Help me make a life long investment (buying advice)

Carsten, I have no concrete suggestions for you, but I really like your project. The notion of having one camera and lens that you use to document your life is wonderful. If I'd had a solid and portable film camera starting in my university years it would have been super, so I kind of envy your position. I document my life as well, and while have a glut of cameras and lenses to choose from, I gravitate towards my M9 as my go-to camera for everyday life. Film is lovely but I just can't get past the convenience of digital.

I've written this before, but if I could go back in time, I'd give myself an Olympus XA, XA2 or XA4 when I was 15, and carry it in my pocket throughout school and university. It would be my constant and silent companion throughout those years, loaded with Tri-X or ISO 400 Fuji film, capturing good times with friends, musical rehearsals and concerts, dinner with family and quiet lecture theatres. I'd shoot at least one roll a week and end up with years and years of memories.

As you already have a number of other cameras, you obviously don't need to choose a backup. A well kept M6TTL or even MP and a 35mm Summicron ought to last the rest of your life, even though we have no idea what joys future technology may bring. Here's to a life well documented!
 
Just go for it. Ignore everyone who tries to change your mind about different cameras. There is nothing quite like a Leica. If at all possible, I'd go for a BP MP in your situation, just 'cos its pretty (I've had one for a decade or so), but after that, a chrome M2 or M3: I'd go for M2 because I like 35mm, and because the M2 VF is similar to just about every other Leica ever made (reparability). I'd not want to bet on a meter lasting 60 years, but like you, I believe that B+W film will survive. The other things against M6/M6ttl are (1) rangefinder patch flare and (2) the cranked rewind. The former is very seldom a problem, but when it is, it is. For the latter, the simple pull-up style is stronger.Ignore those who tell you it can't be damaged. It can. I repaired mine in the Julian Alps with a Leatherman...

I've actually been using Leicas since I was your age (in 1969, so that's 43 years, over two-thirds of your projected plan) and still have my first Leica, a 1936 IIIa, though it needs repairing. Over the decades I've owned (asterisks on the ones I still own) A, III, IIIa*, IIIb, IIIc, IIIf, IIIg, M2*, M3, M4-P*, MP*, M8* and M9*, I've used for extended periods (weeks, months or years) II, M6, M6ttl, M7, M8.2; and I've had my hands on B, I, II, FF, GG, M1, so I'm reasonably familiar with most models.

Yours is a great idea. As you say, who knows if it will come to pass? You could be hit by a meteorite tomorrow. But it certainly WON'T come to pass unless you buy your Leica to begin with.

One last piece of advice. At your age I had the choice of art school (BA Fine Art Photography) and law school (the system is slightly different in the UK, where I was mostly brought up). I chose law because it's a degree in BS, which has always stood me in good stead. Looking back, I wasted time studying accountancy (a 'good job' and 'well paid') and teaching wasn't that good either. For the last 32 years I've been a freelance writer and photographer and I wish I'd started that earlier, at (say) 25 instead of 30. Go to a big city, because that's where the buyers, publishers, galleries, etc., are: I'd advocate London (where I started) or NY or Paris or possibly LA (where I met my wife) or SF (where my niece lives). Provincial towns are... well... provincial. You can afford to move to them (or even to villages) once you're established, but even then, you need to keep reminding buyers that you exist.

Cheers,

R.
 
This thread really caught me. Perhaps because Carsten´s project is so like my own way of seeing things.
I like KM-25´s effort in procuring a camera for Carsten. How did that fare?

Carsten, please let us know what you end up with and let us see some of your results.
 
Another vote for M3 or M2. Or maybe both: M3 for 50mm, M2 for 35mm.
Both are lifetime cameras and they already have proven this. I mean, you see 60 year old M3 or M2 cameras out there, which have been used all the time.

If you now get an like new one of these, have it cleaned and properly serviced, you can be sure, it will last that long.

New MPs, M6 and so on still have to prove that span of lifetime!
 
