Certainly the Nikon makes more sense! The M's are the "real" Leicas and yes, they can be very expensive -not to mention the glass! I have an M6 and 8 now and love them to death. They feel like a Luger in your hand -nothing even comes close, but I still do grab my Nikons! The alternatives in your price range would be the Panasonic "joint

IMHO... Tangibles Of the Digiluxes mentioned... (not considering any other Leicas?) D2: 1.) Known best for its lens (stellar). NatGeo photogs were fans of the D2. 2.) It does have an electronic rather than optical VF (which drives me mad). 3.) Watch out for failed (Sony) sensors. It is the D2's weakness. 4.) Great camera -great prices today. D3

[quote user="valve1"] Is the radio working now? [/quote] Thanks. I am a bit confused. It goes through this drop and then works fine? I would think you would want to exorcise that out! Did you clean the sensors?

Leica fanboy on deck. Nikon fanboy on deck. To get started... You said nonprofessional work, but... 1.) Just what sort of shooting do you want to do? 2.) Are you a "camera guy" or is it just a means to an end?

This may sound trivial, but give it a try. On the face of the aluminum plate (top and bottom) you will see two small, clear, pyramidal pieces under the glass. They are "finger interrupt sensors" for lack of a better technical term. They may not look dirty/dusty -but give them a good clean and try again.

[quote user="9 LEE"]On the flip side, if the draw was illegally rigged and prizes were only allocated to regular posters - don't you think it would look highly suspicious!![/quote] Absolutley! ...a whole lot moreso than what happened in this past draw. I thought it was great that a fellow joined up as a gold member the very day of the

Back to the future!

Steffen. With all respect to you -can we just not leave this thread respectful?

I hope you don't have a BC9x00 in the mix! Cat-dancing has awoken more than one member here in the middle of the night!

Congrats all! See you next Wednesday© if not sooner!