Do you currently own a Leica camera?

Do you currently own a Leica camera?

  • YES

    Votes: 588 81.6%

  • NO

    Votes: 133 18.4%
  • Total voters
    721
  • Poll closed .
You don't need to use a Leica to do RF photography. It is great if you have one, though. This is my personal view. A Konica III is awesome too.
 
Despite having previously owned (and sold / traded) an M6, M6TTL and M4-P, I never really got on with them as I was, and still am, more of an SLR shooter (35mm and 120).

However, I saw a beautiful little iiif red dial with self-timer with a collapsible 5cm Elmar f2.8 on the front. So I bought it. The lens has a few marks - though nothing bad. Still, it was made in 1956, so it's almost certain not to be "mint". I'm running a roll through it this week to see how it looks....
 
Just went back to the X1 from the Fuji X-E2...the X-E2 was really really nice, but the X1 delivers just astonishing IQ with perfect handling and size.
I really miss my X2 with removed AA-filter (lost it), but the X1 is almost on-par in sharpensss clarity, and even matches what I used to get from the M8. The X1 also nicely complementa an analog setup.
 
I took a head-count: IIc (1), IIIf (2), IIIg (1), M2 (1) and a Minilux. No wait...that last one doesn't count.

Also had a Digilux Zoom and an M8 up until last month. Sold both on the Bay and bought a Fujifilm X-T1, on which I can use each and every lens in the house; Leica, Zeiss Contax (RF), Canon, Pentax...it doesn't matter, it uses them all. What a rush!

These share gadget-bag space with my Canon and Contax rangefinders. There were also a few Voigtlander Bessa cameras, but they don't live here anymore.
 
I guess I still do since I couldn't sell my M4-2 at the last photo show. The M sync terminal fell out due to a cracked plastic holder (pointed out to me by Youxin Ye when he freshened up the body last year). At that time I figured that the last time I used flash bulbs was 1969 so why do I need an M sync. I just put a piece of black masking tape over the hole. Of course this means the camera is "ruined" for resale since all the potential buyers think I should just give it to them for $100. That ain't going to happen, I'll just keep the camera. (And just perhaps ask a friend of mine who in a machinist to fashion an official looking 'blanking plug' for the opening. Then it will be a modified M4-2
 
Peter_S said:
Just went back to the X1 from the Fuji X-E2...the X-E2 was really really nice, but the X1 delivers just astonishing IQ with perfect handling and size.
I really miss my X2 with removed AA-filter (lost it), but the X1 is almost on-par in sharpensss clarity, and even matches what I used to get from the M8. The X1 also nicely complementa an analog setup.
Click to expand...

What he said^...😀

I carry the X1 in my pocket. Or in a bag pocket and forget it is even there until I need it. The quality of the images is perfect for me. The form is exquisitie. And in spite of its slow AF, I have a great workaround thanks to Godfrey.😉 What could be better? Oh, yeah, a reliable digital M that I could afford, but that is another story. Alas, my dream of an M9 seems to be going away as the digital fog settles and newer more expensive models pop up.:angel:
 
Raid,

I am curious. Now that things are pretty much set. What are you discussing with the head cheese?:angel: It is nice to have this data. But what is it for? Dialogue with management is always a good thing and you are to be commended for volunteering to do this.

Personally, Leica AG seems to be all over the map with so many overlapping products that my head spins. Then, the price and now the reliability issues of the digital M's.

Are any of these issues going to be discussed?
 
David Hughes said:
Well, it ought to the Minilux is a Leica and even has the red dot on it, unlike all your others.

Regards, David
Click to expand...


The Minilux is kind of like the "mailman's kid". Nobody is really certain where it came from. A few milliseconds after the warranty expired on this thing it began to "hunt" for focus...back and forth, from stop to stop, bang - bang - bang... until I turn it off. Turn it back on and it would behave for a few shots, then start hunting again. I called Leica and asked if they could take care of it. I knew I was in trouble when they gave me the telephone number for a shop in New Jersey (whom I never called). I did speak to Sherry (at Golden Touch), who has worked on several of my other cameras at one time or another. Did you know she doesn't mince words? I haven't had a battery in it for ten years. I wonder if it will "self-destruct" if I do(?) The red dot notwithstanding, my particular Minilux Zoom doesn't amount to a piss-hole in the snow, compared to any of the others.
 
Im_leary said:
The Minilux is kind of like the "mailman's kid". Nobody is really certain where it came from. A few milliseconds after the warranty expired on this thing it began to "hunt" for focus...back and forth, from stop to stop, bang - bang - bang... until I turn it off. Turn it back on and it would behave for a few shots, then start hunting again. I called Leica and asked if they could take care of it. I knew I was in trouble when they gave me the telephone number for a shop in New Jersey (whom I never called). I did speak to Sherry (at Golden Touch), who has worked on several of my other cameras at one time or another. Did you know she doesn't mince words? I haven't had a battery in it for ten years. I wonder if it will "self-destruct" if I do(?) The red dot notwithstanding, my particular Minilux Zoom doesn't amount to a piss-hole in the snow, compared to any of the others.
Click to expand...

Hi,

OK, but it's still a Leica, even though it's a dead one.

It's a pity they don't repair them but that's the way it is with some things. I'm amazed no one, like those enterprising Chinese friends of us poorer photographers, don't make a repair kit for them.

Reading about the M9 sensor problems I got the impression Leica worried about their reputation but the Minilux saga makes me wonder. Like the rest of their cameras it cost a lot more than most and I'd expect something extra for the money..

BTW, the Leica C3 seems to me to be a better alternative but not so mini in size. And no one seems to mention the older plain mini zoom...

Regards, David
 
What I have fills my current needs, however I just can't stand not knowing if it will make a difference. The upshot is I have a Leica iii f, no timer in the mail. All will be revealed. 🙂 RED
 
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