# Oh well...



## Petraio Prime (Jul 30, 2010)

I was at the Franklin Conservatory last night, here in Columbus, for Cocktails night.

Sometimes I bring my camera and take pictures of people attending. 

For a long time I have liked to take photos of others taking photos. Kind of a joke, I guess.

Well last night there was a young man there with some big Canon rig, with what looked like a 70-200 lens attached. I had my 35 year old Leicaflex SL2 with 180mm Elmarit-R on it, shooting Fuji NPH 400.

My rig was smaller, and lighter too, probably.

http://www.summilux.net/r_system/SL2-bon-2.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QomDizboK...Qp-beilAWRw/s400/26-ELMARIT-R-180-MM-F2.8.jpg

I walked up to him and said "Let's take each others' pictures" and he agreed. So, we raised our cameras to our eyes. I focused and clicked. He was still doing something after at least another couple of seconds. Maybe trying to figure out which focus point to use or whatever.



After he took his camera down I asked him "what took you so long?"; he just laughed.


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## usayit (Jul 30, 2010)

LOL.!

that's funny.

Kinda reminds me of that P&S commercial (Panasonic I think) which had a photographer setting up all of his equipment to get ready to take a photo.  A couple walks by, the guy pulls out a P&S, composes, trips the shutter, shows his photo to his girl, then smiles at the photographer as they continue on their walk.


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## Petraio Prime (Jul 30, 2010)

usayit said:


> LOL.!
> 
> that's funny.
> 
> Kinda reminds me of that P&S commercial (Panasonic I think) which had a photographer setting up all of his equipment to get ready to take a photo.  A couple walks by, the guy pulls out a P&S, composes, trips the shutter, shows his photo to his girl, then smiles at the photographer as they continue on their walk.



My Leicaflex SL2 is so much a part of me...it just disappears in the process.


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## Derrel (Jul 30, 2010)

Yeah...good story...

I'll bet he already has his pictures ready to look at though...yours are probably several days away from that stage...

I always did like a 180mm/2.8 lens for "isolation" shots on 24x36. Your Elmarit-R 180 looks pretty sweet, I must admit. Looks like it was built to last for 80,90 years of hard use! Today's AF lenses feel pretty cheezy by comparison to such finely crafted MF teles.


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## supraman215 (Jul 30, 2010)

Maybe adjusting his ISO to account for the dark room? Probablly would take longer to wind your film back, leaving the leader out, get another roll of a higher iso, forward past your last frame on that roll and take the picture than to adjust a focus point. :???:


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## Petraio Prime (Jul 30, 2010)

supraman215 said:


> Maybe adjusting his ISO to account for the dark room? Probablly would take longer to wind your film back, leaving the leader out, get another roll of a higher iso, forward past your last frame on that roll and take the picture than to adjust a focus point. :???:



Yes, but the moment of capture can be long gone while you're fiddling with zoom, autofocus points, etc.

It was outside  I should add, on the patio.


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## Petraio Prime (Jul 30, 2010)

Derrel said:


> Yeah...good story...
> 
> I'll bet he already has his pictures ready to look at though...yours are probably several days away from that stage...
> 
> I always did like a 180mm/2.8 lens for "isolation" shots on 24x36. Your Elmarit-R 180 looks pretty sweet, I must admit. Looks like it was built to last for 80,90 years of hard use! Today's AF lenses feel pretty cheezy by comparison to such finely crafted MF teles.



I'll have the film processed and scanned by tomorrow afternoon.


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## supraman215 (Jul 30, 2010)

Derrel said:


> Today's AF lenses feel pretty cheezy by comparison to such finely crafted MF teles.



I would doubt you find much argument for this comment anywhere.

You say these days, I agree and would add that the time frame extends back to at least 1992 (probably further). My frame of reference was my mom's old Minolta 5xi. I took it out recently to take a look at it and that thing is a piece of crap. and the lenses the same. My 18-105 kit Nikon kit lens feels like a tank compared to her 70-200 4.5-5.6 Minolta lens, and the Nikon kit lens leaves much to be desired when it comes to manual focus feel and control.


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## Petraio Prime (Jul 30, 2010)

Derrel said:


> Yeah...good story...
> 
> I'll bet he already has his pictures ready to look at though...yours are probably several days away from that stage...
> 
> I always did like a 180mm/2.8 lens for "isolation" shots on 24x36. Your Elmarit-R 180 looks pretty sweet, I must admit. Looks like it was built to last for 80,90 years of hard use! Today's AF lenses feel pretty cheezy by comparison to such finely crafted MF teles.



I just recently got rid of my first version 180 Elmarit-R, because of the weight. 

Here's the original:
http://www.greiner-photo.de/catalog/images/LCRelm180k.jpg

Not only is the newer, 2nd-generation lens lighter, the quality of image is much better. Better color and depth of tones. But the original version (from the late 60s) was still in perfect condition.

