The Expanding Man
Member
If you still have a film M then load some film into it and enjoy real photography once more.
Sorry to hear about your M9, though. At that price-tag I would expect those cameras to hold up better...
Agreed. Buying a used M4 and a CLA has been the best $1k I've spent on photography. It's as old as I am, and will probably last as long as my children.
Linkert
Established
Someday, maybe and hopefully, every piece of 'thing' and every aspect of my life will be sustainable though the work of my self and like-minded loved people around me within the limits of nature.
Self-reliance, the idea of not being dependent on corporations, money and pipes in the ground is what keeps me going. It's hard as I'm grown up to only know one life, the industrial society where we stopped supporting our selfs and employed 'the other people in the east' to grow our food, make our cloths.
When I get close enough to living life like every other species on this lonely blue dot in space, except for most humans, I'll drop photography and take up painting on wood by means of natures natural colours. I'll probably be close to 40 years of age which is quite of sad when you think of it..
Wait, what..?
Self-reliance, the idea of not being dependent on corporations, money and pipes in the ground is what keeps me going. It's hard as I'm grown up to only know one life, the industrial society where we stopped supporting our selfs and employed 'the other people in the east' to grow our food, make our cloths.
When I get close enough to living life like every other species on this lonely blue dot in space, except for most humans, I'll drop photography and take up painting on wood by means of natures natural colours. I'll probably be close to 40 years of age which is quite of sad when you think of it..
Wait, what..?
leicapixie
Well-known
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=143084
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=143084
Raid everybody is backing you!
It gonna get better..
i stopped shooting for a few months,
in South Africa, many years ago after different people,
that i knew, were murdered or died soon after my doing portraits, of them.
i would not take a portrait.
Then i realized it was not ME.
It was Africa.
I moved to Canada.
I shoot lots of portraits.
In Film days, it was said NEVER use a Nikon with a Leica M.
The two cameras worked in opposing directions.
If one camera failed though..
You always had the Nikon, to carry on.
It was so often true for me..
Digital has shown everybody has a problem.
The cameras are way more complex.
Film is better! There we, my pals and i are not simply beating the drum.
No siree.
WE plan with the army of supporters,not world domination,
but Galactic Empire!
C'mon.
Use whatever you like, it's all fun.
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=143084
Raid everybody is backing you!
It gonna get better..
i stopped shooting for a few months,
in South Africa, many years ago after different people,
that i knew, were murdered or died soon after my doing portraits, of them.
i would not take a portrait.
Then i realized it was not ME.
It was Africa.
I moved to Canada.
I shoot lots of portraits.
In Film days, it was said NEVER use a Nikon with a Leica M.
The two cameras worked in opposing directions.
If one camera failed though..
You always had the Nikon, to carry on.
It was so often true for me..
Digital has shown everybody has a problem.
The cameras are way more complex.
Film is better! There we, my pals and i are not simply beating the drum.
No siree.
WE plan with the army of supporters,not world domination,
but Galactic Empire!
C'mon.
Use whatever you like, it's all fun.
Chinasaur
Well-known
Best of luck with the Repairs!
lynnb
Veteran
Hi Raid,
So sorry to hear of your M9 misfortune.. these things happen.. and they disappoint and annoy us because they are contrary to our expectations. Once the emotion has died down we remember that it can happen to anyone at any time; and although very upsetting at the time, we have always enjoyed taking and making pictures. No amount of broken electronics will take away from the huge satisfaction of looking at the pictures of our families growing up, and all the memories we have captured. They are far, far more precious than a replaceable camera body.
Just a thought: is your gear insured? I added all my camera gear to my home contents insurance at very little additional cost - for loss, theft, accidental breakage and failure. Something to consider if your insurance doesn't already cover this loss. Of course, Leica might well come to the party without you having to pay anything.
You'll feel better when you're rested. As others have mentioned, you might like to shoot some film for a while until this setback gets off your mind. Then reconsider why you bought the M9 in the first place - if the reasons are still valid, you might decide to buy another. Or perhaps consider some of the alternatives suggested by others.
My commiserations. Now go and take some more of the lovely pictures you have been sharing on this forum.
Kind regards,
So sorry to hear of your M9 misfortune.. these things happen.. and they disappoint and annoy us because they are contrary to our expectations. Once the emotion has died down we remember that it can happen to anyone at any time; and although very upsetting at the time, we have always enjoyed taking and making pictures. No amount of broken electronics will take away from the huge satisfaction of looking at the pictures of our families growing up, and all the memories we have captured. They are far, far more precious than a replaceable camera body.
Just a thought: is your gear insured? I added all my camera gear to my home contents insurance at very little additional cost - for loss, theft, accidental breakage and failure. Something to consider if your insurance doesn't already cover this loss. Of course, Leica might well come to the party without you having to pay anything.
You'll feel better when you're rested. As others have mentioned, you might like to shoot some film for a while until this setback gets off your mind. Then reconsider why you bought the M9 in the first place - if the reasons are still valid, you might decide to buy another. Or perhaps consider some of the alternatives suggested by others.
