Leica LTM Anyone prefer their LTM to their M?

Leica M39 screw mount bodies/lenses

Anyone prefer their LTM to their M?

  • I had/have both (M and LTM) and prefer the LTM

    Votes: 78 14.7%

  • I had/have both (M and LTM) and prefer the M

    Votes: 158 29.7%

  • I have both (M and LTM) and like them equally

    Votes: 161 30.3%

  • Only ever had an LTM and need look no further

    Votes: 77 14.5%

  • Only ever had an M and need look no further (was just here by accident or curiosity)

    Votes: 53 10.0%

  • I have no interest in either (M or LTM) - either prima facie or a priori

    Votes: 5 0.9%
  • Total voters
    532
Ltm

Ltm

I carry my LTM Leicas with me everyday. A Leica IIf with red elmar or sometimes my Leica IIc with Jupiter 12. They are a lot lighter than my M3 and DR summicron.

I am currently looking for a black Leica II with nickel fittings and nickel elmar :)
 
I have only every used one Barnack, the II(D) I currently have, originally a I(C) conversion. I like it very much and have been shooting it the last several days.
 
I've owned M6, M6TTL and M4-P and really liked them. However, I now own a IIIf RDDA and it's quirkiness is infectious. It's a pain in the a*se to load and the viewfinder(s) and odd shutter speeds take some getting used to nut it is at least different.

Would I tolerate it as my main camera? Not a chance - but there's never a dull moment when using it.
 
Paul Jenkin said:
However, I now own a IIIf RDDA and it's quirkiness is infectious. It's a pain in the a*se to load
Click to expand...

I sat at a conference at the Peace Palace the other day and was thinking I should snap photos of the participants with my II and the 9cm Elmar. Then I realised that I needed to load a new film. Though some believe it to be heresy, I follow the "insert card" approach when loading film, but there in the Great Hall of Justice I realised I had no card with me (embarrassingly I had even forgotten my business cards :eek: ) And the film leader was of course not trimmed at all, so no matter how much I tried I couldn't get the film to load properly. What to do? Turns out the conference programme, ripped to suitable size and folded once, worked perfectly. Hopefully I'll have some nice shots.

Interestingly, when I used an M3 I simply could not put up with the separate take-up spool. But I happily accept the II's quirky film loading system.

br
Philip
 
I've been carrying an M3, sometimes daily, for about a month. Yesterday, I decided to carry my black IID. The M3 is a tank, with this lens, it feels like carrying a Speed Graphic around. The little IID fit in my shorts pocket, with the Hektor collapsed. However, I forgot how tiny and low contrast the rangefinder is on these old ones. I was having to spend 30 seconds sometimes finding the focus. So for carry, yes I like the Barnacks. But I can barely use this old one, need to switch to my larger Nicca.

19050707568_7458dece74_b.jpg
 
I had a new beam splitter fitted to my IIIf four months ago (by Aperture Photographic in London) and it's like a new camera again. Not totally authentic though (I can be a little bit anal about things like this sometimes) as its a gold beam splitter mirror sourced from Yashica, the same as used in the Electro 35 GSN. However it is now a joy to use. I would definitely advise on spending a little bit of money to get this done. I struggled for years using a price of red gel to add contrast on one of the rangefinder windows but shooting anything in other than bright daylight was a pita! Now I use my little, tiny IIIf more than my M2!
 
I did have DAG do a CLA on the black IID, it runs very nicely. But the viewing entrance pupil is about the size of a pinhead, and that's the problem. My contrast is pretty good.
 
I have used M bodies for many years.
Recently I got a IIIF with Summar lens and the kit is very light and easy to bring around.

Still need some practice to shoot it in low light.
 
At this point in my photography it's all about back to basics with the Barnack and the classic look associated with prewar Leica lenses. After a 30 year hiatus its going to be a pleasure learning to express my vision through a lllc and 50 Summar.
 
Black IIIc on e bay coming up for auction in three days. Go to e bay and search for Leica IIIc sharkskin black paint. Looks nice. No connection with seller. Joe
 
I loved the size of my iiif RD with the collapsable 50 cron, it just took me too long to focus when I saw a fleeting image. Also my cron wasn't the sharpest, so I eventually sold the whole set and went with an M3 and 50 cron rigid. The image quality is better, and I can focus much faster, but I do miss the smaller size of the iiif.
 
I see I already voted in this poll, but whatever I said, this week my vote may have changed. I got an imarect and everything is different. I don't mind two windows, and I sure do like the magnified focus view of my iiia. The imarect makes a big difference in viewing, though, and I have discovered that shooting verticals is lovely, unlike with my M4s. Now I may be wanting to get a iiif, so I can use flash. . . .
 
I love European vacation travel as an opportunity for intensive photography as part of the exploration of place. On past trips, I've taken either an M2 or an M4-2, but this year, in June, I took my IIIc, a Summitar, and a Canon 35/2.0 for black and white. I loved it as a travel kit. It was easy to carry around, did not draw unwelcome attention, performed flawlessly, and was, in the end, all I really needed for the kinds of photography I like to do. I do use an external VF to help overcome the squinty-ness factor. I thought about taking the little Elmar 50/3.5 instead of the Summitar, but I often need f2.8 so I opted for the latter. The IIIc with a 50 and 35 may become the core of my travel kit in the future.
 
I agree with Bingley. I recently got back from two weeks in northern Colorado. We drove so I took way too many cameras. Mostly I carried my IIIc with either a 50 or 35. The 50 was an Elmar f3.5 or a Nikkor F2.0. I did use my 50 Summitar a bit. The 35 was my Nikkor 35 f2.5 and there were just a few shots with my Canon 28 f3.5. A IIIc and a few lenses can do most of what I want. Joe
 
I love the screw mount Leicas when using slow lenses, but sometimes I like fast lenses with their shallow dept of field. Then I prefer the M-Leica.

Erik.
 
Several months ago I bought a Canon P and Canon 50/1.8 lens.
I still have the Bessa R with 35/2.5 Skopar.
Someday I may own an M2...

Chris
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom