusted for inflation and other common factors, Leica is charging more than twice what they were in the 1950s for essentially the same camera."

 

Make that more than twice what they were in 2001. Back then you could pick up a new M6 TTL for $1600 w/ full passport warranty if you bought on a Leica Day (10% off) plus the $200 rebate.

 

Leica's pricing policy in the last two years means more and more folks will buy used. That's the only way users will find anything "affordable".

Gore-Tex is not the be-all and end-all in breathable waterproof gear. Yes Gore-Tex is very waterproof, but sometimes you need more breathability than it offers. I've been soaked from the inside when wearing a Gore Tex jacket while backpacking in the Rockies. And I stopped using a Gore-Tex ski jacket after a miserable season. By lunchtime the inside of the jacket would be dripping wet. And this is in Colorado, where the relative humidity rarely registers on any scale. My current ski jacket probably wouldn't stand up to a squall, but it keeps me dry - outside and inside - on the slopes. I forget what North Face calls the technology, but it works. And for a lot less than the Gore-Tex equivalent.

 

For walking the dogs on a damp cool day, my quilt-lined waxed cotton jacket is very comfortable indeed. If it's peeing down hard enough to need a Gore-tex, the dogs and I stay inside.

George Schaub (I think he's the publisher or editor of Shutterbug magazine) wrote a comment on the Shutterbug forum back in June that he'd seen the prototype earlier this year, and he expected the lens to be launched 'within two to three months'. Which would have put it on dealers' shelves by now. So that clearly hasn't happened, but maybe we'll see it before the end of the year.

Charles - Yes it was Linda who sent me the email. I didn't have time to check back with her on discount pricing or the possibility of a new Leica digi point 'n' squirt. Just wanted to get the info out here.

 

Agreed - the specs of the Digilux 2 were unimpressive, especially for the price, but having seen a number of prints 11x14 (or perhaps larger) that Andy Piper made a few months back, I realized the specs are secondary.

 

Leica of course want to clear their inventories as much as possible before announcing a replacement and winding up with a SKU that doesn't move off the shelves. Leica won't succeed in selling may of these if the 'discount' price is still significantly higher than the Panasonic version (which doubtless will also be discontinued and discounted).

 

Can't say I'm in the market for a D2, but if the price were $700-$800 I might think otherwise.

Just received an email notification from the Leica rep who covers my

region that Leica has discontinued the Digilux 2.

 

Some may say no great loss. But for others this might be an

opportunity to pick one up at a discounted price...

Over on the site feedback forum:

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00D6I1

 

Brian Mottershead Photo.net Hero Photo.net Patron, aug 04, 2005; 12:18 p.m.

The keyword list is generated by my code by matching the words appearing in the posts against a master list of words and phrases. This master list includes terms that I know IntelliTXT is interested in, plus other words. Later, the list of keywords is run over by Javascript from IntelliTXT and some of the keywords are made hot.

 

It'd be a different matter if Brian's code actually generated keywords that might be of use to forum participants using Google Search on specific threads, but seeing as every post on this forum contains the four keywords "Leica, Photography, camera, photography" it's completely and utterly meaningless.

 

End result - the signal to noise ratio worsens. Not a compelling reason to attract new members or keep existing ones.

Top 50 spam words, according to Activsoftware (Source: http://blog.activsoftware.com/entry/36/top_50_spam_words)

 

Let's see what this does to the keywords on this thread. And don't accuse me of polluting photo.net with garbage - site management is doing a good enough job having implemented intellitext.

 

 

1. homeowner

2. discreet

3. madam

4. materially

5. unclaimed

6. anticipates

7. soma

8. preapproved

9. unconditionally

10. beneficiary

11. refinance

12. intercourse

13. tsunami

14. stocks

15. filings

16. petroleum

17. pertaining

18. pill

19. dissolve

20. insured

21. prescription

22. verge

23. consultation

24. predictions

25. pills

26. bankruptcy

27. recharge

28. bronx

29. speculative

30. strive

31. shareholder

32. tongue

33. advises

34. kin

35. preapproval

36. lion

37. poised

38. symbol

39. fifteen

40. favorable

41. replica

42. ingredient

43. saint

44. alcohol

45. qualifies

46. slepping

47. obligation

48. dispatch

49. medication

50. generic

Google 'intellitext' and the first hit takes you to scumware.com. Here's what they recommend:

 

"The closest sure thing you can do to get rid of IntelliTXT is to simply stop visiting sites that have chosen this advertising method. There is nothing on your computer that needs to be removed or changed."

 

(Source: http://www.scumware.com/apps/scumware.php/action::view_article

/article_id::1088567305/

topic::Scumware,-Spyware,-Adware-&-Malware-Applications/)

 

I'm sure that's the last thing Brian wants us to do. But many of us may resort to doing that if all posts are poluted with this kind of junk.

Many thanks for the plug Pierre. However I'm afraid my chrome RW doesn't fit the M2 - that was a special design which operates quite differently than the standard version I have. The standard version fits the M4-P, M6, M6 TTL, M7 and MP. I don't recall whether it fits the M4-2 though.

Pierre - Glad to hear you're getting on well with the RW. Looks good on your MP.