On the M6 TTL dial

The great Italian designer, Alessi, said that the Leica M camera body is one of the few designs of the 20th century which he thought was so perfect he would never try to change.

Well, I can tell you right now, he never used the damn thing. If he did, he would definitely change the shutter speed dial (among other things).

The M6 TTL dial is suppose to be, let's quote Leica on that,"... ergonomically perfect: it is easy to use and can be operated with the camera held to one eye.". I beg to differ. First, it's hard to get with the camera held to one eye. Second, I would say that "buttery smooth" is not an accurate description of its action. I don't know, maybe the butter I get uses a different recipe - I would say that one finger, thumb or index easy action could qualify for this description, but this is not the case.  I understand both aesthetics and the need to protect the dial from accidental tripping, but I would gladly trade putting a supplementary on/off  switch for the meter (it could be easily accommodated on the battery cover compartment, that could become an on / off switch itself) over the need of having a 1 mm bigger, a little bit forward moved, onward protruding dial that will make index operation a breeze. 

I bet that having a 1 mm rubberized grip on it will definitely improve the ergonomics of the design. Also, it wouldn't hurt to have a smoother action, but unfortunately this is not for me to tackle with.

So, this is it. I have a new project to play with. 

Wishlist revisited

Hasselblad 500 C/M sau un SWC
Lentile: un 60 mm si un 80 de mm;


Rolleiflex 2.8F. Merge si un 3.5E sau F:)


Voigtlander R4A (gata, s-a rezolvat, l-am luat)
Lentile: un Voigtlander Nokton 50mm 1.1 sau 1.5, un Nokton 35mm 1.8, un Ultron 28mm 2.0,  intre timp mi-am luat un Ultron 35mm 1.7 si un Skopar Snapshot 25mm 4 necuplat; un Color Heliar 75mm 2.5 pentru portrete; APO Lanthar-ul de 90mm 3.5 asa, sa fie un telefoto in casa; vizoare pentru toate lentilele de mai sus (prietenii care poarta ochelari stiu de ce);

Nikon D7000 digital, un FM2/Titanium si un F6 pe film
Lentile: un 50mm 1.4 pentru Nikon, un 12-24mm, 85mm 1.4, 85mm 1.8 avem, multumim pentru intentie.

Fuji X100 sau X300 cand o sa iasa. Daca o sa iasa.


Leica CL
Lentila: Summicron-ul de 40mm 2

Leica M6 TTL sau M7; un M9, peste 5 ani;
Tri-Elmar ul de 28-35-50mm 4
Summicron-ul  de 50mm 2
Summicronul de 35mm 2
Elmarit-ul de 90mm f2.8

M-am cam linistit cu SLR-urile:
Canon AE-1 Program
Olympus Pen FT
Pentacon Six

Niste rangefindere:
Zeiss Super Ikonta A 531/2
Zeiss Super Ikonta B 532/16 (din toata saracia, inainte sa platesc darile la Stat...)
Zeiss Ikon Kolibri (Guess what... :)
Zeiss Werra
Contax Zeiss IIA/IIIa
FED Siberia
Plaubel Makina 67
Hasselblad Xpan sau un Fuji TX-1 (more or less the same)
Hensoldt Hensa Reporter
Gandolfi Precision
Steinheil Casca II 
Konica Hexar RF
Konica Hexar AF
Canon L1
Yasuhara T-981
Mamiya 7II

Sa intram si in compacte:
Ricoh GR21 sau un Ricoh GR1s
Ricoh 500G
Leica Minilux
Leica CM
Rollei 35 SE
Fuji KlasseW
Minox 35 GT
Olympus 35SP 
Nikon 28Ti sau 35Ti
Minolta TC1
Konica S3 Auto
Olympus XA
Olympus 35RD
Yashica T5

Instant things:
Polaroid 690
Polaroid 600SE

Asa, mai pe departe: o Moskva, un Kiev, un Kalimar Reflex, un Bencini Comet III, un Tessina, un Graflex de presa, un Minox Riga, un Minox MX, un Exakta Varex VX, o lentila Zeiss Sonnar Ultron de 50mm 1.5, o prisma metered pentru Bronica ETRSi, un incarcator profesional, un set de 8 acumulatori R6 buni.

si mult timp liber, daca se poate.

Looking back

Emil Hossu.

News flash

Aviz domnisoarelor: floarea de coral roz este noua proteina de casmir. Pai cum pentru ce? Pentru spalat pe creier.

Epiphanies

I know that this one is not for the average Joe, but I've had two revelatons lately: the Ilford Delta XP2 black container lid works perfectly as a back cover for the 35mm f1.7 Voigtlander Ultron lens, while a Spitfire beer will fit perfectly inside a medium neoprene lens pouch.

In other words, I've just came back from Kent. And the Spitfire is really really good, just like its advertising.

