Considering Leaving Rangefinder Photography All Together

Decisions, decisions!

Decisions, decisions!

I've got two "nostalgia" cameras - a Leica IIIf and a Rolleiflex E2 - both representing "best in class" for the classic 1950's formats. Do I use them? I occasionally bust them out for the sheer pleasure of handling them again.
I have a Nikkormat FTn with 20mm, 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 80mm, 135mm and 200mm lenses. Do I use it. NO! Too heavy, too bulky and it stays at home. Lovely camera though and I've owned it since new.
I was pushed away from the Nikkormat for two reasons. I'd virtually stopped photography because of the size/weight issue and also because I developed cataracts and couldn't get clear focus. So I got a Bessa RF and became hooked. Now I have two. Cataracts are fixed now though.
I haven't gone digital yet but I soon will for the convenience and then I'll sell the Nikon gear. But the camera I want hasn't appeared yet. I'm hoping the new Olympus Micro 4/3rds will be it. Hopefully about the size of the Pen F, TTL viewing and metering, decent sized sensor and a nice little zoom will just about do it for me. The G10 came close but with its tiny sensor and crappy viewfinder it didn't quite make the cut.
But I'll keep the Bessa. I actually like darkroom the experience as part of my hobby and as I'm retired I have time to do it. But I acknowledge the convenience of a modern digital slr and if I were a professional there wouldn't be a hesitation - D3!
 
If you use it, Keep it. If you like it, Keep it. You will probably start using it after this phase passes.

If you don't use it AND don't like it, sell it and move on.
 
I bought most of my Leica gear second hand back in the late sixties into the seventies, when you could pick up decent M2 and M3 bodies for $100 or $125 each. I bought most of my lenses back then too. Most of the stuff looks like crap. Even my "new" 15m Heliar shows wear, the black worn off the front edge of the hood. The other stuff ranges in age to over fifty years of regular use. It's much more interesting to keep trading in wives and girlfriends on the latest model. Thankfully I haven't gotten into collecting them yet.
 
Too new for me

Too new for me

They will be $599 soon at best buy soon, but currently cost as much as a used M8. I don't get the D700 unless you shoot sports or weddings or something. The D90 is nice, small, and fully utilizes all the cheap AFS lenses.

RayPA said:
Bah!! Noooo! 😛 Keep the D700 and the M7 (or get an MP instead) for the best of both worlds.


/
Click to expand...
 
to mike's point, i shoot much more digi than film, volume-wise. but i spend more time on rff for the fellowship than fredmiranda or POTN.
 
I know you are a pro, Dave, so you must look at it completely differently than me, who shoots as hobby, a distraction from work.

However, one thing I learned over the last few years, is that lenses that you have and like are sometimes very difficult to replace (sample variation, prices fluctuate, etc).

So if you fear that your film interest might come back, I recommend to keep the one or two M lenses you like most. Sell the rest, maybe replace the M7 with a much cheaper M2 or so.

Also, sooner or later, the FF DRF will come.

All the best,

Roland.
 
I think the decision is easy (or is supposed to be 🙂):

Ask yourself: do you really need the money you will get out of selling your RF gear? If not keep it!

If you do need the money then you need to decide what to keep as, in that case, you cannot afford both. In that case you are strongly biased towards the D700.

Good luck choosing!
 
It kind of makes me sad to see someone leave rangefinder shooting as I'm absolutely brand new to it. I had the D700 (from the first shipment) and it is close to a perfect camera and the best I have ever shot (and I've had almost every Nikon and many Canon DSLR's since 01) . The funny thing is that after a while this perfect cam started to make me feel like the basics we missing. The camera was so good, but I was not having fun anymore and no longer needed it for a living but rather now just a hobby.

So after I realized that the D700 had no been shot in two and a half months while an old Hassy film body was putting the passion back into the hobby ... I sold all of my Nikon Digital bodies and most lense .... and used that to get into the Leica "way"

Funny how we all travel in different ways. Good luck.
 
I've been facing something similar with the D3. Even when I take it and the M8 out together, I wind up reaching for the Nikon. It'll pass, though. Those digital Nikon files are SWEEEET though.

Ben

dcsang said:
Ya.. I know.

Weird huh.

I've been considering this over the last couple weeks actually - mainly because of the following:
  1. I haven't been using the M7
  2. I've been using the Nikon D700 a lot more
  3. I'm able to use these old school manual focus lenses on the D700
  4. I haven't had the time to really develop much film lately
  5. I've recently acquired an Epson 3800 for printing - so I need to pay for that too 🙂

I've also realized that if I want to do "street" shooting that the GR-Digital II is good enough for my purposes.

That said, I'm torn on whether to "stay or go" - freeing up the capital would be a good thing, leaving the great Leica glass (and CV glass) I own would be hard, and the lack of the "wind" action; the actual ritual that brought me "back" to film in the first place, would be missed (the manual focus ritual won't be because the D700 can take old school manual focus lenses).

Such a difficult decision - if I'm to make one at all..

I wonder if anyone else has struggled over such things as this... (in the grand scheme, it's a small thing to "gnash one's teeth" over but still.. )

Cheers,
dave
Click to expand...
 
I take the policy that selling any of my gear is a last resort, because in the final analysis, none of it is worth that much money and I might want to use it later.

That said, if you honestly think you'd be okay becoming an SLR man, then by all means trade in the Leica gear so you can pay down your Epson and maybe afford some nice new Nikkors. I'm a Nikon SLR guy myself, but I keep a couple RFs for certain situations.
 
I'd try to keep some of that Leica glass to avoid seller's remorse.

I'd try to think longer term, try to figure out the odds of returning to a rangefinder, and try to base any decision on a long term outlook to avoid anything impulsive.

I kinda got imersed into rangefinders recently, I overlooked my old Nikon film cameras, but I eventually rebonded to them. It was only after I realized what I had that I started shifting and culling though my gear. I ended up tracking down faster primes, upgrading and getting rid of unneeded equipment.

Be careful and avoid regret.

Calzone
 
dcsang said:
Ya.. I know.

Weird huh.

I've been considering this over the last couple weeks actually - mainly because of the following:
  1. I haven't been using the M7
  2. I've been using the Nikon D700 a lot more
  3. I'm able to use these old school manual focus lenses on the D700
  4. I haven't had the time to really develop much film lately
  5. I've recently acquired an Epson 3800 for printing - so I need to pay for that too 🙂
I've also realized that if I want to do "street" shooting that the GR-Digital II is good enough for my purposes.

That said, I'm torn on whether to "stay or go" - freeing up the capital would be a good thing, leaving the great Leica glass (and CV glass) I own would be hard, and the lack of the "wind" action; the actual ritual that brought me "back" to film in the first place, would be missed (the manual focus ritual won't be because the D700 can take old school manual focus lenses).

Such a difficult decision - if I'm to make one at all..

I wonder if anyone else has struggled over such things as this... (in the grand scheme, it's a small thing to "gnash one's teeth" over but still.. )

Cheers,
dave
Click to expand...

Here... sold my MP and a bunch of lenses, now using the D700 with compact manual Nikkors. It was all about "full frame" for me. If Leica had an affordable digital rangefinder without crop factor, I´d maybe still shooting my Noctilux on an M. They had not and wont have anytime soon.

So it was the Noct-Nikkor on a D700 for me instead.
 
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