Besides a Leica

Besides Leica, there is always Bessa R3m with me with a 1.5/50 Sonnar on. To me it's the perfect "always on" concept, loaded with HP5+ it can shoot in virtually any condition imaginable, it is light, battery independent, protected with full case - this is something I never leave home without.

Leica is more like a dedicated shooting machine, heavy, robust. Different.
 
The complete antithesis of my Leica M6 — Nikon D300, wide-range Zoom Nikkor, VR. It spoils me so that I have to get back to the Leica to become grounded in photographic reality.
 
Sometimes I shoot digital (for paid shots or fast different needs of little importance) with Nikon manual and AF primes and zooms on my FujiS3Pro. I adore how it renders skin.

My Leicas are Bessas :) and I use them for street shooting only: three of them with small lenses on and different films loaded.

When I want more image quality than 35mm I use my Hasselblad (paid or tripod) and when I want extra technical (focus/perspective) control I use my 4x5 Arca Swiss.

When I don't want to carry my RFs and require small toy cameras, I carry My Oly XA preset at f/8 with Tri-X for direct sun and my Oly wide100 with TMZ for soft light. This is the most comfortable and enjoyable set I've used in my life.

Some other times I want to compose seeing through the lens, and then I grab a mechanical Nikon already set for direct sun and an AF Nikon for softer light with convenient AE... Manual primes and zooms for the first one and AF primes and zooms for the second.

Cheers,

Juan
 
I have a few of interesting (to me) 35mm cameras that I like to use one after another:

-Rollei 35 for the small size,
-Kodak Retina IIS for its great lens,
-Zorki-1d for pocketability and coolness factor,
-Yashica 35 GX for the night shots,
-Evil FE2 for the keeper shots.
 
Shane -

Good wishes for the shots in Manitoba. Get lots of bears. I hear that with the climate change they are fading faster than a badly washed print. I suspect the Hasselblad is going to be the "landscape" camera for some rather minimalist landscapes. Have a wonderful, wonderful time.

Bill
 
Besides a Leica, which I neither own nor have ever wanted, I use Nikon manual focus SLRs and rangefinders for all my photography.
 
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Unforunately, I'm not able to sink the required money into a Leica M. I only recently acquired a Canon P and I expect it will become my favourite rangefinder. Its certainly gorgeous to look at. My favourite camera to use in any situation except street photography, is one that doesn't crop up often on this forum. My Minolta XK. I have two of them. One I've owned for about 20 years. Although I own a Nikon F and F2, and appreciate their quality, they are not as smooth and easy as my XK. I have always preferred Minoltas match needle metering system over any other, and in aperture priority automatic, the XK has a little toggle on the shutter speed dial that you can operate with your thumb while shooting, for over or under exposing. Very useful. There are many other nice features, but basically there is nothing I don't like about this camera (other than the fact that it needs batteries).
 
Besides a Leica

Hello Bill and Fellow RF's,

A camera I have enjoyed over the last year is the Petri 35. The reason why is that it is (a) completely manual, (b) has a fixed lead-shutter lens, (c) images edges are rounded on the negatives, and (d) when I found a cute original petri viewfinder and a jazzy aluminum hood, it made the camera look rather "groovy". Pic attached (I hope) with coffee...

Working with sunny-16 or a handheld meter really brought back an enjoyment for rough-and-ready, truly old school photography, where shooters had to meter "by the eye", actually knowing that f/16 @ 1/125th applies for ASA 125 or 100. Using the Petri has been hard, but that makes it fun. Going really old-school. Which, for people, may be "new school" today!

Cheers,
Chris
canonetc
 

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Currently, the Panasonic GF1 only...though I've been meaning to add another Olympus XA to my set-up.
 
Medium Format TLR! Now that I have a Rolleiflex there is no need for any others, it's perfection for that type of camera. The image quality is amazing, and as to the dimensions of the photos, well, they're perfect for me since I'm a bit of a square.
 
As my .sig points out, I have a small handful of cameras. The primary ones I use besides my IIIf are the FTbN & the Crown Graphic. I'll probably be using the Crown even more when I get my modified front standard back from the machinist (adding swing & front and rear tilt to it.). I'm hoping to get to a point where I can start making matted & framed 4x5 contact prints of local landscapes for sale.

William
 
Bill Pierce said:
There are a lot of cameras in my toolbox because I earn my living taking pictures for other people. In addition to my Leicas, I use Canon DSLRs a lot. But, even for personal work, there are some cameras that are not Leica M's that I love to use.

I use a little Minilux with its fixed lens and its Zeiss Contax counterpart because they are small and automatic. They eliminate every excuse for not always having a camera with you from "The camera is too big." to "By the time I focus, the picture's gone."

My other "fun" camera is an 8x10 view, because it's sharper than a Leica.

I wondered what cameras outside of Leicas other members of the forum use. And most especially, why they use them, what advantages they have over Leicas. I guess the big question is what advantages. I'd love to hear from everybody.

Bill
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Hi,

Nikon F (x2)
and for a smaller camera: Olympus XA & Rollei 35
compact digital: Sony DSC V-3

Sam
 
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