Tom What the Heck am I doing Wrong

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LeicaVirgin1

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Tom-

Why is it I feel that I can't treat my Leica M's from my M3 to my M6 with pretty much all that is in between... as I treat my Nikon Gear? I have an original 1959 Nikon F with original prism and I love to shoot it as well as all my other Nikon gear FM3a, F100... with all Nikkor Glass, (mostly the older MF glass).

I feel with the Nikons I don't have to worry as it bumps into my body as I walk, or if is sat down not quite perfectly..., or if another body accidentally hits another Nikon. However, I know that I am not going to get the same kind of look with the Nikkor Glass either. To me LEITZ/LEICA-"M" Glass has an almost 3 dimesional look with a unique contrast; even at wide-open aperture settings.

I have never puposely bumped my LEICA M's. I am VERY careful with my M's. Ever since my RF went out of alignment, (too high) on my M3. This after a popular repair person had just CLA'd it just 6 months before I saw this misalignment? Perhaps it was always there & the repair person did not do it as part of their CLA procedure.... I have no idea? Do you?

Anyway, I sent it back to this repair person and they aligned RF back to spec. It cost me though.

Then on my M6 from Weztlar I noticed that whenever I put on certain 50mm Leica lenses that some of the 35mm Focal Length Frame Lines appear in the RF window.... They are sometimes just very, very thin. I can remedy it by toggling the frame-line preview back and forth to eliminate this distratiion. I called the repair-person and they told me it is a difference of tolerances.... It never does it with another focal-length.

So, I am just gunshy. I'd like to use these Leica M's as a photographer would use a camera... Am I imagining this? I mean it truly does affect me. Neurosis is an undestatement...

I know your "THE MAN" and you are a steller shooter and you have had real world experience as photojournalist in Sweden, (You're the SVEN NKVIST of stills in my mind).... I know you shoot a-lot and mostly on LEICAS....Then and now....

So, kind sir, how should I treat my LEICAS? I mean I have evn heard people say don't leave them locked-up in cabinets.... Make sure you let the cameras and lenses breathe in the dry-air and the light... Don't always leave caps on your lenses... let them be open w/o caps from time-to-time and make sure the aperture is set either to wide-open, or completely stopped-down.... This is what I am writing about.... It is obessesive and it tends to wear me down... I want to ENJOY the LEICA M and it's glass.:bang:

Any suggestions, or advise?.... TO THE OTHER READERS AND USERS OF RF "PLEASE" BE GENTLE... I KNOW I'M A "NUTTER"...

LV1
 
Honestly, if you are worried about your Leica cameras and lenses getting scratches or bumps, scuffs or paint chips to the point that you are driven to desperate anxiety, you should simply sell them, pocket the money and buy a camera you won't feel bad shooting with.

On the other hand, to enjoy a camera, you just have to stop treating it like a delicate piece of glass or a baby. I'm not saying use it like a hammer, and drop it around, carry it in bad weather and all of that. That's not helpful. Just use it as you would any other camera.

Do keep in mind that while the 'build quality' of Leica cameras are high and solid, the actual reliability is less so. As you mention, the RF can go out of alignment, but then, unless you are shooting at f/2 and wider, a very slight misalignment isn't very critical, at least in my experience.

In terms of wanting to keep your equipment in pristine condition, I can sort of sympathize. I replace bottom plates on SLRs I have purchased with an OEM new old stock parts, simply because there were too many scuff marks, and perhaps engravings.
 
LeicaVirgin1 said:
So, kind sir, how should I treat my LEICAS? I mean I have evn heard people say don't leave them locked-up in cabinets.... Make sure you let the cameras and lenses breathe in the dry-air and the light... Don't always leave caps on your lenses... let them be open w/o caps from time-to-time and make sure the aperture is set either to wide-open, or completely stopped-down.... This is what I am writing about.... It is obessesive and it tends to wear me down... I want to ENJOY the LEICA M and it's glass.:bang:
Click to expand...