My commiserations. Now go and take some more of the lovely pictures you have been sharing on this forum.
Kind regards,
Ansel
Well-known
To the contrary. This is not the first time I have seen someone move to a digital camera only to find a few months later they have lost their passion for photography, for one reason or another. I think it is very relevant to the topic at hand. Leica also seem to have more than their fare share of reliability issues from what I read.
MCTuomey
Veteran
Fwiw, my M9 has been in the shop twice, once for sensor replacement and once for the "dead battery" issue. I've been smacked around for saying it, but the M9 is a fiddly camera whose quirks are either acceptable to the owner, or not. If they're not acceptable to you, Raid, move away from the M9 and on to whatever brings you photo pleasure. You've made some beautiful images over the years, and more are out there to be made. Frustration with a camera is no reason to leave photography ...
MichaelToye
Well-known
I haven't taken a single photo between February and this wednesday just gone.
I think I lost sight of the reason I was taking pictures on the streets.
Still thinking...
I think we're all visited by this demon.
Michael
I think I lost sight of the reason I was taking pictures on the streets.
Still thinking...
I think we're all visited by this demon.
Michael
Bill Clark
Veteran
Sorry to hear about your experiences with your M9.
I would be mad as hell if I had the same experiences you've had.
Another thought is to get rid of the camera as is. Or get Leica to buy it back from you.
Sounds like they haven't quite learned how to make reliable products for the digital medium.
This is getting to be my mode of operation:
Film cameras, with B&W film.
Digital with an iPhone/iPad.
I would be mad as hell if I had the same experiences you've had.
Another thought is to get rid of the camera as is. Or get Leica to buy it back from you.
Sounds like they haven't quite learned how to make reliable products for the digital medium.
This is getting to be my mode of operation:
Film cameras, with B&W film.
Digital with an iPhone/iPad.
Mcary
Well-known
I'd bet if you took a survey just as many people or more would tell you just the opposite. That digital helped to renew or bring back their passion for photography.
Over the past 12 years I've shot a mix of digital, 35mm, medium format and large format film but what my renewed passion in photography, following a 10 year 10 year hiatus, was the purchase of a used Canon D30 back in 2002.
I often ask myself what I'd do if my M8 fails during the next 2-3(Until I can afford an M240) I see my choices as A. buy a used M9/ME and forgo the M240 for what will replace it. or B. get a M-film camera and scanner and use those while I save up for a M240 or its replacement.
Bottom lines is I enjoy shooting with Leica M digital or film both work for me though I do find digital a better choice for myself as I've never been much of a darkroom person.
Michael Markey
Veteran
My story too.
mfunnell
Shaken, so blurred
My break was shorter, but I just looked at my folders for this year (I organise them by the month) and I have nothing at all between the 12th of January and the 28th of April this year. While it isn't strictly true that I took no photos in that period (I have 4 rolls of Tri-X and 1 of FP4 that probably overlap; but which I've neither developed nor scanned), there are no results to show that I did. I was away from home, homesick, overworked and annoyed with work. Anything that even resembled passion for photography had deserted me (so I suspect when I do develop that film, the results will be cr*p). I had a perfectly good digital camera with me, as well as my M3 and film, yet did little enough with them.
I've since spent a lot more time at home, reconnected with family and friends and am generally feeling better (except for the overwork and work-based annoyance; but that's probably the human condition). I have reconnected with photography and am starting to come out of my funk. This isn't the first time this has happened to me and I'm guessing it won't be the last.
Which is the long way of saying: "this, too, shall pass".
You'll feel better soon, I think and hope - and might even feel refreshed, photographically and creatively, if you do have a bit of a break from things - whether that seems voluntary or otherwise right now.
...Mike
P.S. I am anxiously awaiting the return of my beloved Summilux 75 from an all-too-indefinite sojourn with Camera Clinic in Melbourne. So, in some small way, I can sympathise with your pain about about absent equipment and indeterminate repair costs.
Ansel
Well-known
Maybe its the internet amplifying things but I have also read about a lot of reliability issues with the Leica Ms over the past few years... both digital and film. I guess quality may not what it used to be.
mfunnell
Shaken, so blurred
Nobody ever complains on the internet about the equipment they have that just keeps on working as it should. Which is no consolation to those like poor Raid who are having major equipment problems. But it's hard to judge how common such things really are based on anecdotal reports. I've been using Canon DSLRs for years and years, without a hitch, but to read the Canon forums you'd think none of them ever work.
...Mike
kbg32
neo-romanticist
I think one is more apt, not all the time, to join a complainers club with some equipment that is known to fail, eventually.
Geezus, I have had my fair share of troubles with both the M8 and M9. Knock wood, all good now.
Godfrey
somewhat colored
Indeed. I've been too busy with other things (work mostly) to do much photography in the past three months and I was feeling quite out of it. It's beginning to show signs of life again, though, and new book ideas, new visual ideas are coming into my head now.
