I really want a Leica!!!!

ped said:
OK in the interest of not letting this become a long drawn out affair, I know that changing film is more fiddly than changing a battery or whatever. I'm saying that the times where this would be a problem for me are perhaps 0.00001% and if I was in a situation where that speed mattered I doubt taking photos would be high on my priority list.
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I was only joshing with you! ;) I think for pros in speed dependant situations digital is a godsend, however I am not a pro and I do have time to load a film when I am out taking pictures with my film camera.
 
ped said:
The NEX system and the similar 4/3 systems don't have the same feel of an all mechanical leica, so I don't know how similar they are in anything but size.

The Fuji X100 is more like it, though the lens is not removeable. Looks like a nice camera though, with a good viewfinder.

ped
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I get a similar kick from my E-P1 + manual focus lens as I do from my M3. I don't know why but the Nex-5 didn't do it for me at all. I'm probably alone in this but the Fuji X100 holds no attraction at all. Give me my E-P1 + Contax 50mm f1.4 any day - and at half the price.
 
menthel said:
I was only joshing with you! ;) I think for pros in speed dependant situations digital is a godsend, however I am not a pro and I do have time to load a film when I am out taking pictures with my film camera.
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To be honest it's basic good form to learn how to hold and use an assault rifle whilst loading a film M just as it is to learn how to develop your own film. Start out small with a pistol and work your way up when you get more confident and accurate.
 
ped said:
To be honest it's basic good form to learn how to hold and use an assault rifle whilst loading a film M just as it is to learn how to develop your own film. Start out small with a pistol and work your way up when you get more confident and accurate.
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As I don't have either an assault rifle or pistol, I hope my shotgun will suffice! ;)
 
I used to lust after a film leica, and then the digital ones made me want to sell everything I had to get one... but to be honest, my GF1 with the 20mm does the job perfectly for me, so I cant see me ever getting one other than just to own one.
 
You need to borrow or rent an M8/9 James, the urge will be back.
 
Leicas just have a pedigree that is indisputable. Combine that with a design that appeals to me aesthetically and ergonomically.

Compact, but fully manual. Pin sharp, crisp, a well engineered solution, with a reassuringly mechanical feel. It's just a tactile and satisfying experience to use a good rangefinder.

I'd happily have a Voigtlander, or even a Zorki or similar. In fact I'm currently trying to argue myself out of such a purchase this weekend.

My want for such a camera is I love my SLR, but I shoot film exclusively these days and want a camera that can stay by my side near 24/7. Something smaller, more compact and less obvious.
 
My Panasonic Lumix TZ8 has lens made by Lecia, will that do? :naughty: :lol: :D
 
danbroad said:
M's are a lovely experience. Whether or not they're a lovely camera is very much a personal thing.

I rented an M8, and I will own one. Simple. But it's a bit like Marmite...
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I would very much agree with the marmite comment, it's not for everyone but those that get on love them. There's a strange quality feeling I've found which you can't really put your finger on

If you're not a fan of rangefinder focussing though you really aren't going to like it whatever people say
 
I always have a nagging feeling that I HAVE to get a Ziess 21mm 2.8 Distagon even though I am sure I'd be more comfortable with my wide angle zoom. Hmmm I feel I will inevitably scratch the itch... :shrug:
 
If anyone wants to try a rangefinder, just pick up a cheap second hand non-leica. I've got quite a few I've picked up in charity shops for next to nothing over the years. One is a Minolta 7s that cost me 5 AUD thats a fun camera to use.

Another thing you can find in these shops is cameras like the olympus trip 35, a little point and shoot auto with a Zuiko lens. I picked one up in the UK for 50p a few years ago.

You never know, you might find a Leica in one of these places if your lucky ;)
 
Any DSLR user hankering after a Leica M can achieve a pretty good simulation of the "Leica experience" simply by putting a fast prime lens on the camera.

At a stroke, you've made your DSLR smaller, lighter, more unobtrusive and (probably, in comparison to many zooms) capable of sharper pictures - which covers most of the advantages quoted when using a Leica rangefinder. A fixed focal length lens tends to make you approach photography in a different way - when you can't zoom, you are forced to pay more attention to framing.

