Ruhayat
Well-known
So. How about another rainy day thread, eh?😛 I guess for a lot of people the Leica M represents the pinnacle of 35mm photography (I did say "A LOT", and not "ALL", right). So what cameras did you go through before you ended up with an M?
I'll go first. My list is rather short as I only started getting into photography somewhat seriously about 5 years ago. These are the cameras I have owned over the years, in chronological order:
DIGITAL
1. Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC40 - my first "Summicron"! Still usable, but lens is stuck at longest end. The photos it made were distinctive enough that even non-photographer friends saw a difference. It got me started on the Leica path.
2. Ricoh GRD - died in the rain.
3. Leica Digilux 2 - my second "Summicron"! To this day, still the best digital compact ever! Still usable, but skin peeling off.
4. Nikon D70 - never liked the white balance or VF. Sold after 2 months.
5. Olympus E-1 - it was my pseudo Leica DMR (Kodak sensor + Leica R lenses). Died of sensor failure.
6. Leica D-Lux 3 - bought on a whim. Never liked the plastic looking images it made. And zooming with a joystick sucked - I much prefer rings around the lens. Sold.
7. Canon 5D - superb detail, sparse buttons but big and heavy. Sold.
8. Olympus EP-1 - love the dynamic B&W mode with the 17mm lens. Sold.
9. Panasonic G1 - I thought I needed an m4/3 with VF since I use mainly manual lenses. But the video-like VF of the G1 made me dizzy. Sold.
10. Canon 30D - sparse layout like the 5D, nicer than the later models. Didn't need a digital anymore at the time so I sold it.
11. Panasonic GF1 - nice, but no VF makes shooting in bright light a pain. Great for food photos, though.
12. Nikon D90 - nice, but I just don't like Nikons although I love the image colours. Sold.
13. Pentax K-5 - best DSLR to me. For now, at least. Heh.
14. Well, no digital M yet, but I am trying to swap my M6TTL for an M8 with someone!
FILM
1. Yashica Electro 35GSN - sharp lens, 45mm focal length a bit boring, and it's too big for a "compact" rangefinder. Sold.
2. Olympus 35RC - contrasty, too small and focusing is too fiddly cos the ring is so close to the body. Sold.
3. Leica M6TTL - the chrome version, which I found brand new quite by chance. Selling off.
4. Olympus Trip 35 - bought as companion to the M6, but I never got the zone focusing right. Gave away to ex-GF.
5. Pentax MX - nice and compact, but too small for the Jupiter 9 I wanted to use it with. Sold.
6. Contax 139Q - so good, I bought 2 of them. And then sold both of them off. Because I'm just fickle like that.
7. Leica M7 - black version. My favourite M because of the AE and excellent meter.
8. Leica M4-P - black chrome version. The prefect size and weight for an M (you can feel the difference). Fell in love with it the first time I held one a year ago.
I'll go first. My list is rather short as I only started getting into photography somewhat seriously about 5 years ago. These are the cameras I have owned over the years, in chronological order:
DIGITAL
1. Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC40 - my first "Summicron"! Still usable, but lens is stuck at longest end. The photos it made were distinctive enough that even non-photographer friends saw a difference. It got me started on the Leica path.
2. Ricoh GRD - died in the rain.
3. Leica Digilux 2 - my second "Summicron"! To this day, still the best digital compact ever! Still usable, but skin peeling off.
4. Nikon D70 - never liked the white balance or VF. Sold after 2 months.
5. Olympus E-1 - it was my pseudo Leica DMR (Kodak sensor + Leica R lenses). Died of sensor failure.
6. Leica D-Lux 3 - bought on a whim. Never liked the plastic looking images it made. And zooming with a joystick sucked - I much prefer rings around the lens. Sold.
7. Canon 5D - superb detail, sparse buttons but big and heavy. Sold.
8. Olympus EP-1 - love the dynamic B&W mode with the 17mm lens. Sold.
9. Panasonic G1 - I thought I needed an m4/3 with VF since I use mainly manual lenses. But the video-like VF of the G1 made me dizzy. Sold.
10. Canon 30D - sparse layout like the 5D, nicer than the later models. Didn't need a digital anymore at the time so I sold it.
11. Panasonic GF1 - nice, but no VF makes shooting in bright light a pain. Great for food photos, though.
12. Nikon D90 - nice, but I just don't like Nikons although I love the image colours. Sold.
13. Pentax K-5 - best DSLR to me. For now, at least. Heh.
14. Well, no digital M yet, but I am trying to swap my M6TTL for an M8 with someone!
FILM
1. Yashica Electro 35GSN - sharp lens, 45mm focal length a bit boring, and it's too big for a "compact" rangefinder. Sold.
2. Olympus 35RC - contrasty, too small and focusing is too fiddly cos the ring is so close to the body. Sold.
3. Leica M6TTL - the chrome version, which I found brand new quite by chance. Selling off.
4. Olympus Trip 35 - bought as companion to the M6, but I never got the zone focusing right. Gave away to ex-GF.
5. Pentax MX - nice and compact, but too small for the Jupiter 9 I wanted to use it with. Sold.
6. Contax 139Q - so good, I bought 2 of them. And then sold both of them off. Because I'm just fickle like that.
7. Leica M7 - black version. My favourite M because of the AE and excellent meter.
8. Leica M4-P - black chrome version. The prefect size and weight for an M (you can feel the difference). Fell in love with it the first time I held one a year ago.
