First time Leica M owner- Am I crazy?

[thegman]

Yes and no, on one hand a camera like the M3 can make fantastic pics and works/feels great. On the other hand, you can get a camera every bit as good for a fraction of the price, like a Pentax ME or something. I love my M3 though, they are outstanding cameras, I don't think Leica ever bettered it, unless you like 35mm lenses.

 

[alexnotalex]

My D40 is also now on the shelf. I use it for kids sports and events when I need to shoot 200 pics to get a keeper, and for that it is fantastic.

My M3 is on my desk with film in it, and a few frames a day is my meditation. Most of my photos still suck, but I squinting through a beautiful machine makes me really happy!

Welcome! stay a while, and share some pics.

 

[Ronny]

Yes, but Lucky 🙂

 

[mfogiel]

It might be the best thing you have done to improve your photography.

Have a look here:
http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2009/05/a-leica-year.html

and here:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/leicayear/discuss/72157619102152260/

and here:
http://theonlinephotographer.typepa.../2010/08/a-leica-for-a-year-a-year-later.html

 

[seakayaker1]

Welcome!

Good luck and enjoy the journey.

 

[John Lawrence]

Who cares about crazy, the real question you should ask is "am I happy?". If you are then I personally think nothing else matters.. 🙂

Wise words.

John

 

[Jonnyfez]

You are quite mad, sir! Nah, you'll love it. I find I take better photos if I like the camera I'm using. And what's not to like about an M3 and Summicron?

 

[zauhar]

M3 + DR Summicron is how I started out!

You're crazy in a GOOD way...

Welcome!

Randy

 

[semilog]

No not crazy... you bought things that are very easy to sell. Very safe purchase really.

Easy to sell. But very often, not easy to sell. If you take my meaning.

 

[Rockhopper]

Congrats! Hope you have not spent all your money because there are still a couple of things to buy! 😀

I’ve really enjoyed reading through all of your responses! Thanks for certifying me as crazy! 😀


I especially liked the suggestions for additional gear. One comment mentioned a light meter- which is now on my list (Gossen Luna Pro). I picked up an A&A Riva bag, an Abrahamsson soft release, a Gordy strap, an Orange Heliopan 39mm filter, a Tom Bihn Café Bag, a few rolls of B&W film (tri-x, XP-2, BW400CN), and a copy of “Street Photography Now”. What else do you all think I may want/need? (I still need a lens hood for sure...)


I am super happy about getting into rangefinder photography! I’ll be sure to post some pics as a previous comment suggested. My wife and I are heading to Italy in September. I’m not sure what kind of film to take, but I’m sure you all have suggestions on that too!

Thanks again for welcoming me so warmly- I feel at home already!

 

[BobYIL]

Italy, especially in summer months is very colorful. I would certainly put in my bag some color films too. (Fujifilm and Kodak are available everywhere, you can buy them in Italy..)

 

[segedi]

I shot some slide film when I was in Italy and love how the photos turned out. But being fairly new to you meterless camera, the negative films are more forgiving. I shot Kodak Ektar and Portra for color neg film and was very pleased as well.

The only thing you need is to get all the kit together and go shoot! I recommend shooting the bwcn and xp-2 asap so you can get fast results as you can take these to anywhere that does film development, not too many do B&W dev anymore, but it's easy to do at home...

 

[hteasley]

Am I crazy?

The good kind of crazy, yes.

 

[rizraz]

Welcome to the Mad Hatter's Tea Party........ hope you are broke all the time, money doesn't stay in your pocket for long........ except if you don't go into the classified or anywhere that sells rf equipments 🙂

 

[bobby_novatron]

My D40 is also now on the shelf. I use it for kids sports and events when I need to shoot 200 pics to get a keeper, and for that it is fantastic.

My M3 is on my desk with film in it, and a few frames a day is my meditation. Most of my photos still suck, but I squinting through a beautiful machine makes me really happy!

Welcome! stay a while, and share some pics.

+1 on this point. I share your sentiments exactly. Shooting with an old rangefinder is an exercise in connecting with your photography in a way that shooting a dSLR can't replicate. I've become a much better photographer since I started shooting film again.

 

[seanchau]

I guess I am also crazy. I have never used film or rangefinder. Yet I just purchased a M6 with a Zeiss Biogon 35mm F2 lens. They should both be arriving tomorrow. In fact, I don't even know if there is a local photo lab that will process my b&w films. I am currently using 5d2 with all Zeiss lenses. Hopefully, it will be worth the trouble. Or maybe I am just crazy. Or just spending way too much time reading posts on this forum.

Wish me luck! Hopefully, I can find a youtube video to show me how to load film on my M6 and figure out how to use the metering. lol

 

[semilog]

Welcome to the Mad Hatter's Tea Party........ hope you are broke all the time, money doesn't stay in your pocket for long........ except if you don't go into the classified or anywhere that sells rf equipments 🙂

We're all mad in here! Too true.

 

[paradoxbox]

I guess I am also crazy. I have never used film or rangefinder. Yet I just purchased a M6 with a Zeiss Biogon 35mm F2 lens. They should both be arriving tomorrow. In fact, I don't even know if there is a local photo lab that will process my b&w films. I am currently using 5d2 with all Zeiss lenses. Hopefully, it will be worth the trouble. Or maybe I am just crazy. Or just spending way too much time reading posts on this forum.

Wish me luck! Hopefully, I can find a youtube video to show me how to load film on my M6 and figure out how to use the metering. lol

welcome!

develop your own film, it's not difficult, takes around 15-20 minutes, and it's awesome to look at your images while they're still wet on the roll.

one tip, sacrifice a roll of film to learn how to load a film reel properly in the dark, practice until you can do it without wrecking your film while trying to load it!

 

[seanchau]

If it is as easy as you said, I might consider developing it myself. But I am clueless on how it's done.

 

[mfogiel]

Italy, DR Summicron & Tri X:


20093618 by mfogiel, on Flickr


20093615 by mfogiel, on Flickr