Dude, you have your heart set and that's awesome. Follow through with your plan - it's a really good idea and it has heart! I really think you should buy a used but clean modern MP (you see thema round for about $2500us sometimes. Lightmeter, but totally mechanical and the ultimate film leica. Save like a mofo, don't settle for less!
 
errorlogin said:
Another vote for M3 or M2. Or maybe both: M3 for 50mm, M2 for 35mm.
Both are lifetime cameras and they already have proven this. I mean, you see 60 year old M3 or M2 cameras out there, which have been used all the time.

If you now get an like new one of these, have it cleaned and properly serviced, you can be sure, it will last that long.

New MPs, M6 and so on still have to prove that span of lifetime!
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Very true, but by the time a 2010 MP is 60 years old, a 1960 M2 will be 110 years old...

And another word of encouragement to the OP. This is a wonderful romantic idea. Those who try to dissuade you have no romance in their souls.

Cheers,

R.
 
Roger Hicks said:
Just go for it. Ignore everyone who tries to change your mind about different cameras. There is nothing quite like a Leica. If at all possible, I'd go for a BP MP in your situation, just 'cos its pretty (I've had one for a decade or so), but after that, a chrome M2 or M3: I'd go for M2 because I like 35mm, and because the M2 VF is similar to just about every other Leica ever made (reparability). I'd not want to bet on a meter lasting 60 years, but like you, I believe that B+W film will survive. The other things against M6/M6ttl are (1) rangefinder patch flare and (2) the cranked rewind. The former is very seldom a problem, but when it is, it is. For the latter, the simple pull-up style is stronger.Ignore those who tell you it can't be damaged. It can. I repaired mine in the Julian Alps with a Leatherman...

I've actually been using Leicas since I was your age (in 1969, so that's 43 years, over two-thirds of your projected plan) and still have my first Leica, a 1936 IIIa, though it needs repairing. Over the decades I've owned (asterisks on the ones I still own) A, III, IIIa*, IIIb, IIIc, IIIf, IIIg, M2*, M3, M4-P*, MP*, M8* and M9*, I've used for extended periods (weeks, months or years) II, M6, M6ttl, M7, M8.2; and I've had my hands on B, I, II, FF, GG, M1, so I'm reasonably familiar with most models.

Yours is a great idea. As you say, who knows if it will come to pass? You could be hit by a meteorite tomorrow. But it certainly WON'T come to pass unless you buy your Leica to begin with.

One last piece of advice. At your age I had the choice of art school (BA Fine Art Photography) and law school (the system is slightly different in the UK, where I was mostly brought up). I chose law because it's a degree in BS, which has always stood me in good stead. Looking back, I wasted time studying accountancy (a 'good job' and 'well paid') and teaching wasn't that good either. For the last 32 years I've been a freelance writer and photographer and I wish I'd started that earlier, at (say) 25 instead of 30. Go to a big city, because that's where the buyers, publishers, galleries, etc., are: I'd advocate London (where I started) or NY or Paris or possibly LA (where I met my wife) or SF (where my niece lives). Provincial towns are... well... provincial. You can afford to move to them (or even to villages) once you're established, but even then, you need to keep reminding buyers that you exist.

Cheers,

R.
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Looking at young guys portofolio, he seems to live in LA, my final advice to him is THE SAME MY FATHER GAVE ME: There is two ways, Either do what you love, be it photography, or what you know you will be very good at, or get paid enough that you have both free time and can afford to do what ever fancies you, be it photography, fast and expensive cars or play Jazz. Well my problem was that I tried to do all the second possibilities. It`s your life, you have the choice...
 
Carsten,

I enjoyed reading your thoughtful reply. Cheap cameras, to me, are not cool in any way. Those who pay for quality only cry once. At the time, that camera was the best quality we could afford. The importance of the Mamiya to me now is who bought it for me (my wife) and why she did it (because she loved me). The photos I made with it are important to me of course, but I could have made them with a dozen or more similar cameras. Otherwise my Mamiya is just an obsolete, low-cost film camera with no real objective value whatsoever.


I admire your vision to initiate a life-long project. I think you already realize the output and process far outweighs the camera, lenses or the medium.

-----------------------------

I enjoyed hearing from other Mamiya SLR owners. Maybe those cameras were better engineered and made than I had assumed?
 