I don't think Leica is any better or worse than any other vendor in terms of overall reliability and service. I've heard of the same kinds of problems with Nikons, Canons, Olympus, Pentax, Sony, etc. It's simply the nature of mechanical things: they are imperfect and they break. But because Leicas are so expensive, people expect perfection—which is impossible.
I've personally not had any problems with my Leica M9, same as with with my other digital cameras. I've had more problems with film cameras, I mostly expect that because film cameras I buy are all old now, but I remember when I was buying new ones and the occasional one had problems that needed to go back and forth between me and service a few times. It was no different compared to the digital cameras in the large sense.
G
You should do this... and CC everyone else at Leica too. They will respond.
Now, as far as letting one cameras ruin your photographic happiness, that is silly... most of us here have more than one camera. Move onto to another camera while this one gets repaired. I've had to do it several times as a Leica user (but not since I stopped using Leicas).
Mcary
Well-known
With film M I think its more a question of care and maintenance then it is quality. Plus a lot people forget that the environment, where you live and travel can play a large part in the life span of a camera especially ones that don't get regular care and maintenance.
Think a lot of people read how people are shooting with the same Leica M they bough back in the 50's, 60s or 70's but don't bother to read how that person also make sure to preform/get proper maintenance on a regular basis.
Highway 61
Revisited
From 1978 onwards to 1999 I intensively shot (plus, developed and wet printed) 35mm B&W rolls ; and tons of Kodachromes. During the late 1980s I had many of my pictures published in books and journals, and several exhibitions of my own work. Between 1996 and 1999, I first tried out MF with a Rolleiflex.
Then, I suddenly stopped taking photos. I don't know why.
In 2005, I bought a digital camera. This renewed my interest for photography. I then discovered the online photo journals, the photo forums, etc.
Then, between 2006 and 2010 I discovered the joy of buying old mechanical gear I had seen in books only until then, and of learning how to repair it yourself. At the end of the day, I tried my vintage gear out with film, of course. First with C41 color films, then with chromogenic B&W ones.
In the meantime, I was still reading photo books and often attending photo exhibitions (something I never ceased to do - this might be the secret).
In 2008, I went to Prague by chance. I decided to go there with some gear matching the spirit of this city. That was, some vintage film rangefinder gear (one body, two lenses). And tons of films in my pockets. I then burnt some films I had never used before : Neopan 400 and Fomapan 100 (plus the regular Tri-X from my good old days).
The magic worked. I digged my darkroom stuff out and jumped into developing and wet printing again. Wow. What a pleasure it was.
Since, I have been carrying a camera with me all the time, wherever I was, whatever I did. Most of the time it's a 35mm RF (meterless) camera with two lenses (35-50). Sometimes, it's my Rollei 35 (which was the only camera I took for a five days trip to Barcelona). Sometimes it's a Rolleiflex, when the square format bug hits me.
I still have a digital camera and don't despise this technology the least bit. I am not a professional photographer, so I don't need it. But this is through it that I came back to what was a genuine passion, and, moreover, to a regular photography practice again.
How long will it last, I don't know. But - for the time being, this is quite fine for me.
The break lasted almost ten years...
Then, I suddenly stopped taking photos. I don't know why.
In 2005, I bought a digital camera. This renewed my interest for photography. I then discovered the online photo journals, the photo forums, etc.
Then, between 2006 and 2010 I discovered the joy of buying old mechanical gear I had seen in books only until then, and of learning how to repair it yourself. At the end of the day, I tried my vintage gear out with film, of course. First with C41 color films, then with chromogenic B&W ones.
In the meantime, I was still reading photo books and often attending photo exhibitions (something I never ceased to do - this might be the secret).
In 2008, I went to Prague by chance. I decided to go there with some gear matching the spirit of this city. That was, some vintage film rangefinder gear (one body, two lenses). And tons of films in my pockets. I then burnt some films I had never used before : Neopan 400 and Fomapan 100 (plus the regular Tri-X from my good old days).
The magic worked. I digged my darkroom stuff out and jumped into developing and wet printing again. Wow. What a pleasure it was.
Since, I have been carrying a camera with me all the time, wherever I was, whatever I did. Most of the time it's a 35mm RF (meterless) camera with two lenses (35-50). Sometimes, it's my Rollei 35 (which was the only camera I took for a five days trip to Barcelona). Sometimes it's a Rolleiflex, when the square format bug hits me.
I still have a digital camera and don't despise this technology the least bit. I am not a professional photographer, so I don't need it. But this is through it that I came back to what was a genuine passion, and, moreover, to a regular photography practice again.
How long will it last, I don't know. But - for the time being, this is quite fine for me.
The break lasted almost ten years...
Photog9000
Well-known
BUMMER, RAID!! The only time I had a piece of gear fail was when I was shooting DSLR gear working as a freelance newspaper shooter. BUT I had a pair of Nikon D2H bodies so one went to repair and I prayed the second body would keep on percolating till it got back!
Hang in there! Life goes in cycles and this too shall pass....
Hang in there! Life goes in cycles and this too shall pass....