>
> http://tinyurl.com/5hy62k
>
> I handled the all black version.
>
> You would surely trade up / trade in your OM3T for this camera. I would in
> a
> flash but then I have a late model of the original mechanical version which
> inspired this present day offering.
>
Well, here's what I'd probably do. I'd keep the entire OM system and dump
digital entirely to get the Leica with a few select lenses. From a
practical perspective, the Zeiss Ikon probably would fit me a little better.
But sometimes "better" isn't best--not when you figure that it's a one in a
lifetime kind of thing.
This year I've been making a concerted effort to shoot the OM system like it
is a Leica. What a difference it actually makes. I'm MUCH more in tune
with the subject than I've ever been. An SLR with focus screen is actually a
barrier between you and your subject. With a Leica (or similar RF of decent
quality), you are looking directly at your subject and part of your subject.
With an SLR, you're looking not at the subject but of a picture of the
subject. Working with floating frame-lines is also very much a different
experience.
I had gotten out my old Yashica GS (sold the GSNs) and played around with it
a bit recently. No battery and it's no longer usable, but I was trying to
understand the gestalt of RF cameras better. It came back to me what it was
about RFs that I did not like:
1. It wasn't an SLR
2. Anybody who could afford one always got an SLR--only poor people had the
old cameras.
3. Billy V., my school buddy and biggest competitor to me had money and an
SLR (his paper route was bigger than mine)
4. No zoom lens--zooms were cool
5. Rangefinder spot was hard to use for tracking indoor basketball (HS
yearbook pictures)
6. No motordrive
7. No supertelephotos
But there were things I did like:
1. The framelines allowed me to see what was coming in from the sides
(action shots) and more quickly adapt
2. Extremely easy to focus in dim light
3. Quiet (leaf shutter in the Yashica was just a click)
4. Instant response
As you can see, I was emotionally predisposed to wanting to shoot an SLR.
It's not that there was really anything wrong with shooting what I had, but
I had a mental block on the whole affair. Years later, I've been through a
couple of medium and large-format cameras with rangefinders. Unfortunately,
they didn't work the same as a decent little 35mm RF. The spots were not
large, clear or bright. And the base was too short, as in the XA.
With this current library project, I'm forced to get the darkroom back in
shape again and I'm reacquiring lots of 4x5 infrastructure--just need to
find a camera to go along with it. But maybe someday, instead of that
sportscar my wife has promised I can get, I'll get a Leica kit instead.
Oh, speaking of darkroom stuff. You wouldn't believe what just landed on my
desk while typing this. A changing bag. Several years ago it was being
thrown out and somebody snatched it up. This isn't any ol' changing bag.
It's at least a meter square!!!! I've never seen one anywhere near this
size before. It's huge!
AG
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