Waist level

[jdlaing]

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42 minutes ago, D.Elk-C said:

Yes,Yes,Yes.I would have thought that Leica could have learnt this from Panasonic, I have been using an old LUMIX FZ50 for years but the screen has been so useful. I run a R9 and a R6 and all those with R glass and use film, wonder,  with all this modern technology Leica could very well go back to film.At least there would be negs to go back to. What about it Leica design chaps!!

They never left film.

[rramesh]

I don't understand why some want the M to become the 'Swiss army knife' of cameras.

The M is a rangefinder in the essence of minimalism. It's rugged, well designed and executed. What it does, it does extremly well.

I am sure if it did come with a tilt screen, someone would ask why it does not rotate 360 degrees, or why its screen resolution is so poor, or why ......

Any camera these days will suffice for a street photographer. Good street photography is about taking great photographs with the camera you have, and for this, one does not need the latest and best gear. I have seen many great photographs taken with basic snapshot cameras. In fact the least intrusive camera is your camera phone.

Edited July 10, 2020 by rramesh

[adan]

So it was wrong of Leica to permit turning Leica rangefinders into SLR-equivalents over 80 years, via optical/mechanical or electronic Visoflexes? What about the R-M adapters? What about the FOTOS software?

I'm all for keeping the core camera as minimalist as possible, and looking for user-optional ways to add Swiss-Army-knife features separately. But why bad-mouth the features if they are something you do not have to get with the camera?

[rramesh]

I believe Leica calls this  "das Westenliche" or "the essence." 

 

 

[astrostl]

For me, I think I enjoy the concept of constant physical minimalism more than I would enjoy the occasional functional use of a tilting screen - especially given that it would seem to require shooting in Leica's clunky live view mode. I think an external option would be wonderful because it could help satisfy those who want it, while not bothering those who don't.

Just my opinion, not me speaking for the ghost of Oskar Barnack or anyone or anything else. It can be done!

[roelv1]

5 hours ago, rramesh said:

I believe Leica calls this  "das Westenliche" or "the essence." 

 

 

The essence in photography is getting the picture in the best possible way. If some new innovations increases this possibility, we have to welcome that. In street photography ( and other situations) waist level photography is an often wanted aspect. Read if you like Sean Reid on waist level photography on Reid reviews. Some members here agree with that but didn't always came with the best solutions. Like using the 020 EVF finder, or Fotos. The first is hardly usable for real waist level, fotos is far better, but not as good as a tilt/flip screen. So, if such a screen increases important possibilities to be discrete ( apart from the question whether or not asking permission afterwards) and also to be more creative, it is a good innovation for das Wesenliche. 

[verwackelt]

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I do not understand that many here reducing the M to "street only". A lot of different scenes can be shot with a M.
Many have a specific destiny of the camera in mind and try to be a second Bresson or Koudelka.
This limits them to a small area and leaves out the great other possibilities.
But that seems to be the fate of the M system and Leica should put a waist level like solution to a SL3…
 

[TomB_tx]

20 minutes ago, verwackelt said:

But that seems to be the fate of the M system and Leica should put a waist level like solution to a SL3…

Right. My normal kit has included both a Leica M for 90% use and an SLR for the rest since 1968, when it was an M4 and Leicaflex SL. (I still use both for film, or an M6.) Now for digital it's an M10 for 90% and a Sony base A7 for the rest on my old R lenses. For me the M10 is perfect as it is - I wouldn't want to complicate it: all-in-one tools are seldom best for any one use.

Edited July 10, 2020 by TomB_tx

[adan]

2 hours ago, verwackelt said:

I do not understand that many here reducing the M to "street only".

Lack of imagination.....

Both of the following pictures are Leica M pictures (75 APO in the studio, 135 TE in the wild).

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It would have been nice to make the picture below with my Leica (M9 in this case), and save the hassle of carrying an extra camera (Canon 5D + Leitz 21mm Super-Angulon-R). Wherein live-view helped, but still required a literal pain the back, both as to extra weight, including carrying two 21mm lenses for one assignment, and crouching over farther.

It is amazing how many Leica lenses one can buy - if one doesn't have to spend money on other cameras (or chiropractor bills ).