Archiver
Veteran
Have you seen the thread about Nick Ut and the infamous Vietnam photo? It would be interesting to hear your thoughts about it.
Getting back into Leica - M10 or M240 or something else...?
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Rangefinder M-P
Rangefinder M-P
Thank you for sending me that link about Nick Ut's most famous work. I was not aware of it I've looked at only a couple of pages. (My wife has other plans for my morning but I will read the entire thread.) I was aware about the controversies surrounding it. The Nixon White House, if I remember correctly, thought the image was altered. I don't believe that at all. I think Mr. Ut's image is the read deal. Whether or not he took it with a Pentax, Leica or Nikon, to me, is immaterial. The old photography axiom, "⨍8 and being there," reigns supreme. I could be mistaken about this but I believe Leica put Mr. Ut in their "hall of fame" for that image.Have you seen the thread about Nick Ut and the infamous Vietnam photo? It would be interesting to hear your thoughts about it.
y
I've got a little story for you and, if this violates any of this thread’s rules, I hope the moderators will let me know. Back in '69, I was on a photo assignment and ran out of film. I hopped a ride out of the jungle on a resupply chopper and was dropped off at Long Binh Post. I knew some guys at the 221st Signal Bn and I knew I could load up on whatever they had on hand. While there, I found my way over to the Continental Hotel in Saigon. That's where a lot of civilian photographers stayed and, since I had aspirations to join their ranks after my service was over, I thought I could make a connection or two. Did I ever. I saw Sean Flynn there but didn't meet him. One fellow spoke to me in a beautiful British accent, and I recognized Larry Burrows. He was very friendly and even introduced me to Mr. Faas. I invited them to participate in an upcoming operation and Larry showed up for that a couple of weeks later and stayed a couple of days. During that brief time, he told me to work on my portfolio and, when I got out of the Army, I should go to college and major in journalism. He told me to get in touch after that, and he'd try to help. I gotta tell you I was bursting with pride and experiencing delusions of grandeur.
A couple of years later, I was in college and went to the library to do research for a paper I was writing. I saw a Life Magazine with a cover story emblazoned on the cover that said something like "Death of a Photographer." It was Larry. That kind of broke my heart. Still does.
Mike
JohnWolf
Well-known
Mike, thanks for sharing your background. I really enjoyed reading it and seeing your pictures.
I’m 75 and my eyes aren’t so great either. Sometimes I consider replacing everything with a Q but the prospect of no M is too unsettling.
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Rangefinder M-P
Rangefinder M-P
John, I know what you mean about having no M-series Leica. I really had second thoughts, too. After a few outings with the Q3, though, I knew I'd made the right move for me.
Mike
Mike
Archiver
Veteran
Thank you for sharing that story, and I'm sure that it doesn't violate any forum rules. It would have been so disappointing for a young you to learn of his passing after that promise. Can I ask if you went further into photography and journalism after your service?
38Deardorff
Well-known
I saw that the well-known war photographer Eddy Van Wessel (Netherlands, resides in Sweden) covering the war in Ukraine uses a Leica Q3 among his raft of cameras...
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Rangefinder M-P
Rangefinder M-P
One of our local TV stations advertised for a mo-pic cameraman as they were going to sent their Eyewitness News Crew to South Vietnam. This was in '72 and the war was really winding down. I asked my wife if she would mind me going back and she said, "If that's what you really want to do . . . . " I applied and got the job. Ultimately, though, the TV station decided to spend their money elsewhere and terminated my employment. After that, I started a company and went bust a few years later. Being a slow learner, I started another one about five years later and sold it ten years ago. These days, I take pictures of my grandchildren and my motorcycle adventures.
A few years ago, a friend who was a photographer for the Houston Chronicle for a lot of years sent me a photo of Larry Burrows Leica:
I'm glad I didn't go back.
By the way, if ever your bored to tears and have absolutely nothing to do, click on my signature line and it'll take to the Adventure Motorcycle Rider forum. I did a ride report several years ago that details my reconnection with some of those fine soldiers with whom I served as well as some of the orphans I photographed at the An Lac orphanage.
Mike
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Archiver
Veteran
I read your ride story in your sig, and it is one of the best things I've read in a while. The brotherhood and bond you have with your friends, the story of the ride, and the story of how it came to be, what a journey. It's the kind of story that needs to be told and remembered, not just the big decisions and the gritty truths, but the sense of quiet personal history that moves from the past into the present and future. Thank you for your service, even though I'm in Australia.
On another note, were your ride photos shot with a Leica? Just wondering!
Rangefinder M-P
Rangefinder M-P
Thank you, sir, for your very kind remarks. They are most appreciated.
I noticed you were from Melbourne and I have a very short war story for you. I was with an US infantry outfit and we were working a bit north of Vung Tau. We linked up with an Australian unit and accompanied them to their base camp. That evening, we went to their mess hall for dinner and were told the main course was brazed underground mutton. None of us had any idea what we were about to eat but we knew it would be better than US C-rations packaged in 1949. Anyway, we dined on rabbit that evening and were quite impressed. We almost felt civilized!
When I took that Colt up to my friend, Mike, I carried a Nikon D300.
Mike
Godfrey
somewhat colored
What "signature line" are you referring to? I don't see a signature line on any of your posts. Thx in advance.
G
Rangefinder M-P
Rangefinder M-P
Archiver
Veteran
It's in his profile in the About tab, labeled 'Duty Honoring a Friend'.
Rangefinder M-P
Rangefinder M-P
It just occurred to me that my signature line is only visible to me. Here's the link: Duty - Honoring a Friend
Mike
Mike
Godfrey
somewhat colored
Thank you. I'm a bit wiped emotionally this evening ... spent an hour visiting an elderly friend at the hospital who isn't going to make it 🙁 ... so I'll put off reading your story until tomorrow when I have a clear head.