It sounds a bit like you're paying too much attention to people writing stupid shіt. The Leica world is full of collectors and fondlers with weird ideas, but if your idea is photography, as soon as someone tries to tell you about the optimal aperture for storing your M lenses you can stop taking them seriously. These things were made for photographers, so you can treat them like a photographer would.

If you're worried about your Leicas, why don't you declare one of them your "user" camera that you trust and stop worrying about it? Just take this one everywhere and use it like a normal camera and you will find that even if it gets a ding or two, it will be your favourite camera in no time.
 
It is a matter of getting used to carry the cameras - all the time. After a while you forget that these are Leica's and just tools for using. Of course you try to keep them dry and avoid dropping them - BUT if doing so makes you miss a shot - you must rethink the process.
A lot of Leica users buy the cameras and baby them so that they keep looking pristine - just in case they like to sell them later for Leica inflated used prices. I never buy a camera with re-sale in mind. If I part with hard earned cash - it is going to be used, and if it accumulates some nicks and dents on the way - so be it!
Of course, sometimes stuff happens - cameras can be dropped, caught in car-doors!!! or just banged together. Leica's are tough though, rangefinders are probably the weakest spot and when they go out of whack, it is frustrating. It is all part of using a camera - just as with a car, occasionally you need service (or a bodyshop!).
 
You seem to have more than 2 bodies.

Look at it this way:
- almost everything can be repaired.
- The bodies will be replaceable for a long time, simply because there are many on the used market.
- With so many cameras, stuff will happen on occasion. Then again, you have spares at home 🙂

I ride motorcycle. When riding in a group with Harleys, we used to say "never ride with more than 4 Harley - otherwise the probability that one breaks down is > 50%". 🙂

Suggestions:
- It's useful to learn how to align a Leica RF yourself.
- a half-case protects - maybe it makes you more confident.
- Dedicate one or two bodies as users. Of all your Leicas your M6 is the most common and most robust.

Roland.
 
Tom has slightly more than two Leicas so there will always be some downtime for some of several camera(s) but there are plenty more where he keeps them.

I have two and while using them something sometimes happens to them but that's hardly ever a problem. A RF out of whack can be irritating but since the out-of-whackness normally is constant, I tend to get used to it very quickly and it can take quite some time before they are aligned again...
 
I know what you are talking about, I used to be too careful with my leica iiif the first months after buying it about 5 years ago. It all changed when i first took the cam with me when going out at night. After about 3-4 beers I just didn't think about it anymore, I just put it in my jeans pocket (even sat down on it once) and had fun shooting with it. Also gave it to my friends to take a few photos (I still have no problem to do that - other people are much more careful with it than I am now, anyway).

Not saying you have to get drunk to relax but it might help 🙂
 
You find your own level that works for you. Some of my friends who made a living from taking pictures put thier equipment through things I never work, for them they are tools.

I think the idea of carrying one with a small wide angle lens on her everywhere for several months might loosen you up. I still use a napkin or hanky under my camera when I am using the ground or a metal fence for support. While I love every one of my cameras, they are just things. Things can be replaced or fixed. It may take some time, take some money, but they can be replaced. Treat them with respect but at the end of the day there are not as important as you, your kids, and friends. That's why I did not use my Leicas when my kids were young. I switched to Bessas as I could not afford to get a new Leica of one got trashed. Nothing ever happened to the Bessas but I never worried about it either.

B2
 
It would be nice to have a half dozen Leicas to fret over (not that I would fret much). But I do have a half dozen Nikons I definitely don't fret over, so I'm halfway there.

PF
 
I never even KNEW that people were this obsessive before the days of the internet. It's just a camera. Use it. I've used mine that way for 40+ years and had very few problems with Ms: broken VF glass (cretin at LAX, M4-P), bent rewind rank (straightened with Leatherman in the Julian Alps, M4-P), jammed shutter in Canterbury (only real 'breakdown', soon fixed, M2), 'spike' on Leicavit on MP jammed in open position in Arles when some teenagers were trying it out.

