Bill Pierce
Well-known
I am sure that this article has been brought to the attention of RFF members in other threads, but, if you haven't run across it, I recommend it.
http://web.mac.com/kamberm/Leica_M8_Field_Test,_Iraq/Page_1.html
This is not some over the top tirade. It's a sad statement of fact by a photojournalist who has depended on Leica in the past and now, as his trade is essentially digital, can't count on them anymore.
I used to photograph wars among other things and, like Mr. Kamber, found film Leicas were among the best tools for that work. The problems he has had with M8s doing the important work of photographing a war are the same problems I have had doing lesser work. We both have gone through 3 M8s. My third one seems to be working. But, because of my experience with numbers 1 and 2, I would hesitate to use it in a situation where the pictures were important and reshooting impossible. And, truth is, you actually want several bodies not only to let you use several lenses, but to provide back up in case of theft, damage or failure, something a little difficult to do with M8s on a photojournalist's income.
I've never met Mr. Kamber. We have mutual friends. And we shop at the same camera store, Fotocare, in NYC. So, maybe someday we will cross paths. I hope so; I have a special regard for photographers that do what he does. I know it's silly to say that Leica has a special obligation to the generations of photographers who do what he does. They don't. But they used to behave as if they did. And it was very nice.
http://web.mac.com/kamberm/Leica_M8_Field_Test,_Iraq/Page_1.html
This is not some over the top tirade. It's a sad statement of fact by a photojournalist who has depended on Leica in the past and now, as his trade is essentially digital, can't count on them anymore.
I used to photograph wars among other things and, like Mr. Kamber, found film Leicas were among the best tools for that work. The problems he has had with M8s doing the important work of photographing a war are the same problems I have had doing lesser work. We both have gone through 3 M8s. My third one seems to be working. But, because of my experience with numbers 1 and 2, I would hesitate to use it in a situation where the pictures were important and reshooting impossible. And, truth is, you actually want several bodies not only to let you use several lenses, but to provide back up in case of theft, damage or failure, something a little difficult to do with M8s on a photojournalist's income.
I've never met Mr. Kamber. We have mutual friends. And we shop at the same camera store, Fotocare, in NYC. So, maybe someday we will cross paths. I hope so; I have a special regard for photographers that do what he does. I know it's silly to say that Leica has a special obligation to the generations of photographers who do what he does. They don't. But they used to behave as if they did. And it was very nice.
