Leica Tell me I'm an idiot........ please!

[BillN]

Don't worry Michael - it was your rant and generally it takes a lot to offend an Aussie - (but yours was just a general comment anyway)

GAS in all areas in now the way of life for the majority in our "western societies" - (just go to your local recycle dump or flea market and look what gets thrown away) - and it's all good fodder for EBay

 

[Brian]

I guess my opinion is that people should give equipment a fair shake before turning it over. But sometimes, you pick up a piece of equipment and just cannot get along with it. The OP is trading in his top of the line Leica Digital camera for an M6, not an M10. Not trading it because "the newest, latest, greatest, revolutionary, now featuring automatic belly-button recognition" came out.

Now in general, this site has a very large ratio of "Photography oriented threads"/"Gear oriented" topics compared with other forums. I asked for the hardware oriented forum to be added, Amin obliged. Most of me project threads are DIY repair and modification of older cameras and equipment. Some of these repairs are through much experimentation, such as shiming Russian lenses for Leica. I will be adding some projects to the threads, but have been busy lately.

 

[Landshark]

While I agree with Michael's sentiments that people would be better served too shoot more and worry about the latest and greatest less. I just think it all could have been said in a more tactful less pompous way. Many shoot but do not like to post images, for many the images are more personal than public. I think it is very judgmental to presume that people are not shooting because their images or not posted on any web site and nobody here needs to prove anything to anybody, especially to Michael. Most here want to enjoy this hobby the way they want and equipment discussions for many are easier to do than talking about images.
Just like with any hobby, everybody defines their interest from different perspectives, take cars, some want to race, some want to restore classics, some want to modify, some want to collect and some just enjoy driving, I fail to see how anyone of those activities is better than any other.
Just to be fair I do admit that many discussions of equipment here and elsewhere turn me off when they become emotional pixel peeping tirades about this or that camera, where people attach some sort of personal identity to one brand or another, i.e. sport teams. Most of the time I just move on to the next discussion instead of letting it bother me that much.
Lastly many times one does know how well you will connect with a particular tool until you live with it for a while, changing one’s mind some times maybe the best thing to do, instead of hanging on to something you are just not going to use.

 

[stillshunter]

I cannot agree more with both Brian and Bob's sentiments - after playing the field each will find their soul mate, eventually, and none of us is to laugh if they are tubby and squat

Meanwhile what of the OP? Sam, progress report?

 

[Luke]

Sam's M9 is in the classifieds. We have his decision.

 

[defektive]

The OP is trading in his top of the line Leica Digital camera for an M6, not an M10. Not trading it because "the newest, latest, greatest, revolutionary, now featuring automatic belly-button recognition" came out.

That is definitely the case in this situation, I am trading in the M9 purely because I have been interested in getting back into film for some time (not a spur of the moment decision) which would not have happened for some years if I had kept the M9. The other reason is that I don't always feel comfortable carrying that sort of investment (the M9) around with me all the time, my gear goes in some pretty ordinary places at times - the beach, behind the tractor seat, on the motor bike, in the golf bag, strapped to the back pack for days on end in soggy mountain ranges to mention but a few. I certainly have not fallen "out of love" with the M9, it is a camera that I love shooting with and will hopefully repurchase down the track when prices have maybe fallen and I can afford to add it to the collection. The X-pro was certainly not the reason for trading the M9, it was the piece of the puzzle that made the whole scenario work - with it I can fill the photography gaps that the rangefinder leaves and it also uses my M lenses to give top class results. If I had not come across it I probably would not have considered a change as there was no other camera I had found that appealed to me as this one does.

Meanwhile what of the OP? Sam, progress report?

The M9 has been sold without any loss to me and the returns from it have enabled me to take on two summiluxes a pristine M6TTL and a sizeable portion of the X-pro which I may have to sell a lens to fully cover.

Thanks again for all the opinions.

 

[stillshunter]

Sam's M9 is in the classifieds. We have his decision.

And a sagely decision at that....

The M9 has been sold without any loss to me and the returns from it have enabled me to take on two summiluxes a pristine M6TTL and a sizeable portion of the X-pro which I may have to sell a lens to fully cover.

Great news Sam, you too will love the Way of the Luddite

Two Luxes and an M6 what a sweet set-up. And a Panda .85x M6 at that!!!......Man my dream camera! Can't wait to get me down to Tassie so we can shoot up a storm!!! I'll even let you play with my M2 for a bit I suppose

 

[BillN]

good luck Sam, I am sure that you will find film interesting and as many reports point out, The XP Pro is as good as......