I have a 24-70mm L lens with my Canon 5D2, and while many see that as a "dream combo", it's a big and heavy piece of kit. With a 50mm on the 5D2, it's like using a different camera - light, nimble and discreet. I would be very tempted to go travelling with my 5D2 and a couple of primes - say a 50mm and a 35mm - and leave the zooms behind.

A.
 
Anorakus said:
Any DSLR user hankering after a Leica M can achieve a pretty good simulation of the "Leica experience" simply by putting a fast prime lens on the camera.

At a stroke, you've made your DSLR smaller, lighter, more unobtrusive and (probably, in comparison to many zooms) capable of sharper pictures - which covers most of the advantages quoted when using a Leica rangefinder. A fixed focal length lens tends to make you approach photography in a different way - when you can't zoom, you are forced to pay more attention to framing.

I have a 24-70mm L lens with my Canon 5D2, and while many see that as a "dream combo", it's a big and heavy piece of kit. With a 50mm on the 5D2, it's like using a different camera - light, nimble and discreet. I would be very tempted to go travelling with my 5D2 and a couple of primes - say a 50mm and a 35mm - and leave the zooms behind.

A.
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Perhaps, but I wouldn't say that would give you a 'Leica experience' per se.

I just went to Italy where I took only my Leica M and R-D1 bodies and a single lens. Very easy to carry in a small bag and covered everything. I felt quite sorry for the folks toting DSLRs about all day in the heat, plus mine was hidden away.
 
I like manual/mechanical cameras, and still prefer my FM and F2 to my 30D in a lot of ways, but I'm not a zealot about it. Digital does have a lot of advantages for me.

I've often thought about buying a Leica, probably an M3, and I expect I will. The camera and a decent lens costs about the same as a mid range DSLR, which is reasonably affordable, but can be sold off again without losing much if you decide not to keep it.

We were in Italy in January. Warm, and fairly hot in the south. I took a little Panasonic TZ9 which was fine for everything I wanted to do with it, but I was quite surprised by the number of visitors climbing all over the main attractions in Rome and Pompeii with DSLRs and zoom lenses.Their choice of course, but I didn't really see any need for "serious" gear for this sort of thing. Mind you, I never take anything more than a pocket camera on holiday because photography is a very long way down my list of priorities then. I'd rather not have a camera at all than lug a DSLR around.
 
Having had another trip up to the Leica shop in Mayfair for re-education :D, I'm feeling inexorably drawn towards an M9 and a couple of lenses. This is more to do with "simplifying and adding lightness" to the way I approach my photography.

The only problem is that this will cost £7,500 and involve selling my sports kit. This will mean giving up my part-time sports photography exploits, or at least those involving 10fps and 400 2.8 lens action. Lots to think about for me on this one...serious direction change decision approaching.

Hmmmmm....
 
Tobers said:
Having had another trip up to the Leica shop in Mayfair for re-education :D, I'm feeling inexorably drawn towards an M9 and a couple of lenses. This is more to do with "simplifying and adding lightness" to the way I approach my photography.

The only problem is that this will cost £7,500 and involve selling my sports kit. This will mean giving up my part-time sports photography exploits, or at least those involving 10fps and 400 2.8 lens action. Lots to think about for me on this one...serious direction change decision approaching.

Hmmmmm....
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This comment is intened to be helpful... :D

If your priority is really to get a more simpler, lighter outfit, then you don't need to spend anywhere near £7,500. And an M9 is not particularly small or light, or even simple to use.

On the other hand, if you just want a Leica, then you do.
 
HoppyUK said:
This comment is intened to be helpful... :D

If your priority is really to get a more simpler, lighter outfit, then you don't need to spend anywhere near £7,500. And an M9 is not particularly small or light, or even simple to use.

On the other hand, if you just want a Leica, then you do.
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What you say is very true. I've been really enjoying my GF1 for this very reason. Its a mind-games thing I think. Dont need it, but want it. I'll grow out of it soon. :D
 
I'd say the only way to experience similar is getting one of these new mirrorless compacts by Olympus/Panasonic/Samsung/Sony.

