Gear Quandry - Opinions Sought.

[Steve M.]

If you can afford it, an M7 w/ an asph Summilux is hard to beat, isn't it? On the other hand, do you really need it? I had a similar quandary recently, and bought some less expensive rangefinder cameras just to see if they might approach the IQ of my Leicas. I'm not an owner of an asph anything, so I wanted to see if I could come close to a Summar or maybe a 50 Summicron DR. Surprisingly, I found a $16 Balda w/ a 45mm Baldanar lens (including shipping) imaged really well, and a $45 Kodak Retina Ia w/ a real Ektar 50 3.5 lens imaged as good as nearly anything I've ever used.

Granted, these cameras are slower to use, don't have a light meter, and don't have that precision Leica feel, although the Retina is very well made. They are also the best bang for the buck that I've found in terms of IQ, and they finally got me out of that gear-swapping loop. Here's a shot from the Balda, followed by one from the Retina Ia w/ Ektar, and the last is from a Retina III with a Xenon 50 2.0 lens. I'm extremely happy w/ the image quality from these cheap cameras. I added another shot from the Ektar at the end.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/41465667@N06/sets/72157627604859683/show/

 

[Calzone]

Recently had an epiphany and relized I could be happy with owning just four cameras that I generally use all the time: Leica M6 with 28 Cron ASPH; Nikon F3 HP with 58/1.2 Noct Nikkor; Rolleiflex 3.5F; and Plaubel 69W. Please note that there are no spare lenses.

I could sell all my other gear including all my other Leica glass and extra lenses, but I fear seller's remorse, and time will only tell one way or the other.

Think carefully. I kinda thought that if I by chance got an insurance check for all the gear I bought over the years at good prices and got full replacement value at today's prices (inflated) what would I buy. Basically I'd replace the four cameras stated above, but as you can see in my signature I am greedy and own more than I need or is practical.

BTW a 35 Lux ASPH is a great lens: I'd keep it. I also will wet-print for the IQ, but I also only develope film at this point rather than scan.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

I'm not so sure this will be the case with this lens.

We can't be sure, but I think increases in price and the supply imbalances will continue untill this world wide economic death spiral ends. Currently these bad economic conditions look to extend for some time.:bang:

Perhaps a bottom might happen in 2013.:angel:

Cal

 

[swoop]

I think a lot of us could do with less. I'm considering selling my 35 and 50 cron's for the VC or Zeiss equivalent and using that extra money for bills. Every VC lens I've used has worked beautifully. And I'm ashamed to say but I think they produce better images than the famed Leica lenses.

 

[Bobfrance]

A lot of good points there fellas - thank you!
It's nice to hear some arguments against selling it also.

To clarify, I'm a amateur photographer but I have exhibited in the past and intend to do so again. Unfortunately I do not have the space to do any wet printing, so it's a hybrid workflow for me for the foreseeable future.

I suppose the ideal scenario would be to keep the lens (and M7) and save up to get the scanner and SLR I want. They're not expensive items compares to the cost of a Summilux.

In many ways impatience is driving me at the moment. I've recently taken a drop in income and will be paying off some costly house renovations for the next couple of years, so I expect things to be tight and saving up to be difficult, meaning very few treats apart from buying rolls of film.

I can't really see an M9 in my future unless I decide to shoot colour (which I don't really). This decision isn't driven by cost, I just don't like the manner in which every digital sensor I've seen renders. I used to have an M8 and moved to an M7 for this reason.

Calzone - Your ideal line up comes close to mine I just lack the SLR and the MF rangefinder I want. 🙂

Thanks again for the further insights team!

 

[Calzone]

I think a lot of us could do with less. quote]

+1

I realized how fortunate I am... how entitled... how spoiled... and also how greedy I am because of all the excesses.

Still there is truth in that a 35 Lux ASPH is a killer lens, and that a M7 paired with a 35 Lux is a deadly rig to die for and hard to sell.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Bob,

For street shooting I find using a Leica with a wide and scale focusing to be quicker and smaller than any SLR. The trick is to zone focus.

