goamules
Well-known
Someone in a recent thread was saying "a quarter inch difference" isn't much when comparing sizes of various LTM cameras. I beg to differ. Recently I've been carrying my 1930s IID when I go out walking. They don't have strap lugs, but are so tiny, with their rounded edges, they are very pocketable. By that I mean any pocket you have, a coat pocket, pants pocket, or even shirt pocket! I sometimes just cup in in the palm of my hand, and slip into a pocket for moments I need both hands free.
Yesterday I wanted to try out a Canon VT I'm going to sell. I didn't want to bother putting a strap on it, and figured I'd just carry it in my hand like the smaller Leica. What a pain! It's like carrying a brick. There are no natural places to hold it for carry (the rounded ends of the Leicas fit well longways, with your fingers curled around to the front). It may be only "so much" bigger, but it feels like it's twice as large. There is no way you'd ever get it in a pocket, any pocket, except maybe the cargo pocket of a M-65 field jacket!
To think that in the early 1930s Leica invented such a tiny camera - it was the cell phone cam of the day. With the same purpose perhaps, to always have it with you, unobtrusive, in case a photo was needed. Yes, the finder is tiny. Everything is tiny! But it takes excellent photos, and sometimes having a small camera with you was more important than having a "more serious", big, heavy, camera with a great viewfinder.
Over time, Leicas, and the clones, all got bigger. With better finders, slow speed dials, lever winds, and all kinds of things that made them no longer pocketable. If size your primary need, none of these improvements did you well.
Yesterday I wanted to try out a Canon VT I'm going to sell. I didn't want to bother putting a strap on it, and figured I'd just carry it in my hand like the smaller Leica. What a pain! It's like carrying a brick. There are no natural places to hold it for carry (the rounded ends of the Leicas fit well longways, with your fingers curled around to the front). It may be only "so much" bigger, but it feels like it's twice as large. There is no way you'd ever get it in a pocket, any pocket, except maybe the cargo pocket of a M-65 field jacket!
To think that in the early 1930s Leica invented such a tiny camera - it was the cell phone cam of the day. With the same purpose perhaps, to always have it with you, unobtrusive, in case a photo was needed. Yes, the finder is tiny. Everything is tiny! But it takes excellent photos, and sometimes having a small camera with you was more important than having a "more serious", big, heavy, camera with a great viewfinder.
Over time, Leicas, and the clones, all got bigger. With better finders, slow speed dials, lever winds, and all kinds of things that made them no longer pocketable. If size your primary need, none of these improvements did you well.
