Why Leica, my view with new technical research

[michr]

^ this needed saying.

Any test is better than no test of course.

This would be such a useful lens for me. The outrageous expense is the issue.

Somehow I got quoted saying something about a 35mm FLE asph, which I don't own.

 

[obviouslygene]

Thanks!

Nikon F3HP, Vivitar 1 Series 70-210 2.8 @ f8 1/2000, 2x Teleconverter Noname, Tmax 400 @ 1600 expired in '06, Tmax Dev 1:1 @ 75 Degrees.

The whole roll came out real nice I gotta say. Sure it's got grain you can pick out with a tweezers, but it sure was fun shooting with the MD and annoying the digital guys around me. Clunk SCRRRCHchuckSCRRRCH. My arm and shoulder took some time to recover...

Here's a link to the album
http://imgur.com/a/hpAz3

I knew it was the blue angels! Saw them when I was a kid.

 

[Cholentpot]

I knew it was the blue angels! Saw them when I was a kid.

I try to see them every year. Keeps the kid in me happy.

 

[mynewcolour]

Somehow I got quoted saying something about a 35mm FLE asph, which I don't own.

Sorry. Yes that was a response to Ai Print's post.

 

[kb244]

Honestly I get richer/deeper colour and tonality shooting 120 in my Bronica ETR or SQ systems than I ever did using titchy 35mm in a Leica, and even then I agree with a previous poster the Zeiss lenses give more intense colour than Leica lenses.

Do yourself a favour and move up to a larger format.

I loved shooting Tri-X in my Mamiya RB67 with the stock 90/3.8C (likewise some Ilford in a Hasselblad 500CM with an 80/2.8), oddly I rarely used color with medium format.

 

[Huss]

Tulips - Portra 400 - Leica Elmar 35-70

• Mustafa Umut Sarac
• Jan 19, 2012
• 4

There are millions of Tulips planted around Istanbul. JPEG compression really killed the image...

Tulips - Portra 400 - Leica Elmar 35-70

• Mustafa Umut Sarac
• Jan 19, 2012
• 4

There are millions of Tulips planted around Istanbul. JPEG compression really killed the image...

You do know your Leica Mini Zoom is actually a repackaged Vivitar made in Japan, right?
It is the Vivitar Series 1 500PZ Data Back Power Zoom.

So perhaps you should rename this thread "Why Vivitar, my view with new technical research"?

 

[kb244]

You do know your Leica Mini Zoom is actually a repackaged Vivitar made in Japan, right?
It is the Vivitar Series 1 500PZ Data Back Power Zoom.

So perhaps you should rename this thread "Why Vivitar, my view with new technical research"?

 

[Huss]

Did I just kill this thread by revealing the man behind the curtain?

 

[faberryman]

Did I just kill this thread by revealing the man behind the curtain?

The OP's original two questions were: "Why Leica ? What makes it?" I think you answered his questions. Not much fun in jabbering on about Vivitar lenses even if they are branded Leica. Kinda makes one look like an idiot.

 

[Marcelo Paniagua]

Did I just kill this thread by revealing the man behind the curtain?

Shame on you.. thread was starting to get fun

 

[removed account4]

Did I just kill this thread by revealing the man behind the curtain?

i don't think so
the OP isn't a fan
of some japanese cameras/lenses
so it may get interesting knowing that he
now knows that the equipment he enjoys so much
might be manufactured by a company, or might be a camera
and lens &c that he originally had no love for ...
===
all joking and camera commentary aside ...

i hope the OP is well, after the terrible violent situations in his homeland
and his hometown, and if he was somehow affected by the terrible problems by being in the wrong
place at the wrong time, i hope he recovers quickly and gets back to making photographs and interesting posts.

 

[flavio81]

i don't think so
the OP isn't a fan
of some japanese cameras/lenses
so it may get interesting knowing that he
now knows that the equipment he enjoys so much
might be manufactured by a company, or might be a camera
and lens &c that he originally had no love for ...
===
all joking and camera commentary aside ...

i hope the OP is well, after the terrible violent situations in his homeland
and his hometown, and if he was somehow affected by the terrible problems by being in the wrong
place at the wrong time, i hope he recovers quickly and gets back to making photographs and interesting posts.

I think some of Mustafa Umut Sarac's posts are fun and/or actually make your mind to think a little bit. I like his posts.

Perhaps i'm just a strange guy, as well.

As for his country (Istambul), what can i say... I'm a drummer; cymbals were invented in Turkey!! So i'm eternally grateful to Istambul for contributing this fantastic, beautiful-souding invention to the world. Jazz, Rock, Blues... most modern music wouldn't be possible without this essential instrument!