As others have said, stop worrying. Alternatively,worry about everything: e.g. forget about meters in Photomic heads (often wobbly); don't trust Nikon F film counters (3 breakdowns in 40 years); broken knob on Linhof Kardan Color; crumbly lining to Linhof focusing hood; light leak on MPP Mk. VI...

Cheers,

R.
 
I'm with Roland on the half case. Heck I use a Bessa R which gets dissed all the time as being cheap made. I carry it in a half case & I don't worry about it. I love old beater leica's. If I get one I'll grab a beater.
 
Thank you Tom and everyone else. I know I need psych. help!

I appreciate all your comments and advise. You see, like many, the Leicas are all I have left in the world. This after the bubble-burst in 2008... I find myself holding onto the only things I was able save. I know I have my health, (for now), but I am still young and I hope to travel again.

I used to travel alot, working in the U.S. motion-picture industry as a cinematographer. However, after 2008 when the bubble-burst other things went with it; like work for the U.S. film/video crews. They shipped out to either Canada, New Zealand, or Australia.

I invested in my film LEICAS so that I could travel with them 'cause before I was shooting on a Canon A2 with-non "L" glass.... I got decent results, but I know my LEICAS will be less unobtrusive, (even though the A2 is the quietest REFLEX I ever heard)...

I mean who wasn't inspired by Bresson, or Robert Frank
 
LeicaVirgin1 said:
Thank you Tom and everyone else. I know I need psych. help!

I appreciate all your comments and advise. You see, like many, the Leicas are all I have left in the world. This after the bubble-burst in 2008... I find myself holding onto the only things I was able save. I know I have my health, (for now), but I am still young and I hope to travel again.

I used to travel alot, working in the U.S. motion-picture industry as a cinematographer. However, after 2008 when the bubble-burst other things went with it; like work for the U.S. film/video crews. They shipped out to either Canada, New Zealand, or Australia.

I invested in my film LEICAS so that I could travel with them 'cause before I was shooting on a Canon A2 with-non "L" glass.... I got decent results, but I know my LEICAS will be less unobtrusive, (even though the A2 is the quietest REFLEX I ever heard)...

I mean who wasn't inspired by Bresson, or Robert Frank
Click to expand...
Exactly. So just stop worrying. And remember a wonderful quote from Sir Winston Churchill, who said that he was reminded of the story of the old man who said that he had had much trouble in his life, most of which never happened.

You'll be OK.

Love, light & peace,

R.
 
Roger Hicks said:
I never even KNEW that people were this obsessive before the days of the internet. It's just a camera. Use it. I've used mine that way for 40+ years and had very few problems with Ms: broken VF glass (cretin at LAX, M4-P), bent rewind rank (straightened with Leatherman in the Julian Alps, M4-P), jammed shutter in Canterbury (only real 'breakdown', soon fixed, M2), 'spike' on Leicavit on MP jammed in open position in Arles when some teenagers were trying it out.

As others have said, stop worrying. Alternatively,worry about everything: e.g. forget about meters in Photomic heads (often wobbly); don't trust Nikon F film counters (3 breakdowns in 40 years); broken knob on Linhof Kardan Color; crumbly lining to Linhof focusing hood; light leak on MPP Mk. VI...

Cheers,

R.
Click to expand...

A cretin at LAX - that's a story that I'd love to hear. I've also been through LAX and it wasn't a good experience.
 
I don't care at all about scuffs and bumps. I bought a new X-Pro a few months ago, and it's already lost a fair amount of paint, and I have managed to break the hood on the 35//1.4 lens. I simply like to take photographs, cameras are not jewelry to me. Whenever I get a deal on a clean and collectable camera, I sell it. I love beat up and old cameras.

Here in Japan the demand for cameras which are worn/brassed is quite strong, and often such cameras sell for as much as a clean one.
 
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