It's a similar look/feel/weight compared to a Leica while also maintaining interchangeable lenses :)
 
If you want a film leica than the M4P is a great second hand buy. Mine is beaten up and brassed on the corners a bit but it means I don't have to baby it.

If you want a digital leica experience then try a used Epson R-D1. I much prefer mine to the m8.2 and you can find a used body for around a grand.

Ped
 
Tobers said:
What you say is very true. I've been really enjoying my GF1 for this very reason. Its a mind-games thing I think. Dont need it, but want it. I'll grow out of it soon. :D
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no you won't.... :lol:

for me, it's the draw characteristics of the rangefinder lenses. I love that imperfect, interesting bokeh. Some hate it - that's what I love about photography, the sheer subjectivity.

I also prize an optical finder, especially one with the rangefinder's wider view of the scene. GF1's offer a finder of sorts, but are ugly .. G1's offer the look, but not the optical viewpoint...

[Now that's an interesting point, isn't it? - I know, what's ugly got to do with the shot? - well, I think the answer is that we're generally interested in aesthetics and form, and we appreciate the same aesthetic and form in our cameras.]

I can generally spot a shot taken with a fast rangefinder lens nowadays compared to an equivalent fast SLR prime. For me the dream is an M9 and 50 'lux, and has been for so long now that I'm probably becoming a stuck record... That said, I'll probably end up with an M8.2 and a 50 'cron, which is for me the best compromise between living the dream and living without money...:help:
 
Tobers said:
Having had another trip up to the Leica shop in Mayfair for re-education :D, I'm feeling inexorably drawn towards an M9 and a couple of lenses. This is more to do with "simplifying and adding lightness" to the way I approach my photography.

The only problem is that this will cost £7,500 and involve selling my sports kit. This will mean giving up my part-time sports photography exploits, or at least those involving 10fps and 400 2.8 lens action. Lots to think about for me on this one...serious direction change decision approaching.

Hmmmmm....
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You've pretty well described what I get out of shooting with the Contax G2 - although it's film obviously, not digital, but a body and the whole Contax Zeiss lens range wouldn't cost you anywhere near half of that money or mean making sacrifices with your other kit.

If it has to be a Leica the why not a film one?
 
Sorry for the Silly question, but is the Leica digital not just some panasonic digital bits in a fancy coat with some nice lenses? I thought the deal was PA by make Leica digitals and Leica help panny with lenses? Or is that oversimplified? (seriously looking at a gf1 myself!!)
 
matty said:
Sorry for the Silly question, but is the Leica digital not just some panasonic digital bits in a fancy coat with some nice lenses? I thought the deal was PA by make Leica digitals and Leica help panny with lenses? Or is that oversimplified? (seriously looking at a gf1 myself!!)
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I think it's like when Sony makes sensors for Nikon, it's nothing major to compare it's just a manufacturing contract. Nothing Panasonic makes can compare to the M8/M9 although the LX5/D-Lux 5 and the V-lux models are both pretty much the same.
 
matty said:
Sorry for the Silly question, but is the Leica digital not just some panasonic digital bits in a fancy coat with some nice lenses? I thought the deal was PA by make Leica digitals and Leica help panny with lenses? Or is that oversimplified? (seriously looking at a gf1 myself!!)
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I think it goes like this.

Panasonic wanted some cred to break into the serious camera business, and Leica needed some money. So they struck a deal whereby Pano paid Leica to put their name on some of the Lumix compacts' lenses, and Leica were also allowed to sell them as Leica-branded cameras with some software tweaks to give images that Leica look (whatever that may be) and at a more Leica-ish price point.

I don't believe that any Leica designers had anything whatsoever to do with the design of either the cameras or the lenses, other than to sign them off, regardless of whether they are branded Leica or Panasonic. They are all Panasonics.

Now that the Leica name has done the job for Panasonic, they are not allowing Leica to have any of their other camera technology, the G-series etc, even though this is where Leica is weakest - modern, digital, electronics, AF and IS etc etc - and where the commercial potential lies.

