One thing that is becoming less and less of an issue is the shutter noise. Originally derided by the Leica crowd as a clap trap, a Cosina Voigtlander clone and a "plastic piece of junk" – all incorrect assessments – the shutter is a nonissue these days.

Between outdoor noise pollution and a half case, it's fairly rare these days for people to turn their heads when I'm out shooting.

In contrast, I've been toying around with a Rolleiflex SL 35 E lately. I think the shutter on this camera is rather subdued, compared with other SLRs. However, it was enough to frighten birds on a recent nature walk. The week before I had been shooting with the Zeiss Ikon, and there were no problems at all.

I made a mental note to take a rangefinder next time out. I love the Rolleiflex Sl 35 E and its Zeiss-design lenses, but you need the right tool for the job.

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I still haven't gotten that extra battery. Maybe next payday.

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My next big trip will be back to New Jersey. It's going to be a real quick trip, so I might just bring along my Contax IIa, some TMax 3200 and a couple of lenses. I really like that camera. I probably could give up every camera that I own and still be satisfied with the Contax IIa and a three-lens set (35, 50 and 135).

Depending on the status of contract talks at work, that could be a real possibility.

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Zeiss really got it right with the Zeiss Ikon's shutter release. Although electronic, it has just the right amount of travel and resistance. I know that I've mentioned this before, but it bears repeating.

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Photo credit: Leica-USA.com See the resemblance?

Has anyone noticed that the new digital Leica M8 uses a metering pattern that looks suspiciously like the one on the Zeiss Ikon? Once again, Leica is borrowing from Zeiss ... just a little camera humor there. Without Leica, one can wonder if 35mm photography would have ever become popular.

The M8 looks impressive, although I wonder if the loss of the cloth shutter will be too much for Leica diehards.

Leica certainly took the right approach with its decision to offer a top speed of 1/8000. That's good, because the lowest equivalent ISO is 160. That would certain preclude the use of open aperture shooting in bright daylight with certain high-speed lenses, if the shutter speed topped out at 1/1000.

And this is important ... why? Well the reason is that a number of Leica photographers insist on shooting everything at max aperture, regardless of whether the situation actually calls for it.

Amateur Photographer reported recently that Leica does not recommend that the current 135mm lens be used with the M8. Apparently, the sensor crop means that the rangefinder patch now covers the entire image for 135mm and accurate focusing could be problematic.

Hey, I'm just repeating what AP wrote, so take it up with them, not me.