Holy Grail

"1949 -50 TSVVS - A remarkable camera taking the Contax bayonet mount and Leica body to produce a hybrid camera. Produced in very small numbers for presentation to senior officers in the Topographic Service of the army air force known as the TSVVS. A much modified Fed with brass body rather than aluminium fitted with a genuine Contax bayonet mount Carl Zeiss Sonnar f1.5 or f2 50mm lens taken as spoils of war from the Zeiss factory at Jena. Again a lot of fakes in circulation. The true origin of the TSVVS camera is still unknown. Two major circulating theories are that the camera has either been manufactured at Moscow's Almaz factory or it had been ordered for manufacture by the Soviets from East Germany (possibly Zeiss, but it is also not confirmed). This camera is probably the most mysterious in nature out of all Soviet cameras. An old belief that this camera was made by FED factory is disputed by the fact that the body is wholly made out of brass and it is different dimensions physically than the FED-1 cameras..."

Suntem pe FWA Public Shortlist :)

E bine, zic.

Scriepecer + Best ads = Love :)

Bai, vestea buna e ca scriepecer.ro e mentionat pe Best Ads la sectiunea Best Interactive of the Week. E pentru a doua oara in istorie cand un proiect romanesc ajunge prin sectiunea in cauza, baietii de la X3 ne-au luat-o inainte.

Vestea proasta e ca mi-am gasit masina cu bara fata busita in parcare. Probabil ca zeii advertisingului au cerut un sacrificiu, e singura explicatie.

Holy Grail

Especially for the North American market, a special edition of the Rollei C 35 with an artificial leather covering in traffic-red, yellow-orange, deer-brown, steel-blue and white was produced, counting 100 items for each color. But as these test samples did not cause much interest, they were not quoted in any price list.

Looking over the table

When reason fails, you get Brand Managers.

Accidental

Exista o legatura inspaimantatoare intre mita data de romani doctorului si aplauzele de la aterizarea avioanelor low cost. Intr-o tara in care se aplauda mult si mai ales aiurea-n tramvai, intrarea in normalitate va fi in mod cert lipsita de aplauze. Slava Domnului, suntem atat de marlani, incat nici nu o sa stim ce ne-a lovit.

Glass nost!

This is definitely the best idea in packaging i've seen for quite a time: Marks & Spencer does wine in a glass. The only downside is that's not really glass, but plastic. Well, can't have it all.

Fumer, c'est mourir un peu

Daca vreti sa ma faceti fericit, iata o reteta simpla: pe 30 noiembrie mergeti la vila Marcel Dessault cam pe la opt seara - o sa o recunoasteti usor, nu sunt multe stabilimente pe Champs Elysees cu un avion de vanatoare Mirage in curte - da' dupa ce iesiti de la retrospectiva Monet de la Grand Palais, ca altfel e pacat de dupa-amiaza de dinainte. Intrati la Dorotheum si licitati pentru obiectul de mai sus. Dupa care il impachetati frumos, ma sunati si imi spuneti ca aveti o surpriza pentru mine. Pai cum de ce? Pentru ca dupa ce o sa dati un milion si jumate pe un "Sarut" licitat in acelasi lot, cei cinci mii de euro pentru pipa asta cioplita in joaca de Brancusi  o sa vi se para peanuts money. Practic e contravaloarea pontului.

E, acum o sa se vada cati miliardari seriosi si iubitori de tara imi citesc blogul. Domnule Vantu, this is a huge PR opportunity: repatriati o opera de arta, o sa va iubeasca toate femeile din Gorj!

Adam (Paradise Lost)

Here I was, 50 meters offshore of this small white sanded island in the Libyan Sea, floating effortlessly in pure turquoise waters. Then I saw him, sitting under his tree, innocence lost.

I swam back, grabbed my camera, changed to an 85mm lens in 3 seconds flat. I covered the 100 m between us fast but stealthy. When I reached the scene, she was there, and so was her guilt; they were silent, questions unasked. I went unnoticed.

One eternity later, she left; the world, in all its uncanny splendor, was waiting for her. He went back under the tree. I frozed for 20 seconds, hidding in plain sight, stone still.

He stud there, head in his hands, the same image of desoIation that got me there. I shot six pictures. Then I rested.

Ardelenii stiu sa vaca

"Napolact - lapte din inima naturii, cum numai ardelenii stiu sa faca."

Avem doua ipoteze de lucru, dar si o posibila explicatie: ori laptele asta e procesat de ardeleni, deci nu mai e chiar natural cand ajunge in ambalaj, ori ardelenii in cauza dau lapte. Sincer. cred ca avem de-a face cu un copywriter din regiune, cu ochi mari, privire blanda si uger plin de insight.

33

Design

Here's a nice reminder of what Ferdinand Porsche used to say: "if you analyze the function of an object, its form often becomes obvious.": the Hermes travel belt.

Eu cand vreau sa fuhrer, fuhrer!

Constantin AG Film bans the popular Der Untergang parody channel, based on their movie :)

Vaya con Dios

A murit Robaina. Lumea cea veche paseste incet, ca un elefant batran inspre cimitirul din jungla.

Un Vegas Robaina Don Alejandro, in seara asta, pe la 10.

Niche (II)

Montecristo no. 2: the night driving cigar.

Sent from my HTC, on my way to Iasi