You have to make the final choice, but the brass top with a light meter would be an either or for me unless you spring for an MP (which, IMHO, is the best M I've ever owned - out of a dozen or so). Once you are used to the Leica feel, an M5 is way too big and the TTL, at 2mm higher than the classic bodies, feels bulky. So, given your criteria, I would look for an M2 body. You can pop a light meter on the top - or not. I would get one with no dents and, when I could afford it, I would have it painted black. (The dents can be "fixed" but the silver fix will show when the paint wears through.) The M2 gives you the ability to use a 35mm later if you choose - which seems likely given your choice of use. For the 50 lens, I would go for the Summicron 50, but try as hard as you can to get one with a focusing tab. Once I got one, I never wanted to go back to the "plain" 50s. And, like the 35mm lenses, you can use the tab to focus from your waist once you learn the positions. Finally, if it's a "forever" lens, get one of the newer anodized aluminum ones. I've been shooting Leicas since 1973 and I don't use the big brass lenses anymore because they get heavier every year. If you're lucky, eventually you will get old and weaker. Good luck and have fun!
 
While an interesting idea, the notion of investing in equipment for a lifetime is somewhat naïve. The important thing is to make the photos: I guarantee you that even you will not care what camera made them after even a short time.

Buy a Leica... Sure, why not? Nice camera. Use it until you want something else, or not .. It doesn't matter.

The photos will matter. To you and maybe to others as well.

G


equipment is transitory, photographs endure.
 
I appreciate the support that Roger, and especially KM-25, are giving to Carsten. Reaffirms my view that this is a good place.

Randy
 
Go for it. I met a guy last year who was about my age (I'm 67) and he showed me his Leica M that his parents had given him and his bride, brand new, as a wedding present. It's the only camera he's ever owned, and he has shot all his kids' pictures, his grandchildren, all the family vacations, etc. He told me he plans to give it to his youngest daughter when she gets married. It really got me thinking about the way my grandparents bought things to keep. I'm sitting at my grandmother's dining room tsble as I type this. I'm shooting with an M3 that someone bought new in 1958. It works fine, though the RF image lacks contrast...
Go for it and stay with it!
 
Yes, go for it and if it for some reason does not work out, you're not left wondering "what if?". And if it works, the stories will be yours to tell.
 
Godfrey said:
While an interesting idea, the notion of investing in equipment for a lifetime is somewhat naïve. The important thing is to make the photos: I guarantee you that even you will not care what camera made them after even a short time.

Buy a Leica... Sure, why not? Nice camera. Use it until you want something else, or not .. It doesn't matter.

The photos will matter. To you and maybe to others as well.

G


equipment is transitory, photographs endure.
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Um... Yes, it does, actually. Not to you, maybe, but to the OP and to me and to many other people. A sense of continuity is worth quite a lot to some of us.

Cheers,

R.
 
Roger Hicks said:
Um... Yes, it does, actually. Not to you, maybe, but to the OP and to me and to many other people. A sense of continuity is worth quite a lot to some of us.

Cheers,

R.
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Well put.

As I have argued before, people differ in their relationships to objects - some are completely utilitarian, and will acquire and toss aside possessions and tools, others develop a deep, seemingly organic connection to "things".

I am not sure which orientation is better, but I suspect it is a deep-seated part of character, and should not be dismissed. Certainly the utilitarian orientation is strongly supported in our culture, all the more reason to encourage Carsten in his quest.

Randy
 
Go for it Carsten - great idea. This has been a friggin awesome thread to read through - very inspiring. For what it's worth, I did my first 'CLA' on my M2 yesterday and was surprised how easy it was. I am no DAG or Sherry and would always send the camera off for 'big' CLAs, but routine maintenance every year or two is straight-forward with the right tools (and they're fairly inexpensive).
 
Carsten said:
So i've been thinking recently that I want to buy a camera to document my every day life( i don't think my life is that great to document it but maybe if i have a camera my life will be that great haha) I want to buy one camera and lens that i will carry with me everywhere I go from now until the end of my life.
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This can be done with any camera though, so don't let an expensive camera stop you from starting right now. Also, you are young and you will change your mind on what to do with your life a billion times in the next couple of years alone. Don't be so serious and just go with the flow enjoying life and photography. Buy the perfect camera when you can and use anything you can get your hands on in the meantime.
 
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