Bob Blakely on Leica vs Nikon

Bob argues that too much technology in a camera makes us lazy. He has abandonded his F100 for a Leica III.

I also have a Nikon N90s which I virtually never use, but thats because I have largely abandonded film for digital. I now use a D50 which is practically identical to the N100 in its interface.

The needs of landscape photography and portrait are very different. Unless you are being paid to have your picture taken the photographer has no business interrupting people. The biggest advantage of digital in turning bad photographers into mediocre ones is that they no longer spend ten minutes posing people and waiting for the conditions to become perfect, which of course they never will, the longer you make people wait the more bored they will become.

I don't think the automation in the camera makes a great deal of difference. Once you have decided what you want to take a picture of, compose the shot and focus on the topic of interest there are only two real choices you can make on a camera; aperture and shutter speed. And the choice of one strongly constrains the other, particularly in digital photography where the only objective in making the shot is to capture the desired depth of focus and preserve the dynamic range.

The flash gun on the other hand has more options and flexibility than can be imagined. You can point it in six different ways for a start, then there is the issue of front or rear curtain sync, exposure and so on.