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Posted by
on 2002-02-28 17:37:08.700417+11
from the Leica dept.
Press
release
here.
Web site
here.
PDF
here.
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Aperture priority? Now what, Leicaphiles?
by
Anonymous on 2002-03-01 04:01:40.546881+11
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| Looking at the comments on usenet and other
forums, it is interesting to see what's crawling
out of the woodwork. For 100 years Leicaphiles
have been adamantly endorsing fully manual
operation (some don't even care for a TTL meter). Now that Leitz comes out with aperture priority
and battery operation, watch the Leicaphiles claim
aperture priority makes it easier to shoot, and
that this is what Leica users have been waiting
for (Mr. Erwin Puts, well known Leicaphile has
already done that)... the same "Leica users" who
dissed the Konica Hexar RF for its automation.
What a bunch of brandname driven sheep. |
Dream team
by
Michael
on 2002-03-26 08:28:10.649747+11
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| It's funny, I would have thought Leica would have
done something a little more significant. They
could have followed Nikon and produced a hybrid
shutter of the FM3A and given their users the
best of both worlds. I am sure they could have
gone to Nikon and have them build a body for
Leica to be proud of. Imagine, a special Nikon
built Leica clad using M lenses. Now that's a
dream team. Michael |
Leica M7 first day impressions...
by
Ron Biron
on 2002-04-13 20:35:35.991665+10
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| Bear in mind these comments are based on
just one day of shooting with the M7, on the
streets of San Francisco.
First off, the camera looks and feels very much
the same as my M6TTL. It handles identically,
so no change in operation or handling had to
be accommodated.
So why spend 2350. for this new model???
No one could begin to answer that honestly,
unless they had used previous M's for an
extended period of time, as you would have no
frame of reference, which is the problem with
those who have commented, having never
owned any Leica M camera.
First you have to not compare it to an SLR, as
it's not designed to equal the various functions
that a Nikon F5 can offer, but then it wasn't
ever conceived to be an SLR, so any
references to these other cameras really have
little bearing as to why one would buy a M7.
As a Leica M user I have had my share of
complaints about every M body starting with
my first M2, however despite these dislikes,
no SLR could have ever allowed me to work
as unobtrusively as I felt was necessary to
capture the imagery I wished to make. So it's
been the right instrument for me whether I'm
doing candids on the street, or shooting at jazz
and blues venues.
Now if your interest happens to be sports
photography, bird watching or auto racing a
Leica M wouldn't be your camera of choice.
When I want to shoot the Blue Angels perform,
I grab a Nikon F5 and a 80-200, as it's the
right tool for that assignment. So don't
compare Leica M's to SLR's as they certainly
are meant to be used for a totally different type
of photography.
Finally, why an M7??? And as this is being
written after just one outing, I will just list the
things I noticed that I liked or disliked about
my first experience.
1) No problem in pulling out of the case and
using it exactly like an M6TTL in the manual
mode.
2) Do to the addition of anti reflective coatings
on the finder windows, there's no longer any
range finder 'white out' when shooting heavily
back lit subjects. This alone would make it
worth the purchase for me!!!
3) The ability to lock the shutter release button,
so every time you put it into the bag, the
shutter doesn't fire and burn a frame..
4) The addition of an electronic AE shutter
function, definitely allows you more freedom
from having to worry about the exposure
accuracy. This change also improved the
camera's accuracy at the higher shutter
speeds, which is where I hang out, as my
subjects on the street are usually in motion.
6) Lag time is a bit faster and the shutter
which has always been renowned for being
quiet, has dropped a few more db's off the
noise level.
All else essentially remains the same, which
was the goal of the design team and a
requirement for current users. Now I'm not
going to sell off my SLR's because I've
acquired this new body, but it has been vastly
enhanced by just these few well thought out
additions, without sacrificing all the benefits
that the M's are famous for, which is an
astonishing accomplishment by the Leica
engineering team.
So in judging whether the pricey M7 is worth
the money, give it a fair shot by comparing it
against it's predecessors, rather then
comparing it to other systems which have
nothing in common with the Leica philosophy
of having a small, solid, quiet, fast working
instrument, with some of the best lenses in
the world.
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New Leica M7