Let's hope things can get back to safety in Istambul!! It's sad to read about those terrorist attacks.

 

[Mustafa Umut Sarac]

Hello Flavio,

My friend visited me from france to help him to learn cymbalsmithing. I took him Bosphorus factory and he hammered a big hi hat set. He has no previous record but he succeeded to hammer the cymbals . I took him to Istanbul Mehmet and Istanbul Agop and Edirne to Aegean Cymbals.
He stayed there for 3 months and hammered lots of cymbals. He bought 90 cymbals from there for 80 euros each and sokd at Paris fpr 400 euros.
I analyzed many cymbals and know the secret. Secret is locking the %21-%25 tin in 780 degrees - hot red- in Beta phase with quenching. Most important content in analysis is iron , phosphor , silicon , lead and sulfur and 21-25 - NOT 80-20- tin. Research beta phase.

Nowadays Turkish cymbals are very expensive and sending to Lima in one piece is nightmare.

 

[flavio81]

Hello Flavio,

My friend visited me from france to help him to learn cymbalsmithing. I took him Bosphorus factory and he hammered a big hi hat set. He has no previous record but he succeeded to hammer the cymbals . I took him to Istanbul Mehmet and Istanbul Agop and Edirne to Aegean Cymbals.
He stayed there for 3 months and hammered lots of cymbals. He bought 90 cymbals from there for 80 euros each and sokd at Paris fpr 400 euros.
I analyzed many cymbals and know the secret. Secret is locking the %21-%25 tin in 780 degrees - hot red- in Beta phase with quenching. Most important content in analysis is iron , phosphor , silicon , lead and sulfur and 21-25 - NOT 80-20- tin. Research beta phase.

Nowadays Turkish cymbals are very expensive and sending to Lima in one piece is nightmare.

Wow, sounds like your friend had a very good time at Istambul (factories)! I would love to have been there.

Yesterday i was talking to a friend (another drummer) and he has just bought a set of Istambul Mehmet cymbals that look amazing, but they are still "in transit"; i don't know if he has bought them from the USA but I think that is the case, becuase they costed more than USD 1000 or 1500 for the set.

We're waiting for them to arrive, and once they arrive I will have the chance to play.

As for the "secret", i thought the secret was not really in the bronze formula but in the lathing/hammering !! Interesting that they would allow you to see the actual mixture of metals going into the alloy.

As said before, we hope you are safe in your city. Greetings from far away Lima !

 

[Mustafa Umut Sarac]

Wow, sounds like your friend had a very good time at Istambul (factories)! I would love to have been there.

Yesterday i was talking to a friend (another drummer) and he has just bought a set of Istambul Mehmet cymbals that look amazing, but they are still "in transit"; i don't know if he has bought them from the USA but I think that is the case, becuase they costed more than USD 1000 or 1500 for the set.

We're waiting for them to arrive, and once they arrive I will have the chance to play.

As for the "secret", i thought the secret was not really in the bronze formula but in the lathing/hammering !! Interesting that they would allow you to see the actual mixture of metals going into the alloy.

As said before, we hope you are safe in your city. Greetings from far away Lima !

Secret is no longer as a secret because the internet and scientific articles. It was alloy.

Do you have lots of archaeological remains in Lima , can you chew coca leaves ? My dream destination is south america especially Peru. I am an archaeologist by education.

 

[flavio81]

Secret is no longer as a secret because the internet and scientific articles. It was alloy.

Do you have lots of archaeological remains in Lima , can you chew coca leaves ? My dream destination is south america especially Peru. I am an archaeologist by education.

Of course, you can buy coca leaves and chew them everywhere here in Lima. I do it everytime i go to the mountains/highlands. The lack of oxygen is severe and chewing coca leaves is perhaps the most effective way to counteract them -- short of carrying an oxygen tank, of course.

 

[Mustafa Umut Sarac]

Of course, you can buy coca leaves and chew them everywhere here in Lima. I do it everytime i go to the mountains/highlands. The lack of oxygen is severe and chewing coca leaves is perhaps the most effective way to counteract them -- short of carrying an oxygen tank, of course.

If I were you , I add coca tea in to coca cola like the old days did you try ? I read coca leaves taste like gasoline , is it true ?

 

[flavio81]

If I were you , I add coca tea in to coca cola like the old days did you try ? I read coca leaves taste like gasoline , is it true ?

It tastes like coca tea, it doesn't taste similar to other things. It is a pleasing taste.

Coca-cola does contain coca extract, but it has been removed of cocaine and other alkaloids.

