Am I becoming a Leica 'snob'?

[Steve_F]

Hello all,
I'm looking for a little advice. I currently own a mixed bag of film (Nikon FM3A, Nikon F5, Mamiya RZ67) and digital cameras (Nikon D200 & D3 - professional use) and am seriously thinking of chopping in my film Nikons' for a rangefinder to get back into real photography properly.
I do enjoy using my Nikon FM3A for street work (b&w film) have become a little annoyed about the constant changes to model ranges (something that all Japanese manufacturers do, including my Kawasaki's some years ago).
My thinking for a Leica is that in years to come spares will still be around. The Zeiss Ikon is a lovely rangefinder but I suspect there is more of a chance they'll come and go and the Voigtlander Bessa range; well being Japanese will they have the same philosophy as other manufacturers?

Leica - a sound long term buy for service and spares or am I just being a snob?

Any thoughts appreciated.

Regards,

Stephen Fell.

http://www.stephenfell.net

 

[totifoto]

Well if that is snob then I´m a snob too 😛

I agree with you 100%. I´m saving up for my first Leica, I want a camera that lasts me for more than 2 years like my dslr have been doing.

 

[kully]

Well if that is snob then I´m a snob too 😛

I agree with you 100%. I´m saving up for my first Leica, I want a camera that lasts me for more than 2 years like my dslr have been doing.

Your DSLRs only lasting two years!? What do you do to them? My D70 from 2003 is still working fine.

 

[dave lackey]

Ummm...nothing is quite as liberating as getting down to basics. There is an old saying that he who has the most toys does not win, it is he who needs the least...or something like that!

Seriously, I have sold everything but my Nikon D2x and the Leica M3. Like you, the D2x is for professional work (sports action, events needing quick turnaround and long lenses, and other requests for digital imaging)...I have no need for other digital equipment...NONE! So, no D3/D1000XSI, whatever in my future.

The Leica is for another use altogether. Not a toy. Not a hobby. With my streamlined equipment inventory, I am both liberated and focused. My initial tests with the M3 are very positive and I hope to pull together a nice portfolio soon with it.

So, snobbery? Only if you look at your gear as a "toy", I suppose. Only you can answer that...

It's still horses for courses for me.

 

[Rprice]

Well service and spares could be a double edged sword, so to speak. Yes the lens mount has been the same for ever. But with the increasing demand for digital, and film slowly going the way of the dinosaurs, it would lead me to believe for the forseeable future you will be safe in investing in a Leica today. The higher cost of maintenance, and the cost of glass my be worth it to some, plus the prestige of owing the finest made rangefinder on the planet may well be enough to merit the purchase. I own Leica and I enjoy useing it, but I also own Argus, Konika, Contax G2, as well as a few other rangefinders too. I have to say when I look at prints or scans of the photos side by side I would be hard pressed to tell what camera shot what photo.

Now don't think that I'm trying to sway you away from buying a Leica, just that the "Leica Glow" is only there for me if I know that the photo was shot with a Leica. If I was in the market for a new rangefinder I would definately buy Voightlander before I bought another Leica. Hell I could buy a whole setup for the price of one NEW Leica body. So that is where the value is for me. With the time and money that Cosina has invested in tooling and lenses I'm sure they will be around for a while to come.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Who cares?

A review in the British Journal of Photography summed it up well. They said that if Voigtländers, ZIs and Leicas were all made in the same factory, the price points would still well reflect their market positions.

All three are excellent cameras. But I've been using Leicas for 40 years. I've had 'real' Voigtländers (especially Prominent) and 'real' Zeiss (expecially Contax) as well as CV and ZI. My lenses are mixed: ZI (especially 50/1.5 C-Sonnar and for my wife 18/4), Leica (especially 35 Summilux, 75 Summicron, and my wife has just bought a 50 Summarit), CV (especially 15/4.5, 21/4, 28/1.9).

Do I regret the fact that my primary allegiance is to Leicas? No. Do I regret that my three most recent cameras are MP, ZI SW, M8.2? No. A camera is a tool to use. You'll do the best work with the tools you like best. It's the people who try to tell you otherwise who are deluding themselves.

Cheers,

R.

 

[chris00nj]

I would sell the F5 before it continues to depreciate, but I might hang on to the FM3A. Buy a Leica body but a Voigtlander lens. The Leica bodies are rugged and dependable and quiet. There's bigger difference in quality betwen the Leica body and the Voigtlander body, than there is between the lenses.

 

[newsgrunt]

Snob is such a harsh term 😉

I disagree though that going to Leicas is getting back to real photography. Rangefinder, slr...just light tight boxes although the Leica can be a more pleasant experience.

Go elsewhere and someone will be ditching Leicas for Lotus or Ebony view cameras...real photography in their eyes.

Unless you're strapped for cash, I'd just add an M to your quiver, well maybe lose the D200 since you've got a D3.