As a result, the Leica X1 'large sensor compact' and M-series rangefinder cameras are 100% Leica/Germany. This makes them 'pure' in evolutionary terms, but it also makes them extremely expensive and not quite as good as they could be on the electronics side of things, which has now become central to camera design and manufacture.
 
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Aren't the M bodies made in Portugal, and then assembled in Germany?

Agreed about the electronics - in fact, the biggest reservations for me are Electronic Rot - the fact that it's likely the more mechanical M's will outlive the digitals; circuit board failure will never be a factor to the MP...
 
danbroad said:
Aren't the M bodies made in Portugal, and then assembled in Germany?

Agreed about the electronics - in fact, the biggest reservations for me are Electronic Rot - the fact that it's likely the more mechanical M's will outlive the digitals; circuit board failure will never be a factor to the MP...
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Me too, though not a concern as such, more that I love truly mechanical objects. I like using the film/digital scanner route, too. The more I use it the more I see the shortcomings of digital for B+W, I just don't think you can compare the two. For colour, though, digital is the best for me.

I am so happy with my film pictures from Italy (in 'photos from film' section) and though I used my digital body a lot too, having no reliance on batteries is also a major boon for me.
 
danbroad said:
Aren't the M bodies made in Portugal, and then assembled in Germany?

Agreed about the electronics - in fact, the biggest reservations for me are Electronic Rot - the fact that it's likely the more mechanical M's will outlive the digitals; circuit board failure will never be a factor to the MP...
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M-series are clearly marked Made in Germany, but Leica still has a factory in Portugal (they closed the Canadian facility) which presumably makes something.

There were a lot of rumours about quality control from Portugal (even though it was an ex watch making plant, which sounds perfect) so parts made there with assembly/manufacture in Germany sounds like a good solution.
 
CT said:
You've pretty well described what I get out of shooting with the Contax G2 - although it's film obviously, not digital, but a body and the whole Contax Zeiss lens range wouldn't cost you anywhere near half of that money or mean making sacrifices with your other kit.

If it has to be a Leica the why not a film one?
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Of the digital leica? My contax g2 with 28, 45 and 90 cost just shy of £900! A lot of money for film kit but nowhere near that of a film leica kit. Mind you I paid about £150 under the current rate for the g2 body.

Op, I see what you mean about range finders, different from slr and much different to use. I am not sure how long my film adventure with my g2 will last though.
 
Hmmmmmm - the Zeiss Planar 2/50 is very good. Excellent value v the Leica equivalent too.
 
I recently ran a training session for a lady who bought a leica M9 plus 2 lenses from Harrods camera dept (£9000). I reasearched the camera thoroughly before the session and pitched the training session appropriately for the non-technical holiday snapping lady who was horrified at the involvement required in using the camera.

Arguably The chaps at Harrods miss-sold this camera but she has recently told me that the camera is ultimately a success, she uses it in a limited way for snapshots but wow, it goes so well with the Jimmy Choos and Alexander Mcqueen!

Personally I'm on the fence. I used to use an M3 which I loved then sold as digital developed. The M9 is a probably the ultimate highly portable landscape camera but otherwise I'd stick to the lx5 on the weekend and the 7d for anything serious.
 
The titaniam limited edition one was something like that, I think a plain vanilla M9 is a fraction of that cost. But still quite a big chunk of dough.

I have a certain distaste for special edition objects; they rarely justify their extra price and become objects of desire by some in their own right. I wouldn't even call the titanium limited M9 a camera.

ped

BTW I just got a nice 21mm lens with a funky square hood for my M4. Pics later..
 
Yeah that was it 20 grand on a camera, no doubt a football player bought one....
 
Here's my new lens :)


5684571756_960d87afc3_z.jpg


Cheers
ped
 
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ped said:
I have a certain distaste for special edition objects; they rarely justify their extra price and become objects of desire by some in their own right. I wouldn't even call the titanium limited M9 a camera.
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I do so agree, although I must say that titanium M9 looks really nice, but certainly not £20K nice! It's not objectionable to look at like the lizard skin and gold plated Mamiya RB67.:puke:
 
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