Having had excellent feedback with my questions on the M series, I wonder if anybody has the same experience as I do regarding my R6. I have moved from Nikon (F100s etc) and seem to notice, despite being thrilled with the colour depth etc. of the Leica lenses, a slight delay between the pressing of the release button and the firing of the shutter. This is most noticeable in the context of taking pictures of moving subjects such as my kids (who never, ever stay still for their Daddy's camera...). I realise that all SLRs have some delay but I guess my question is, is the r6 known to be bad in this respect? Would the R8 or R6.2 be an improvement? Should I just go fully over to M cameras (which I would like to do but feel strangely nervous about)? Any comments, as always would be very gratefully received.

Cheers, (it's good to know I'm not the only perfectionist in the world...)

-- stephen Jones (stephen_jones_et_al@hotmail.co.uk), February 11, 2001

Answers

I think you wouldn't notice any delay with the R6 had you not worked with the M series body first!

-- Tony Rowlett (rowlett@alaska.net), February 11, 2001.

I can't say anything specific about the lag time for the R6 in relation to other SLRs, but The "M" is reputed to have one of the shortest delays between pressing the shutter release and the shutter firing.

In regards to your second question, I have often thought that life would be so much more simple if I dumped everything and settled on a simple Leica M6 and a couple of lenses. This works for some people, but there are some things that a rangefinder just can't do. I still pull out my 300mm lens, still go into the 1:1 range with my macro lenses, and still shoot at 5 frames per second. In serious landscapes, I like to use a polarizer and a graduated neutral density filter. Fill lighting in mid-day sun is a snap with a 1/250th flash sync, a pedestrian feature on SLRs these days.

If all I did were environmental portraits or "slice of life" shots, ala DAH, I believe I could go the 100% Leica M route. Before you make that plunge... look at that list above, (as well as the other things I didn't put in it because they are not a priority to me). If you can live without those tasks, easily accomplished with an SLR, then the total immersion into the rangefinder world might be for you. It might be easier if I never experienced those things, (you don't miss what you don't know), but I think I would always be cursing my inability to do what was in the past effortless.

But then again... that bag would sure get light.

-- Al Smith (smith58@msn.com), February 11, 2001.

The M's shutter lag was measured at around 14-16 ms by Norman Goldberg some years ago. The smallest shutter lag was a Minox 35: 4ms.

Most SLRs are at least 45 ms or so, many quite a bit more.

Godfrey

-- godfrey digiorgi (ramarren@bayarea.net), February 11, 2001.

45 ms is still less than 1/20 s. Not much. The impression may be enhanced by the _sound_ of the R6 which is long and slow compared to a Nikon, for instance. But in practice, no difference.

I really don't think that shutter lag is a practical consideration in taking pictures. You can't react faster than 1/20 s anyway, our reflexes are just not that fast.

Of course, if you want an excuse to buy M gear, go ahead. It's excellent equipment with lots of quirks and limitations. You may like it. I certainly do! But I have found that SLR is an excellent school for picture taking, after which you have to retrain yourself for the M way of looking at things. Not an easy transition.

Rob.

-- Robert Appleby (laintal@tin.it), February 12, 2001.

As owner of M's, R's (including R6,6.2, 7 and 8) and Nikon F5 and F100, if faced with trying to photograph toddlers at play, will always pick up one of the Nikons, with a midrange zoom like 35-70/2.8 or 28-70/2.8. I can do it with an R or M, but I get lots more keepers with the F5/F100 AF.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), February 12, 2001.

Recently I picked up my R6.2 after it had sat for awhile. Firing the shutter I was shocked and confused with a serious delay in shutter response. I notice coincidentally that the self-timer isn't working. After some exercise the shutter firing seems back to normal. The self-timer still doesn't work. A little bird tells me the two problems are somehow related. Time for a check-up.

-- Ken Shipman (kennyshipman@aol.com), February 12, 2001.

There is a story I wanna tell about the reason why got stock with my Leica M`s, hope every thing goes fine and can finish it before something happend with comunication line. Any way it was my firs serious proyect in early 1999, i was a Nikon and leica user, and still I am, the documental was about a film that was been made in my home town, I began using my M3 with a 35/2.8 as my main camera,(it was a camera I had own since 1986, with out any service been made by me), I change very little to my 21 and my 50 was in service so I couldn`t use it, I also took with me a Nikon FM with a 24 and a 35, the proyect took over me I was so excited with results, in the last days at roll 130 or so the M3 begun to feel very hard to wind lever until it was imposible to take another shoot, some one from the film croud told me it just needed some lubrication, any way I had to take out my FM, and that was it, I was shooting ten or twelve rolls a day, with the nikon I just couldn`t go on, I wasn`t seeing any thing, those rolls were full of nothing, then I understood the diference of the two sistems and how them can afect your performace, I`m not saing any one is better than the other, but they are radicaly diferent, maybe if I were using long lenses or macro or flash, but candid photography of people working around me all day for four weeks.Now I keep my equipment as good as I can and bougth two new bodies, still have the Nikon maybe I`ll buy a tele for it soon.But as long as wide angles in distances further than 70cm no other way for me.

-- rwatson (al1231234@hotmail.com), February 12, 2001.

Mr Watson

Are you answering a different question, or am I missing something?

-- Robin Smith (smith_robin@hotmail.com), February 13, 2001.

Mr. Smith,

It's perfectly clear to me. What is confusing you?

;-)

Regards, Ray

-- Ray Moth (ray_moth@yahoo.com), March 20, 2001.

I think he's just saying that although he's had some trouble with his M3, he still prefers Leica RF cameras to an SLR as long as the shot is within the camera's limitations, because too many of his SLR shots strike him as banal. So he uses his M's with wideangles, and the Nikon for telephoto work. I don't think he realized he posted his thoughts in a non-relevant thread.

-- Bob Fleischman (RFXMAIL@prodigy.net), March 20, 2001.

well yes, I was thinking in another question, altough it has something to do whit shutter delay, and blackout caracteristics in SLR´s.Sorry

-- R. Watson (AL1231234@HOTMAIL.COM), March 20, 2001.