Basically I set an exposure off the back of my hand, use Tri-X at 650 ISO so that I can stop down as much as I can and I set ten feet on the distance scale on a 35mm lense to line up with my F-stop to get a zone of focus. Next is internalizing the FOV. Basically your rangefinder is utilized as a point and shoot. Perhaps at F8.0 your zone of focus is 5-10 feet. When you get better tighten it up by setting 8 feet on your F-stop and try to get tighter shots.

For me a SLR is better suited for 50 and above IMHO. You already have a killer rig for street. In my case I can use a 28mm because I'm in NYC where getting close, familiar and having bad boundries is easy.

Good Luck.

Cal

 

[Bobfrance]

The reason for the fast lens is that, after various experiments I deduced that a wide apertured 35mm lens was the closet I could get in 35mm film (in terms of FOV & DOF) to my Rolleiflex.

I've recently returned to zone focusing recently as I was missing focus in some fast moving situations and figured I it was better to have a shot with too much background in focus rather than one with nothing in focus.
After borrowing a Canon EOS 1V for a day I realised that a super-fast AF film SLR was far more suitable for taking wide aperture shots of fast moving subjects.

I now often just take my M7 out with just my little MS Optical 35mm/f3.5 Perar lens on it and zone focus and I feel the rangefinder seems more suited to this.

With this current solution in mind the Summilux seems a little redundant. However I still feel it may be just too nice to sell.

The quandry continues! 😱

 

[former member]

If you sell the Summilux, have seller's remorse, you will not be able to afford to buy another. So keep it. You may go back to that shooting style for a fast 35mm lens, and then you are "out of luck".

If you use it- keep it. If you like it- keep it.

If you don't like it, and don't use it- sell it.

That's what my wife advised me to do when selecting what gear to sell.

Of course some lenses, I sell only after it's been replaced. But I still like it...

 

[fixbones]

If you use it- keep it. If you like it- keep it.

If you don't like it, and don't use it- sell it.

Brian,

I like that!!!!

 

[Gid]

Maybe rephrase the question - Do I really need other equipment? If the answer is yes (and I don't mean the scanner) then sell the lens. If not then keep it - simples😉

Reading what you've written, this might be a reasonable course of action -

Sell the lens, then,

Buy a RF645 with 45mm lens (min f4) zone focus, hand holdable to below 1/15, realtively light and cheap. Keep the flatbed scanner. Substitute Mamiya 6 or 7 for RF645, but more money.

Buy an EOS1V (or EOS3 smaller) and 50 1.4 or 35 2 and have fun for cheap or substitute an F6 + lens for more money

Pay some bills or have a holiday with the balance

Live a long and happy life and remember this phrase "I used to have a 35 summilux, but they're so overrated" 😀

 

[jsrockit]

We can't be sure, but I think increases in price and the supply imbalances will continue untill this world wide economic death spiral ends. Currently these bad economic conditions look to extend for some time.:bang:

Cal...true, we cannot be sure. But aren't we talking about a lens that is double the MSRP right now because there aren't any to buy new? If so, once Leica makes some, that may bring the prices down closer to normal. IF I'm mistaken on the particular lens, then I apologize. If I'm correct... Today may be the perfect time to sell.

 

[rxmd]

If you're happy with a lens, it seems strange to sell it.
If the only reason to sell it is that its value increased to the point that you feel unworthy of it, it seems even stranger.

This place is full of people remorsefully reporting how they bought back stuff they sold to finance some other gear. This sounds like a conundrum easily avoided by hanging on to the stuff you like, no matter how much you'd like something else.

 

[Bobfrance]

If the only reason to sell it is that its value increased to the point that you feel unworthy of it, it seems even stranger.

Hey, I never said I was unworthy of it! 😛

And as it goes I do like it and I do use it, so if I evaluate it using Brian's rationale it should stay.

 

[Calzone]

Cal...true, we cannot be sure. But aren't we talking about a lens that is double the MSRP right now because there aren't any to buy new? If so, once Leica makes some, that may bring the prices down closer to normal. IF I'm mistaken on the particular lens, then I apologize. If I'm correct... Today may be the perfect time to sell.

John,

What you say is also true and valid. We live in a crazy world where extreame events are happening. Depending on the timeline either of us can be right or wrong. I basically just see a continuing of a trend, but you are correct, eventually it will change.

Cal