 

[Michael Markey]

Steve
Hello from Lancashire.
I agree with you ,which is why I went out and bought an M3 DS and like Rob enjoy using the Leica very much.
However , if when I go for another body , I cannot help but feel that Rob makes a very valid point.
I have only been a member of this forum for a short time but it is clear to me that there are plenty of very happy Bessa users on this forum aswell.
Mike

 

[JeffGreene]

Leica and ZI are both great cameras. I own an M6 and for myself am pleased with images I get from it. "Snobbery" has nothing to do with utility. Try the camera, if it works for you, and you're happy with the output then go for it. Otherwise, sell it and move on. I know a number of people who just never felt right using the Leica. Remember, its not the arrow, its the Indian! Good luck in your exploration. 😀

 

[Michael Markey]

Just when you think that you have composed a lucid reply Roger not only beats you to it but hits the nail on the head.!In the end it is how you feel about it (given that you do not have to sell the wife and kids to achieve your aim)and how you see yourself I guess.

Mike

 

[Nh3]

We need all the Leica snobs that we can get. That's the only way to assure price stability on our Leicas when we finally decide to sell them.

But to share a dirty little secret - my Bessa R3M makes my M4-P look like a sardine can...

 

[marke]

Steve, I've had a similar experience as you. I'm not criticising anyone for shooting digital, as I still have my 40D for weddings and most color work. But I also felt a need to shoot a camera that would be around as long as I would. One of the reasons for me owning a Leica is probably my way of rebelling towards today's disposable society. So obviously, part of the decision for me to shoot a Leica is to make a statement in that manner. I also rediscovered my love for B&W film, and I couldn't find that with digital. I'm even in the process of building a permanent B&W darkroom. So these days, all my B&W work is with my (film) Leicas. Even some color.

So for those of us who can afford a Leica, it's not just an extravagance, it can actually be a practical and wise decision. I have often thought of selling my M6 TTL and just keep to my MP, but then a little voice inside me says that it's worth keeping. I have often discovered that it's good to heed the advice of that little voice. 😉

 

[payasam]

Photography with an FM3A is as "real" as photography with a Leica. I confess, though, that I sold my Canon FD bodies and lenses and now have only an M2 for film work.

 

[maddoc]

But to share a dirty little secret - my Bessa R3M makes my M4-P look like a sardine can...

sardine cans are quite durable ... 😀😉

 

[Nh3]

sardine cans are quite durable ... 😀😉

I don't get this whole obsession with durability, whats the point of something durable if its not reliable...? And the way Leica owners pamper and store their Leicas of course they'll stay intact for ages.

Leica cameras are not reliable and I will never trust them. That's my view as a photographer.

At the same time if I'm asked to pick one camera from my bag and the rest will be taken away, I'll take the Nikon FM2n because short of it being run over by a Russian T55, it will survive anything else thrown at it.

 

[phc]

I'd say the sheer fact that the M series has been around for so long means there should be support for years to come, even if the factory closed tomorrow. The electronics in the latter cameras might be the only problem. However, that's not going to happen anyway.

Are Leicas intrinsically better than other cameras? I've no idea, but I rely on mine and they have a pretty rough life.

Cheers, Paul.

 

[Frankie]

When the moment comes, the camera you have is the camera you use.

More accurately, the camera you have [on hand] is the [only] camera you [can] use.

A camera on hand is the one you can afford to or will carry...and not DOA. 😱

For far too many, Leica is photographic jewelry, especially if it is anointed as rare 🙄. Such a camera is often sealed in plastic, rarely fondled, never mind brought out into the real world...or actually used.

A metal Nikon of the old school is seldom DOA...never happened to me in 35 years of carrying them into battles.😀 My FM/T and FM3A are the epitome of the old school. If I had to just pick one, it will be the FM3A...works even with dead battery.

The Leica equivalences are the M6 and M7. But if I have to settle on just one, it will be the M7...works in a couple shutter speeds when the battery is dead. But the ZM is a more affordable alternative🙂...if you don't mind carrying some spare batteries.

 

[maddoc]

I don't get this whole obsession with durability, whats the point of something durable if its not reliable...? And the way Leica owners pamper and store their Leicas of course they'll stay intact for ages.

Leica cameras are not reliable and I will never trust them. That's my view as a photographer.

At the same time if I'm asked to pick one camera from my bag and the rest will be taken away, I'll take the Nikon FM2n because short of it being run over by a Russian T55, it will survive anything else thrown at it.

... my remark about sardine cans was tongue-in-cheek 😉

Leica cameras are as reliable or unreliable as any other cameras, some have problems, some develop problems and some just work fine. That's from my experience ...

BTW, the only cameras I have used and that ever needed to be repaired were a Leica MP and a Nikon FM ...

Cheers,

Gabor

 

[35mmdelux]

There are no snobs here. With Leicas, its not just about the camera body, its also about the glass, the glass!