Buying a Leica: How long did you dream about it?

[schaubild]

Agreed, Magus.

On my never (?) ending quest for quality (and therefore after switching back to medium format) I had a long period of decreased productivity/output, I started to get extremely picky with my images, they couldn't be good enough. A quite difficult and sometimes frustrating process until you realize that the way out is hard work and adaption to the new circumstances.

In the end it all depends on your own expectations, which will also heavily influence your buying decisions. If it has to be something special like a Leica, then it has to be it, you'll always find the right arguments for it 🙂

Just my 5 cent


P.S. Just read Jaap's answer. Well said!

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

We should not spend even more money on cameras. Film and supplies yes. But also books and visits to exhibitions, and not just photo exhibitions.

I can spend an evening watching a movie on cable tv or a contemporary dance group in a local theatre and be full of energy for photography the next day. Recently an exhibition of ceramics was great for my photography, and so is my wife's textile artistry.

It really is not about stuff, it's about seeing.

Dreaming about images and light is where we should be at, not dreaming about whether to get the chrome one or the black paint one.

If we can afford a Leica, and if that's what we want, then go for it. But there's a young woman, about 14 years old, who recently beat me in a local photo competition: her point and shoot picture was better than my Leica picture because her artistic vision was better than mine. She rightly deserved to win.

 

[Magus]

Post deleted by posters request

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Jon, I fail to see why it could not be you. I don't, after all, know you. And there is a lot of talent and genius in the world.

So it might be you. Especially with an MP.

Cheers!

It would not be me, and I suspect it would not be you either or anybody else in this 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' place. But thank you anyway.

 

[Magus]

Post deleted by posters request

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

I am afraid I must continue to insist. You cannot know. There is nothing wrong with this place, on the contrary. You should try Photonet for sheer crassness and "Cuckoo's Nest" atmosphere!

Thank you, I have never been there and never plan to.

Last evening on 'The West Wing' eposide that aired here Josh got drawn into a website to discuss politics and CJ told him: "This is like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and that bossy person is Nurse Ratched, and you went in there trying to be McMurray and organise a fishing trip with those nuts."

For some reason it reminded me of RFF at times...

 

[Ken Ford]

It would not be me, and I suspect it would not be you either or anybody else in this 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' place. But thank you anyway.

Jon, this post and several others by you the last few weeks make me wonder why you stay here at RFF, since you seem to dislike the forum and the way it is run.

Not a criticism, genuinely curious.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Jon, this post and several others by you the last few weeks make me wonder why you stay here at RFF, since you seem to dislike the forum and the way it is run.

Not a criticism, genuinely curious.

Ken: EU and US are different from each other. The EU people in here are usually more robust that the US people. Look at the NL members, and those from UK.

Yes, I don't like the 'sponsors, sponsors, sponsors' line every day. In my newspaper this morning there were many 'sponsors' on many pages but I did not go our and buy a new car from Mercedes because they sponsored my favorite newspaper.

Otherwise RFF is like my local bar: a nice to pop into with some slight eccentrics. But I still go back there.

 

[Bertram2]

The only thing we should decry would be if he pretended to be the equal of a Menuhin.

There are maybe 1000 and 1 acceptable reasons to buy a superb tool, but the one I was talking about does not exist, it is a secret desire in some people's heads, but nonetheless a fiction only:

My analogy was about the violinists assumption, that the Stradivari could bring him and his artistic standard somehow closer if not very close or even on par with Yehudi Menuhins level. That earns laughter indeed IMO.

The better tool does not not only NOT guarantee a technical better result , it can't make you beeing an artist either, just because you use it. I said it explicitely btw. : There is no inspiration in a superb tool, it's a challenge only for all those who aren't masters yet.

bertram.

 

[Chaser]

It would not be me, and I suspect it would not be you either or anybody else in this 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' place. But thank you anyway.

I hate to think that photography has peaked. I may be totally wrong here but i have always aspired to be more than a Cartier-Bresson, in a sense that is. It is easy sometimes to look as some spectacular photos and feel that there is some unobtainable quality that mere morals who hang out on some website will never be able to achieve. I will take ambition over quiet resignation and acceptance of mediocrity any day. Dilluted maybe but i honestly have never put these gods of photography on a pedestal that is unshakeable. Good work is good work and there are photos on the walls of this Cuckoo's nest that remind me that I would never be afraid to go toe to toe with a fuji point and shoot wielding Cartier-Bresson any day of the week....

 

[35mmdelux]

took me about a year to decide to lose the hasselblad. Got an M4-P w/ 35mm and 50mm Crons right off the bat. Never looked back. Had to get used to the higher price points.

Since that faithful day, have bought four M6 variants, finishing the collection w/ one M4-P and two M6 Classics (.72) - all black, and 5 lenses. Ya, baby!

 

[Bertram2]

Dilluted maybe but i honestly have never put these gods of photography on a pedestal that is unshakeable. Good work is good work .

