Exactly! Maybe something about a Leica is exactly what's keeping you back from being a great photographer. If you don't get one you'll never know! *
*sarcasm (I will admit though I've never looked for the Mezuzah)
There is a Mezuzah into each and every Leica camera, which preserves HCB's soul and helps with seeing in a legendary way.
A number of manufacturers made great lenses but never produced SLR bodies to compete with the best. Include Leica, Contax and Konica in that group.
Au Contraire, mon frere. The Contax RTS III was every bit as sophisticated as the Nikon F4 (I mention the F4 because they were relatively contemporaneous), minus auto-focus. 5 FPS motor drive integrated in the body, TTL spot metering, 1/8000th second top shutter speed, flash sync up to 1/250-th, 99% viewfinder, to mention a few features. And add to that several unique features not found on the F4 such as the ceramic film pressure plate with vacuum to hold the film perfectly flat across the entire image area at the moment of exposure, and TTL OTF flash metering for non-dedicated flash units. Try using your Nikon F4 with a Broncolor studio strobe without a hand-held flash meter!
a Leica is something to brag with not something to take photographs with.Owning one will not make you another HCB.More money will not make better pictures;that said,Leica is top-notch equipment,reliablemechanics and brilliant opticsbut other name-brand products are not far behind.You don't need a Leica to make first-class photographs;all you need is dedication and lots of it
I am aware that some Zeiss lenses were still made in Germany, but we are talking about the 85 mm f1.2 and the 55 f1.2 if memory serves me correctly, they are uberexpensive even today.
For the RTS, it's probably a great camera but not a system camera like the others we cited, of course a pro can get pro pics with a K1000 if he doesn't the flexibility of a system, not to deny it. I agree that Leicoltas and Minolta XDs are nice cameras too but I don't consider a R body better than a XD one, sorry about that.
I love my RTSII but when I read this I desire a III more and more, darn it!
Zeiss made an 85 and 50mm in Germany. They also made a 25mm, I believe 35mm, and 180mm in Germany. I owned both the 25mm and 180mm. Of course where the barrels were made is a moot point. Nikon, Canon and Minolta lenses were completely made in Japan and they were quality lenses.
The RTS ll had 7 types of focussing screens available, Data back, electronic cable release, cold weather remote power supply, Pro potato smasher flash that had a stroboscopic effect (I believe 5 flashes available), 5 fps professional motor drive, two lines of Zeiss lenses (if you want to separate German from Japan) plus Yashica lenses available and other accessories. I even heard of a polaroid back available from some aftermarket company.
What exactly do you consider a system camera?
Yes to be fair, the Contax III was the only model I can think of that actually had any original innovations. By the time the III came out the company had given up trying to sell bodies on the name alone. Did Contax innovate into the AF era, I forget?Au Contraire, mon frere. The Contax RTS III was every bit as sophisticated as the Nikon F4 ...
They made at least one camera that was AF, maybe more. I think it's called the AX.
The Leica R4,5,6 and 7 were all based on the Minolta XD7, they are good cameras, not deadly special and surely not in the league of the real pro cameras of the 80s, the Nikon F3, the Pentax LX and the Canon F-1N.
The Contax AX is probably the most sophisticated SLR camera EVER made. The whole film plane, film spools, and even prism, move in and out to achieve AF with any MF lens, at a really fast speed, silently, in a display of ceramic technologies. I couldn't believe such a thing could be made!
The RTS ll had 7 types of focussing screens available, Data back, electronic cable release, cold weather remote power supply, Pro potato smasher flash that had a stroboscopic effect (I believe 5 flashes available), 5 fps professional motor drive, two lines of Zeiss lenses (if you want to separate German from Japan) plus Yashica lenses available and other accessories. I even heard of a polaroid back available from some aftermarket company.
What exactly do you consider a system camera?
F
This is a view of the badass New F1:
** Flavio drools, moans **
And from looking at the serial number, the camera is a 1984 LA Olympics edition.
I had a Lecia M2 many years ago and it was about as good as it gets.
It is a LA...mine is a normal 1984 BUT I have the motordrive AND the action finder!
I also have the action finder for the LX, the only other camera who has a similar design...the LX is badass too!
Yes to be fair, the Contax III was the only model I can think of that actually had any original innovations. By the time the III came out the company had given up trying to sell bodies on the name alone. Did Contax innovate into the AF era, I forget?
I thought I read "LA" on the serial number which would be the special edition. I own the 1984 "olympics" edition and the serial starts with "LA". My other F-1N is a regular edition, has a different serial starting letter. Frankly I like the "regular" F-1N more, i prefer white lettering over yellow lettering.
I'm jealous about the action finder, though. Is the image big? Can you focus easily with it?
Now that I got my first Pentax (P 67), i'm starting to think I should look out for a LX or at least a near top-level model.
Don't forget: Zeiss negs & slides SPARKLE while Ninon do not! (Of course that wouldn't matter to a f**in' hack/pro who is the lowest species of photographer)
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