 

[ajramirez]

The M9 has been sold without any loss to me and the returns from it have enabled me to take on two summiluxes a pristine M6TTL and a sizeable portion of the X-pro which I may have to sell a lens to fully cover.

I think you made out like a bandit! Which Summiluxes?

Cheers,

Antonio

 

[defektive]

Antonio, they are the pre-asph 35 and v2 50. But don't get too excited, the 35 is very much used but still useable ant the 50 has some separation which apparently is quite minor and hasn't been spreading. For what I paid (and going on Brian's wisdom) I think they are worth a punt.

 

[flash]

If you want a superb lens for little money, find yourself a Voigtlander 50mm 1.5 ASPH Nokton. It's a LTM lens so you'll need an LTM-M adaptor. Still you should get the whole lot for about $5-600.00 used (more than when it was new). You can thank me later...

Gordon

 

[stillshunter]

If you want a superb lens for little money, find yourself a Voigtlander 50mm 1.5 ASPH Nokton. It's a LTM lens so you'll need an LTM-M adaptor. Still you should get the whole lot for about $5-600.00 used (more than when it was new). You can thank me later...

Gordon

I don't know Gordon, if Sam has the v2 Summilux in hand I'm not sure if he'll be looking at the CVs. Just saying...but could be wrong.

Must say my only foray into CV was the 35/2.5 Color-Skopar and I wasn't that impressed. Luckily I bought new and it went back after day seven!!! The IQ was OK but the UI was disappointing toooo small and the rings had a sloppy feel compared to the ZM glass. I hope to never touch a Summilux....as does my better half

 

[Juergen]

I am finding it hard to justify having so much cash tied up in an M9 (that I have only had for a few weeks) and have been wanting to get back into film for a while. Why don't I sell it and buy a film M and an Xpro 1 on which I can use my M lenses and the excellent Fuji XS range - best of both worlds? I have looked hard at the Xpro reviews and don't think there is too much that I couldn't live with, I know the crop factor will give my lenses a different FL but I can supplement them with the Fujis.

Opinions much appreciated.

Why do you want to get back into film should be the first question you need to answer. There must have been a good reason you bought an M9 instead of a film-based M. I assume you still have a working darkroom which you have acces to? If not I definitely wouldn't go back to film since professinal services like development, printing etc. are getting more expensive and harder to come by every day. In my opinion, shooting film without doing your own darkroom work, is like pulling a dead horse.

This would ne my advice; you bought the M9 so go out and use the darn thing Forget about film Leica's. Sure they're great if you have one laying around and you want to shoot some film every once in a while. But to sell a perfectly good M9 and investing part of the money in film-based M in the year 2012, is something I'd never do.

You really have to find some inner peace with what you have; the M9, the greatest digital camera money buy. A camera that is going to give you lots and lots of shooting pleasure in the years to come. Really, you should keep it and forget about film Leica's. I sincerely believe that it's just nostalgia that is playing in your head (I've been there too with an M7 which I sold this week).

Forget about it, grab the M9 and go out and have some serious fun shooting it!

Oh, and to answer your question; yes, you're an idiot

 

[pdh]

I think you're a bit late on this one ... The deed has been done!

 

[Juergen]

I think you're a bit late on this one ... The deed has been done!

I must admit I did not read most of the replies. I still feel he shouldn't have done it.

 

[defektive]

Why do you want to get back into film should be the first question you need to answer. There must have been a good reason you bought an M9 instead of a film-based M. I assume you still have a working darkroom which you have acces to? If not I definitely wouldn't go back to film since professinal services like development, printing etc. are getting more expensive and harder to come by every day. In my opinion, shooting film without doing your own darkroom work, is like pulling a dead horse.

This would ne my advice; you bought the M9 so go out and use the darn thing Forget about film Leica's. Sure they're great if you have one laying around and you want to shoot some film every once in a while. But to sell a perfectly good M9 and investing part of the money in film-based M in the year 2012, is something I'd never do.

You really have to find some inner peace with what you have; the M9, the greatest digital camera money buy. A camera that is going to give you lots and lots of shooting pleasure in the years to come. Really, you should keep it and forget about film Leica's. I sincerely believe that it's just nostalgia that is playing in your head (I've been there too with an M7 which I sold this week).

