[LRflex] Re: Leica back in the black
- From: "William B. Abbott III" <captbilly3@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 27 Nov 2010 15:26:13 -0800
Ted,
Thanks, I believe you are correct on what I think are two counts, one that the
camera manufacturers run up the number of doo-dads, features and buttons to
impress unwary buyers (But wait! Mine has more buttons than yours has!), and
second that using the minimum number of them is the way to go.
I began photography as a lad helping my dad carting around his 4X5 Speed
Graphic, Graphlex wooden tripod, Press 40 flash bulbs and a big stack of film
holders. He never had or used a light meter.
After the WW II, I got my own gear, a Kodak Vigilant Six-20, in 1946, and it
had very few things to be concerned with, three exactly: f stop, shutter speed,
and a knob film advance. Five or so years later I moved to a Rollei 3.5 TLR
that had only the same three things to be concerned with and added a focus knob.
That was it and I used the Rollei for a bit more than 30 years when my Dad left
me his M4s; he had one for B&W, the other for color, Remember when that was a
big deal? The M4s had essentially only the same four controls that the Rollei
had. I did add a Weston light meter to my kit and that was a big help.
My R4 and its successors had a few additional things to use (and a built in
light meter!) and I did succumb to using auto aperture priority sometimes and
auto shutter priority rarely but that was about it. All the rest were ignored.
When digital arrived with the DMR and R9, and later the M8 and M9, I continued
the practice of concerning myself with the same things, but choosing a film to
use has become selecting an ISO, and film advance is no more. The other three,
shutter, f stop and focus remain all I ever concern myself with, except in my
old age I mostly use auto shutter speed but check to see if it is okay.
I know my M9 has many goodies in its Settings and Function menus but I only use
the date and time, the power off time delay, the shutter release time delay and
the formatting controls and ignore the rest. Basically I use the M9 pretty much
like a digital Kodak Vigilant Six-20 or digital Rollei TLR.
It works for me, so if I do go to brand X, I know in my heart of hearts that I
will continue to do the same thing, if I can find the proper buttons!
All the best,
Bill
On Nov 27, 2010, at 8:55 AM, <tedgrant@xxxxxxx> <tedgrant@xxxxxxx> wrote:
>>>> Obviously, hundreds of thousands of humans successfully navigate all the
>>>> brand X control schemes daily so they must work somehow, but the change
>>>> is intimidating to me; e.g., after about 10 years I still cannot figure
>>>> out much beyond the 3 or 4 most used commands in a little brand X p&s
>>>> digital camera I have. The instruction book, about the size of the
>>>> camera, is, to me, completely dense and all but unfathomable. I shudder
>>>> every time I see it.<<<<<<<<,
>
>
> Hi Bill,
> Common sense dictates use the least number of buttons to keep it KISS
> simple! Besides "REAL PHOTOGRAPHERS ONLY NEED THE ON AND OFF BUTTONS!" :-)
>
> Digital if ever really means "KISS operation" as 99% of all those buttons
> are only there to make it look neat! ERGO! More expensive! :-)
>
> cheers,
> ted
>
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