Sorry to drag up a thread, but I walked into a camera store recently intending to buy a P&S - which I did, but also came out with an M8.2.
I had fond-ish memories of my old film Leica, on which I got some excellent shots... but playing with the new one for a while, I have a nasty feeling that it may all have been a fluke. Recalling how I used to use it, I really had no idea what I was really doing in the moment that I took the shot. I just pointed, did the technical basics and hoped for the best.
Maybe I need to be in a similar situation, but the shots are not coming out as I thought they might. I think some informal tuition may be in order. Does anyone know if this sort of thing can be done online, or if there's some sort of class for it?
an $8000 rangefinder is quite different from a $200 point-&-shoot.... if you just want to, well, point and shoot, a rangefinder isn't for you. a rangefinder is more or less a miniaturized SLR, and that entails learning everything you would if you had an SLR, and some more since the viewfinder and lenses function differently.
and just to be clear, an LX3 or similar does not qualify as a miniature SLR. you can't swap lenses and the "film" (sensor) is far too small, leading to lack of resolution and little DoF control.
Thank you Captain Frackin Obvious.
As I said, I did get a P&S - a D-Lux 4, aka the LX3 - and the rangefinder. You couldn't call me a professional photographer and most of my photo moments tend to be of the P&S variety. I just can't justify the bulk of a DSLR even when I'm prepared to take better pictures.
Use the camera as much as possible for a month and you'll find that you are learning to ride again.