These gods actually weren't ever gods, if at all this was the idea of guys like us and some marketing folks. They just made good photos and got famous. Others made good photos too, at the same time but did not get famous at all. Some of those we still know, but many are forgotten.
There is absolutely no reason , why one of us should not get as good as the famous photogs were and still are, and as long as we continue to stare and learn we all got a chance to come there ! To live is to learn.

A sales trainer to me once said, sale is 95% transpiration and 5% inspiration.
My approach to photography isn't different.

bertram

 

[Chaser]

These gods actually weren't ever gods, if at all this was the idea of guys like us and some marketing folks. They just made good photos and got famous. Others made good photos too, at the same time but did not get famous at all. Some of those we still know, but many are forgotten.
There is absolutely no reason , why one of us should not get as good as the famous photogs were and still are, and as long as we continue to stare and learn we all got a chance to come there ! To live is to learn.

A sales trainer to me once said, sale is 95% transpiration and 5% inspiration.
My approach to photography isn't different.

bertram

... perhapse a little more eloquent and well thoughtout than what i said Bertram,
I also didn't want to imply that i thought i was anywhere near the photographer HCB or the likes were-are, but i will always thrive to that excellence regardless of what is in my hand or on my tripod.

 

[Magus]

Post deleted by posters request

 

[Madrigal]

Granted, there are those who think spending lots on expensive equipment will improve their photographic skills. Granted, there are those who think Leicas are overpriced, just as there are those who associate them with a certain ‘status’. I have never even held a Leica RF, much less used one to take photographs. I do, however, understand the joy of using well crafted, sturdy equipment and, by the same token, I don’t like to surround myself with plastic junk. For me, it comes down to: is it intuitive for me to use? The more transparent it is, the less I struggle using it, the happier I am; is it likely that it’s going to break in even a few years? Considering how long these cameras have been proven to last, they aren’t so very expensive in the end. Even if I had unlimited funds I would never assume a Leica was for me. I would try whatever make and model was available (how many choices are there now?) and get only what felt right to me.
The MP looks delicious, I must say.
I am happy with my FM3a, for now.
My 2 bits, FWIW.

 

[Doug]

I do, however, understand the joy of using well crafted, sturdy equipment and, by the same token, I don’t like to surround myself with plastic junk. For me, it comes down to: is it intuitive for me to use? The more transparent it is, the less I struggle using it, the happier I am; is it likely that it’s going to break in even a few years? Considering how long these cameras have been proven to last, they aren’t so very expensive in the end.

Very good points, and I agree. I'm usually willing to pay more for what appears to be better quality. Whatever it is, it will justify its price with better service... peformance, aesthetics, durability, whatever. When and if it needs repair, I don't like to hear, "It's not worth fixing."

My Leica has proven well worth its cost. The story is repetitious for some, so I'll be brief... I bought this used button-rewind M2 in 1966 for $150 at Olympic Camera Center on 4th in Seattle, and also got a brand-new 35 Summicron (8 element) for $164.50 additional. I only made $118/week then. A year later at the same store I got a new 90mm Tele-Elmarit for $196. I also had a 4.5/50mm Focotar for my enlarger, but that was my Leica stuff until I bought a new 28 'cron last year.

As I recall I took the M2 to Phototronics for RF vertical alignment twice within the first 10 years, but of course by that time the camera was 20 years old. The year before last it had its first CLA that I know of, and next year it'll be a 50-year-old camera. Is it still worth fixing? Each part of my Leica kit is probably worth more now than I paid for it, and for all these years it's performed beautifully, a joy to use.

I like Pentax gear also, and still have a couple of nice M42 models I got in the early 70's. I tend to take care of my stuff, and have not risked my Leica to my wife... She is a camera destroyer, trashing two Pentax ME Supers, a Ricoh XRS (that didn't last long), and three Pentax LX bodies through liquid spills, impact damage, and who knows what else. I suspect, though not sure, that the M Leica might have better withstood the abuse. Have to admit I'm amazed that when she switched to digital with the Nikon Coolpix 990 the destruction stopped as did the monster processing bills... So the nearly $1000 Nikon has been a good deal too!

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

This thread inspired me to take photos ina new location yesterday. I generally go to the same nearby places and usually take similar photos.

Yesterday I went to a military museum and enjoyed taking some semi-abstract pictures of their seriously big guns. A new subject for and I'm sure I'll go back when I see the results.

Thank you.

 

[flipflop]

I dont have a leica...Never have...I have a leica ltm lens...
I would like an m2 with a couple lenses, once I grad from college 🙂 less than a yr...So I would say within the next 2-3 yrs I will have a leica with what I want...

 

[stric]

3 years... alongthe way I bought Bessa R2 with 1.7 35mm Ultron... now I have an MPwith 35mm summilux

 

[jerry-harwood]

For what it's worth, I bought an M6 after a lot of shall I, shan't I, and then had to wait 6 months to afford an 35mm f2 to put on it ! Having said that, it was the best buy I ever made. Although I have a Digilux 2, it is the m6 i use most. that says it all, i guess !