The difference in weight is substantial: 1325 grammes for the old one vs 810 for the new one. Almost cuts the weight in half!

The one I had was probably 35-40 years old! (It was made from 1968 to 1979.) The point being that these old Leica lenses keep going and going and going...

So far I have owned 4 different 180s from Leica, and when I owned them:

The 180mm APO-Telyt-R f/3.4 (1977)
The 180mm Elmar-R f/4 (1978-1982)
The 180mm Elmarit-R version 1 (1990-2010)
The 180mm Elmarit-R version 2 (2010....)

I am not going to go for the The 180mm Summicron, in part because it's too heavy, and secondly it can't be used on the SL2. There is no room for the cams because of the speed of the lens and large rear elements.

Thirdly, it's huge!

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-wiki.en/index.php/180mm_f/2_APO-Summicron-R


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## supraman215 (Jul 30, 2010)

Petraio Prime said:


> Yes, but the moment of capture can be long gone while you're fiddling with zoom, autofocus points, etc.



You don't have to tell me. My primary subject is my 3yo daughter. You  still have to adjust focus and exposure. This is just as quick on old  and new cameras a like. Assuming TTL metering of course. 

Most of shooting film and making great film pictures happens in the  darkroom making prints anyway. I don't look down on anyone who uses full auto, digital or  any kind of auto  settings just because I have used and know how to use a fully manual  film camera. If I didn't know film I might be more inclined to look down on people who used it, which wouldn't be right.


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## Petraio Prime (Jul 30, 2010)

supraman215 said:


> Petraio Prime said:
> 
> 
> > Yes, but the moment of capture can be long gone while you're fiddling with zoom, autofocus points, etc.
> ...



Oh, I wasn't looking down on him, not at all. Just that I was faster on the draw, that's all.


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## Derrel (Jul 30, 2010)

Petraio Prime said:


> Oh, I wasn't looking down on him, not at all. Just that I was faster on the draw, that's all.



Only problem is, the guy whose gun clears the leather does not always win the gunfight...the guy who hits the mark first is usually the winner...

Yeah, 180mm lenses,and many others, have become lighter and lighter over the years, as new optical designs and new materials are developed. WHat is odd,however, is how GOOD some of these lightweight, sloppy autofocus lenses can actually be...I cannot figure out how some of these newer zoom lenses that seem to wiggle and wobble on their front sections, can turn in such high MTF figures and stay aligned in real-world use.

The thing about older Leica lenses is that the high degree of mechanical precision and rugged construction made the lenses basically "lifetime" lenses, capable of being used and used and used, for decades on end. THe price was always high, but so was the workmanship level and the ooptical quality...but as Erwin Puts (noted Leica user and writer) has pointed out, the mass market today has made paying for that kind of "lifetime" build quality a proposition that the marketplace today does not validate widely...which has really put the squeeze on Leica over the last few decades...building by hand or on small, narrowly focused assembly lines just drives costs so high that today's consumers feel they cannot afford the equipment. AND, that old-school type of super-ruggedized design adds a huge amount of weight when using traditional materials like steel,brass, and no alloys,no plastics, etc.


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## Petraio Prime (Jul 30, 2010)

Derrel said:


> Petraio Prime said:
> 
> 
> > Oh, I wasn't looking down on him, not at all. Just that I was faster on the draw, that's all.
> ...



I am a bit unhappy with the scans. They're too light.

Oh well, just have to have them redone:

http://www.thephotoforum.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=13292&cat=500

Anyone have an idea what model it is?


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## usayit (Jul 31, 2010)

Petraio Prime said:


> Anyone have an idea what model it is?



my guess is a 7D


Since you shoot film...  ever consider doing the scans yourself?   I do mine with a Epson V700... there are samples posted in a thread somewhere here.

<EDIT>
Point being.. you have more control over the final scan.  Faster turn around too... even thought the process can be a little tedious.

Found the thread:

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/digital-discussion-q/62119-epson-v700-experiences.html


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## Fatback (Jul 31, 2010)

usayit said:


> LOL.!
> 
> that's funny.
> 
> Kinda reminds me of that P&S commercial (Panasonic I think) which had a photographer setting up all of his equipment to get ready to take a photo.  A couple walks by, the guy pulls out a P&S, composes, trips the shutter, shows his photo to his girl, then smiles at the photographer as they continue on their walk.



You mean this one? 

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlI5t6Fgk50[/ame]

I love that commercial.


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## usayit (Jul 31, 2010)

Yup that's IT!

Several years ago... I was that "photographer".   I enjoyed my photography when I got home but started to hate the "process" of creating them... simply too much work for something to be enjoyed and not get paid for.  

It got worse when I had my first son... one day I bent over and my 1 series slid of my shoulder and popped him on his forehead.  I felt guilt for weeks everytime I saw that bruise.



btw... those lumix P&S are awesome... (for what they are).   I've posted a couple here and no one seem to notice the IQ was that of a P&S.   (TZ5 and LX3)


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