G
G
peterm1
Veteran
If you are to retire soon, I surmise that you are "of a certain age" as they say. As am I (in fact, I am now older.) I found as I grew older that I struggled more and more with focusing on my Leica digital M camera as my eyes deteriorated. To be sure I could (and did) buy a diopter / magnifier lens for the VF and this helped some - for a while - but I still found it was still a struggle. Admittedly mine was an M8 which has a piddling VF magnification of 0.68x which makes it hard, I found, to focus accurately. I tried a M240 and its 0.72 VF magnification was better but not perhaps enough. All of this was not helped by my penchant for slightly longer lenses (50mm /75mm/90mm) and my love of shooting them wide open where possible as I like subject separation from background (and good bokeh if I can get it.) To make matters worse I tend to enjoy street photography where the photographer's ability to focus quickly and accurately is at a premium. In the end I reluctantly sold it and bought with the proceeds, a secondhand Leica SL. It's a much nicer camera to use than its large bulk suggests and of course I can still use my Leica mount glass on it with a suitable adapter. Plus, I can also use whatever other glass I care to try, also with suitable adapters. I was happy to buy a low mileage original model SL (type 601) as I intended to use it with MF glass anyway. Why pay a fortune for features I would be unlikely to use.
In short, I would only suggest that you think carefully about what genre of photography you will indulge in, what subjects you will shoot, what types and focal lengths of lenses you will use and how you will shoot them..................... otherwise you may find yourself in a similar quandary to me. If your eyes are good enough and if you can cope with the shortcomings of M technology go for it but I would just say think it through first.
Oh by the way, the question of RF adjustment came up in a post above as you know. As far as I know all M cameras (including later ones which use the same optical technology) suffer from the need to have their RF recalibrated eventually - and more or less regularly. Heavy users say about once a year for them. I am fortunate - I had a local trained technician who could do it for me and that worked out cheaper and faster than sending it to Leica. But it was still annoying as I could never be sure when it wopuld happen and it was never due to mishandling or rough useage. I am sure on one occasion it happened on a long air flight - perhaps due to consistent vibration in an overhead locker.
Its "wonky" old tech RF system is undoubtedly one of the shortcomings and compromises I mentioned above. People either live with it or not.
In short, I would only suggest that you think carefully about what genre of photography you will indulge in, what subjects you will shoot, what types and focal lengths of lenses you will use and how you will shoot them..................... otherwise you may find yourself in a similar quandary to me. If your eyes are good enough and if you can cope with the shortcomings of M technology go for it but I would just say think it through first.
Oh by the way, the question of RF adjustment came up in a post above as you know. As far as I know all M cameras (including later ones which use the same optical technology) suffer from the need to have their RF recalibrated eventually - and more or less regularly. Heavy users say about once a year for them. I am fortunate - I had a local trained technician who could do it for me and that worked out cheaper and faster than sending it to Leica. But it was still annoying as I could never be sure when it wopuld happen and it was never due to mishandling or rough useage. I am sure on one occasion it happened on a long air flight - perhaps due to consistent vibration in an overhead locker.
Its "wonky" old tech RF system is undoubtedly one of the shortcomings and compromises I mentioned above. People either live with it or not.
Archiver
Veteran
Funny that you mention this. I bought a SL2S with the intention of using it as a M alternative with high quality video features, and have found myself using it much more than my beloved M9. Lately, I picked up the M9 and found myself feeling for a back button to zoom in to focus! EVF focusing is a touch slower and has the potential for slippage, but if you can take the time it is more accurate than RF focusing, especially for longer lenses and fast lenses. Wide lenses are more difficult with EVF focusing, becoming more difficult the wider it goes.
So this is weird - I've never needed my M9's RF adjusted (touch wood) and I've had it for fifteen years, over 75,000 images. Maybe it's out of alignment, but the results generally say no. Guess I'm just really fortunate!
RF tech is faster to focus than EVF, and allows you to focus on what you want, not what the camera thinks you want. For me, that's the real benefit of rangefinder focusing.
wlewisiii
Veteran
At only 61~62 my time in the army wasn't until the 1980's and I didn't fly into Tan Son Nhat until 2002 when my ex and I were there to adopt our son. My memories of that green and beautiful land are quite pleasant and the orphanage he was at was very decent as well. By then, the people were very friendly to Americans and held no ill-will from the days of The American War.
I still wonder if I wouldn't have been better off going in as a photographer in 1982 but hindsight, as they say... as it was I got my Canon AE-1 at the PX and never looked back.
Thank you for sharing your images.
William
Godfrey
somewhat colored
I had to move away from EVF cameras, for general use, because in my case ... I can focus either EVF or RF just fine, but when shooting in sunlight, the dimness of an EVF compared to the ambient sun is now difficult as my eyes take a long time to accommodate to the lower light level in the viewfinder. It's enough to make using an EVF in daytime, outdoors, difficult. (Of course, for when I use my 135mm and longer focal length lenses to the M10-M/-R, or do macro work, the accessory EVF is very useful, despite how long it might take my eye to accommodate it.)
In fifty+ years of using Leica M cameras, I've only had to have the rangefinder calibrated twice ... and in both cases, it was on a camera that had either been sitting for 20 years in a sock drawer when I got it, or was second-hand and not handled with adequate care and respet. I've never had to have any M's RF recalibrated repeatedly.
All of that aside, the Leica SL typ 601 is a delightful camera. I bought the first one available in the SF Bay Area when they came out, and only sold it when I retired and closed the photo business down. It was my work camera, and did that job superbly.
Yes, I am retired and my 71st bday is this month. Eyes continue to work just fine, thankfully. 😀
G
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