Digital M: tool or toy?

[Vince Lupo]

I've just placed my order for an M9, and plan to use it for commercial and personal work.

I think it will be a nice complement to my D700, and will officially signify my move away from 35mm film (though I'll still use my Contaflex TLR for 35mm film!).

 

[coelacanth]

momentomore,

Just a side note. White text gets disappeared on white background (many including myself using alternative themes on RFF). It's better not to use any color styling when you post.

 

[aizan]

Lise Sarfati
Tod Papageorge
David Alan Harvey

 

[ashrafazlan]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned yanidel yet, he's an excellent M8 shooter.

check out his blog : http://blog.yanidel.com/

 

[Roger Hicks]

Well, I use mine as an essential part of earning my living. And we're just about to shoot a magazine illustration for a Land Rover magazine -- with an M8.2.

Cheers,

R.

 

[momentomore]

I find myself wondering why you ask. Are you a pro considering the switch?
Are you a hobbyist who prefers to use the same equipment the pros use?

If you are looking for examples of photojournalists using Leica Digital Ms, you will be disappointed. And it has little to do with the cameras. At least in the U.S., most major media outlets buy equipment for their photographers.
And they've been wedded to Canon and Nikon for a long time. Leica long ago abandoned that market when it failed to develop a digital M when everyone started going that direction.

And in this economy, there just aren't many news organizations willing to go out and invest tens of thousands of dollars buying new gear for their photographers. (Particularly when that gear doesn't record video)
And not many working photojournalists are able/willing to spend that kind of cash supplementing their work kits.

That was my thinking to. Than, the following question could be:” Can Leica reclaim their status as a camera of choice? You see, to me Leica was always associated with names like Henry Cartier Bresson and other legends of the street (including news/war photographers) photography. Can Leica be “Leica” again? Now days I notice many people buying Leica just for that feeling to have “Leica” around their neck (like some one buying Rolex for the watch) Status call.
Look at World Press Photo awards-most of the photographers there shooting DSLRs this days (in comparison to the rangefinders in pre-digital era). Can Leica with their Digital M change this status in the future?

 

[momentomore]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned yanidel yet, he's an excellent M8 shooter.

check out his blog : http://blog.yanidel.com/

Nice work thanks for the reference!

 

[momentomore]

momentomore,

Just a side note. White text gets disappeared on white background (many including myself using alternative themes on RFF). It's better not to use any color styling when you post.

Sorry, - new here. Will try next time🙂

 

[Thardy]

RE: Chris Weeks

Way up where?

martin

Has a certain amount of notoriety.

 

[tbarker13]

That was my thinking to. Than, the following question could be:” Can Leica reclaim their status as a camera of choice? You see, to me Leica was always associated with names like Henry Cartier Bresson and other legends of the street (including news/war photographers) photography. Can Leica be “Leica” again? Now days I notice many people buying Leica just for that feeling to have “Leica” around their neck (like some one buying Rolex for the watch) Status call.
Look at World Press Photo awards-most of the photographers there shooting DSLRs this days (in comparison to the rangefinders in pre-digital era). Can Leica with their Digital M change this status in the future?

I really doubt it. I fear those days have left the company behind.
Don't get me wrong. I love the digital M. And I believe it is a great photographic tool for those who use them.

But why would a photojournalist (or more importantly, his/her employer) choose one?
Obviously, it's more compact than a DLSR. But that's about all it has.
It's no better at low-light shooting than other (less expensive) DSLRs on the market. It's not markedly quieter than today's DSLRs. It lacks the versatility of DLSRs: No serious telephoto. Frames per second is sluggish. No video ability.
And while some might argue that Leica lenses are the best in the world, the lenses made by Canon and Nikon are quite capable of doing the job or reportage-style photography.

Throw the economy (and the sorry state of newspapers/magazines) on top of all that and there's just not much hope for Leica to find room in that world.

 

[johnastovall]

Well, I don’t know if this guy is using Digital Leica with his clients since you said that he is using other systems along with digital Leica. Not very often you see some one using digital point-and-shoot and digital rangefinder to shoot still lifeJ (I was referencing specifically to Digital M system in my post)

Alex Majoli of Magnum has used Oly P&S's for his published work in Time.

 

[21 mig]

Exceptional good work with the Leica M8:

Exceptional good work with the Leica M8:

http://www.100eyes.org/2009/08/alixandra-fazzina/

but it all depends on the photographer...

 

[PMCC]

Constantine Manos used an M8 for American Color.

Costa used M6s with Kodachrome X for American Color; the M8 didn't exist in 1995. If you mean American Color II, it's not yet published but lately he's been known to use the M8. Personally I prefer his early black and white work, and when he offered me a choice of signed handmade prints I selected some from A Greek Portfolio.

 

[ashrafazlan]

Also check out Markus Hartel's street work, most of it is done with the M8