markbrennan
Established
Many of you know Tony Rose at PopFlash. Well, he really provides excellent service - he's a pleasure to deal with.
I had looked at some MPs locally (NYC) and sent him an email w/ a question about a 50 'cron. His reply was so fast and his intent clearly so eager to help and inform that once I reached him by phone I decided to go all the way and order a new MP from him. It helps that his prices are good, of course.
He's a big fan of RFF, of course, and don't forget he offers free shipping to members.
I may get some flack for going w/ a new MP, but as Jim Bielecki (Mackinaw) well knows, once I handled that MP in the store there was virtually no turning back. I felt that it really fulfilled pretty much everything I've been looking for in a rangefinder camera (pace Canon owners - especially P owners!). But I'm certainly spending much more than I EVER thought I'd spend on a camera!
I'm also looking forward to seeing the results w/ the new (latest) 50 'cron, which I ordered with it; I'll continue shooting exclusively w/ a 50 for a while, but expect I'll eventually go wider.
There's a lot of debate as to how much the quality and "feel" of the gear make a difference in a photographer's work; I know the camera is simply a "tool" and it's the photographer who makes the picture. But I'm big on tactile experience and certainly have developed a taste in fine glass, after looking at the many postings here. I felt that the Canon P I was using fulfilled a lot in terms of the photographic experience, but left me a bit frustated in some specifics. As many of you know, I found focusing problematic and, although a VF cleaning might have helped, I do know that the RF otpics are simply diffferent on the P than on the Ms (when I was shooting w/ zone focusing on the street it was no problem, but trying to take a picture of my daughter in low light was impossible!).
Looking through the MP finder was powerful proof of Leica's superior RF optics.
I was using the old chrome Canon 50 1.8 LTM lens, and although I occassionally got nice results, I found it flare prone and sometimes flat and soft. Looking at the some of the results on this forum w/ new Leica glass convinced me that I really preferred sharper images w/ more contrast (pace HCB). Before getting into RF photography, I was shooting w/ a Nikon FM2 w/ their modern 50 1.8 (AF!) lens and, as some of you know, Nikon optics are superb - very sharp - but the bokeh is a bit harsh. The new Leica glass seems to offer the perfect blend: very sharp w/ pleasing bokeh.
This post is running a bit long, I'm afraid - sorry. To summarize, the trajectory of my camera use runs like this: Canon G2 in Spring 2003; Nikon D70 in Spring 2004; Nikon FM2 in Spring 2005; Canon P in Fall 2005; MP in Spring 2006! Let's see if I can actually get out and take some decent pictures! Thanks for all the great feedback on my previous postings. I'll try to post some pictures soon.
Best regards,
-Mark
I had looked at some MPs locally (NYC) and sent him an email w/ a question about a 50 'cron. His reply was so fast and his intent clearly so eager to help and inform that once I reached him by phone I decided to go all the way and order a new MP from him. It helps that his prices are good, of course.
He's a big fan of RFF, of course, and don't forget he offers free shipping to members.
I may get some flack for going w/ a new MP, but as Jim Bielecki (Mackinaw) well knows, once I handled that MP in the store there was virtually no turning back. I felt that it really fulfilled pretty much everything I've been looking for in a rangefinder camera (pace Canon owners - especially P owners!). But I'm certainly spending much more than I EVER thought I'd spend on a camera!
I'm also looking forward to seeing the results w/ the new (latest) 50 'cron, which I ordered with it; I'll continue shooting exclusively w/ a 50 for a while, but expect I'll eventually go wider.
There's a lot of debate as to how much the quality and "feel" of the gear make a difference in a photographer's work; I know the camera is simply a "tool" and it's the photographer who makes the picture. But I'm big on tactile experience and certainly have developed a taste in fine glass, after looking at the many postings here. I felt that the Canon P I was using fulfilled a lot in terms of the photographic experience, but left me a bit frustated in some specifics. As many of you know, I found focusing problematic and, although a VF cleaning might have helped, I do know that the RF otpics are simply diffferent on the P than on the Ms (when I was shooting w/ zone focusing on the street it was no problem, but trying to take a picture of my daughter in low light was impossible!).
Looking through the MP finder was powerful proof of Leica's superior RF optics.
I was using the old chrome Canon 50 1.8 LTM lens, and although I occassionally got nice results, I found it flare prone and sometimes flat and soft. Looking at the some of the results on this forum w/ new Leica glass convinced me that I really preferred sharper images w/ more contrast (pace HCB). Before getting into RF photography, I was shooting w/ a Nikon FM2 w/ their modern 50 1.8 (AF!) lens and, as some of you know, Nikon optics are superb - very sharp - but the bokeh is a bit harsh. The new Leica glass seems to offer the perfect blend: very sharp w/ pleasing bokeh.
This post is running a bit long, I'm afraid - sorry. To summarize, the trajectory of my camera use runs like this: Canon G2 in Spring 2003; Nikon D70 in Spring 2004; Nikon FM2 in Spring 2005; Canon P in Fall 2005; MP in Spring 2006! Let's see if I can actually get out and take some decent pictures! Thanks for all the great feedback on my previous postings. I'll try to post some pictures soon.
Best regards,
-Mark