For the ones who don't know this, coca leaves have only 1/1000 (0.1%) of cocaine content, so the dose of a small tea bag (2gram of tea) is very small (2mg cocaine). It also has other more alkaloids that interact with it, so the effect is not comparable to the drug use.

 

[rpavich]

Lol..what a thread.
Very entertaining.
Why Leica? Because you like them.
I lusted after the Leica M for so many years, I dreamed and dreamed like a high school kid dreams of his dream girl, and finally just decided to pull the trigger. It took me a while to pay off after the CLA needed and the update to the viewfinder (M6 flare mod) and now that I have owned one for a while along with other SLR's and point and shoots and fixed focus Oly goodness I can say that Leica is just a camera...just like my FM2's and my Trip35's. They all have their strengths and weakness' and they all shine in different ways. Just like I wouldn't use a hammer for every task, I wouldn't trot out my M6 for every task either, but what it does well, I'm grateful for.

As for that mystique? The indescribable "something" that Leica is supposed to have?

Sorry, that's the hype that keeps folks coming back and driving the lust.

After all, they are just a camera like so many others.

 

[Huss]

As for that mystique? The indescribable "something" that Leica is supposed to have?

Sorry, that's the hype that keeps folks coming back and driving the lust.

That's because you haven't tried one of those Vivitar Leicas. Or as those in the in call them, Leicatars. Or was it Vivicas? Veicatar? Leicaviv?

Try one of those and you'll definitely feel something.

 

[NJH]

I agree, I love my M6 just feels so great in the hands and with 400 ISO B&W film in there the fastest camera to use I have owned (including digital). I just don't use it though because 120 film just looks better either positive held to the light or negatives printed, and I prefer 12 or 15 shots rather than burning through 36. Sure one could put the Leica on a tripod and run CMS20 through it but that just seems completely at odds to me with what is so great about these cameras.

 

[Marcelo Paniagua]

Agree. While they are are a joy to use, nothing magical about them. Robust and dependable cameras and lens, yeah. Pixie dust? no. Yesterday I took my Zorki C for a walk and had as much fun as I have with any other film Leica I have.

For those that havent own a Leica, don't buy the hype. Enjoy them for what they are, great cameras and lens. What to expect from a Leica? dependable machines, great lens, etc. But you can find that on other lens from other maker (Zeiss, CV, Nikon, etc.). Don't get unrealistic expectation from them and you will be pleased.

Regards.

Marcelo

 

[Jon Buffington]

This reminds me of something from my old audio production days a decade ago. In our studio and in the field, we ran mac desktops and laptops (back when the old G4 was the tops). Not that the PC's wouldn't work as well, but, you know, the "coolness" factor. We wouldn't be caught dead on a PC for fear of ridicule from our musician clients and video guys. We even named it as such, our gear had to have the "coolness" factor. Same with Leica. And yes, I own 3 of them, and yes, the "coolness" factor is there as well. One of my pro photog friends in the music industry even gave it the "cool" nod of approval last weekend as I let him fondle my M5 (the least cool M unless one reaaaaaallly knows that it is the greatest M made).

I shoot Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Minolta, Oly, Mamiya as well so I have no particular brand loyalty. Just find the humor in things (currently fondling my Minolta xd-11, pseudo Leica).

FYI, I also like nice watches, pens and knives. The cheap ones work just as well (which I have plenty of), but, well, you know..."coolness."

Oh, and I drive an old Ford Ranger and ride a Honda Motorcycle. Not worried with coolness in vehicles

 

[Harry Stevens]

Secret is no longer as a secret because the internet and scientific articles. It was alloy.

Do you have lots of archaeological remains in Lima , can you chew coca leaves ? My dream destination is south america especially Peru. I am an archaeologist by education.

Oddly enough I purchaed a photographic book about 20 years ago in a discount sale about a photographer that went to Peru he published the pictures he took of the country, it was a Leica M7/M6 ? that he used.Sadly the book went missing in a house move.

 

[Jim Jones]

Over the past 60+years I've owned and used four RF Leicas, several 35mm RF Canons and other brands, many Nikon SLR products, and other 35mm cameras. There was no inexplicable or mystical quality to the Leicas. Mine were superbly engineered and built, and durable. Other cameras could produce images comparable to the Leicas when used in comparable circumstances. It takes a rare and unbiased analysis to detect any difference. Some photographers get even better images from their SLR Nikons, Canons, and others because a RF camera is foreign to them. It's like farmers with their 4WD work trucks vs Ferarri drivers. Neither would benefit from swapping their vehicles.