Forget about it, grab the M9 and go out and have some serious fun shooting it!

Oh, and to answer your question; yes, you're an idiot

Thank God someone finally did what I asked in the thread title (in a nice way of course)!

Juergen,
The film route was decided long ago. I reluctantly converted to digital when I started to take photography a bit more seriously a couple of years ago for the benefit it offers of immediate feedback. The aim was to get back into film when I could afford (money and time) to setup and use a home darkroom. I really dislike sitting in front of a computer post processing so for these reasons the decision was a no brainer for me when I was unexpectedly given some developing gear. I enjoy processing the negs but as I haven't done my darkroom yet I am scanning them onto said computer. I am quite comfortable doing it this way because for some reason I don't feel that I need to get the perfect results from film that I did with digital.

I was also not happy with the M9 setup for two reasons:
1) my reason for going the Leica route was to be able to use some of the best lenses available. I traded my M8 and kit for an M9 a little too hastily without enough thought. I found I had an excellent camera but could not afford the lenses that I wanted to use.
2) I found I was not comfortable carrying and using the M9 due to its value. I am much more comfortable having that investment spread over my M6 and several lenses.

Just out of interest, are the opinions you offered regarding use of film based on your own experience?


For anyone else who is interested how this subject panned out, here is where it's at:
I now have an M6 and 21, 35, 50 and 90mm Leica lenses. I now have an inner calm as far as GAS goes which I have not felt for a couple of years. All thoughts of a digital sidekick (Xpro-1) have been shelved and the money I had set aside for that went toward one of the above mentioned lenses. Having said that I would possibly look at something with a bit more reach than the rangefinder for taking snaps of the kids playing sport etc. I have only been shooting black and white film so far and do miss a bit of colour from time to time, I will try that when I become a bit more confident with my film developing.

 

[ajramirez]

I now have an M6 and 21, 35, 50 and 90mm Leica lenses.

Sam,

This is almost the same setup I have, except that I just ordered a 24mm instead of the 21mm. I had the hardest time deciding between the two, and at the end went with the 24mm only because I found a very good deal on a mint condition used one. How do you find shooting with the 21mm?

Cheers,

Antonio

 

[defektive]

Sam,

This is almost the same setup I have, except that I just ordered a 24mm instead of the 21mm. I had the hardest time deciding between the two, and at the end went with the 24mm only because I found a very good deal on a mint condition used one. How do you find shooting with the 21mm?

Cheers,

Antonio

Hi Antonio,
I have never had anything as wide as the 21 before but really enjoy the effect that focal length gives, you can certainly fit a lot in the frame - I quite often see the peak of my hat in the external finder! I will link a couple of shots for you to look at from my Flickr to the Leica M forum when I get a chance. It is certainly not an everyday lens for me but I do enjoy using it. I do not enjoy using an external finder but I thought that would be the case when I bought it and I would have needed one with a 24 or 28mm lens anyway. Is your 24mm the summilux?

 

[ajramirez]

Hi Antonio,
I have never had anything as wide as the 21 before but really enjoy the effect that focal length gives, you can certainly fit a lot in the frame - I quite often see the peak of my hat in the external finder! I will link a couple of shots for you to look at from my Flickr to the Leica M forum when I get a chance. It is certainly not an everyday lens for me but I do enjoy using it. I do not enjoy using an external finder but I thought that would be the case when I bought it and I would have needed one with a 24 or 28mm lens anyway. Is your 24mm the summilux?

I considered the 28mm as well, but I cannot see the 28mm frame lines (I wear glasses) so I figured since I would have to use an external finder in any event, I would go wider. No Summilux for me; too rich for my blood. I ordered a mint condition used 24mm 3.8 Elmar M from Kurland Photo in NYC. I ordered it yesterday, so I am still waiting for it to arrive.

Cheers,

Antonio

 

[defektive]

I considered the 28mm as well, but I cannot see the 28mm frame lines (I wear glasses) so I figured since I would have to use an external finder in any event, I would go wider.

I had a chuckle when I read this comment as that is the exact same thought I had when I opted for the 21mm. The Elmar you have ordered is a peach, I had one on my M8 for a while. It is extremely sharp but the 3.8 max aperture got me in the end, I like shooting in low light and the high ISO performance of the M8 was atrocious so I sold it again.