Here's What I'm Thinkin...

[Keith]

The thing that keeps me thinking about a digital M is the lenses I have ... which are probably the best I own. 50mm, 25mm and 35mm Zeiss and a couple of CVs.

Maybe a full frame Sony and adapter would be a better solution? The 240 does seem like a bit of a lump to carry around which seems odd from someone who often carries a DSLR. 😀

 

[thegman]

If you feel that will work for you, then why not?

Wouldn't be for me, for personal work, without deadlines etc. then I wouldn't bother with either 35mm or digital, and go with medium or even large format.

All personal choices though.

 

[arseniii]

from my life experience... it's much easier to sell good gear than to acquire good gear (same applies to housing market 😉) think twice before you sell, that's my point!

 

[cz23]

The thing that keeps me thinking about a digital M is the lenses I have ... which are probably the best I own. 50mm, 25mm and 35mm Zeiss and a couple of CVs.

Maybe a full frame Sony and adapter would be a better solution? The 240 does seem like a bit of a lump to carry around which seems odd from someone who often carries a DSLR. 😀

I've never held an M240, but the M9 is about as thick as I'd want to go in an M body. I find DSLRs more comfortable in large sizes because of the grip and contours.

I tried an A7 a couple times and didn't get along with it, but I mainly shoot street. For what you do, I think it's definitely worth a try. LiveView, the flip screen, and focus peeking seem well-suited to your type of photography. You could add one native lens for your AF needs. It's no M, but worth trying if only for the cost difference.

John

 

[Mackinaw]

It’s easy to be seduced by the 240. I had the chance to shoot one at a wedding a few weeks back (no, i’m not a wedding photographer, but a friend let me use his camera) and it complimented my MP perfectly. Your plan makes sense to me.

Jim B.

 

[willie_901]

Adapted lenses require metering with the lens stopped down. In some circumstances focusing and metering become slow (compared to native lenses or M lenses with a mechanical rangefinder).

When the adapted lens is stopped down, the EVF can boost the brightness to enhance focusing, but then the EVF quality decreases.

This is fine for some applications. But it doesn't seem like a universal solution to me.

 

[Steve M.]

You're a braver man than I am. I wouldn't do wedding photography if you paid me all the money in the world, so giving that up will be good for your soul. Too many personalities to satisfy, and in the end, none of them are ever really happy. Let's not even talk about who's gonna be happy 2 years down the road! Portraits, that's where it's at in my place. You get to do it your way, and if you know what you're doing they'll be as happy as a pig in poop. Or you will be anyway. At least SOMEONE will be happy. With portraits, every single shot can have a totally different feel to it. If you did 100 portraits of the same person in one session, they would all look very different.

Since tomorrow may not get here for some of us, it's surely best do what you want today, so I would make the changes ASAP. If it doesn't work out, you can always buy the wedding gear stuff again. I find it's a wonderful thing to try new ideas and fall flat on my face at first. Or, as the fortune cookie says here in front of me "Failure is the mother of all success". How true. I got another quote on this subject from Nanci Griffith. "There's no need for any human being to ever be complacent". That's one I think about every single day. When we're complacent, it may feel comfortable and pleasant, but it's not a place to stay, it's a place to visit and go back to now and then. So get out there and really screw things up doing things you have no business doing. I remember reading about Edward Manet and his difficulties w/ a portrait he was trying to do for a lady. He failed over 60 times over the course of a couple of years before he finally gave it up as a bad bargain. Maybe he should have tried it 61 times, maybe he realized that he had tried his best and it just wasn't in the cards, but at least he stuck to it.

 

[gb hill]

If you wish to keep a film M then sell the M7 & buy an M3. I really don't know what selling an M7 is over the cost of an M3 but I'm thinking you can sell the M7,buy an M3 & put the difference toward the M240. All you need is an M3 anyhow.🙂

 

[traveler_101]

As your needs change, your gear must change--so on that level it makes sense to do some radical surgery. Seems as if you are moving strongly toward digital, which is a damned shame, but there it is; and you are doing well enough as a photog to give up the wedding cash cow, for which congrats are in order.

I like Helen's "shootout" metaphor: Rollei versus Leica for film, to which I would add Leica versus SONY for digital.

 

[YYV_146]

The thing that keeps me thinking about a digital M is the lenses I have ... which are probably the best I own. 50mm, 25mm and 35mm Zeiss and a couple of CVs.

Maybe a full frame Sony and adapter would be a better solution? The 240 does seem like a bit of a lump to carry around which seems odd from someone who often carries a DSLR. 😀

The 25mm doesn't play perfectly well with the A7. The others probably do, but I don't know how wide your CVs are. But IMO for as cheap as the camera is these days it might make sense to have one for just 35mm and 50mm.

I have two and regularly use a 35/50 or 21/75 combo. The 240 plays better with symmetric wides and had built-in correction, but there are still some corner issues, and the body is an extra $5k at least...

 

[NY_Dan]

If it were me I wouldn't give up the paid event work. You could get someone to carry your camera bag(s). The weight of modern Nikon pro digital gear is too much and will wear anyone down during a 10 hour day. You could also get someone to shoot the reception part from after the toasts -- that's the tedious part that adds to a longer day, and the only must shot is the cake cutting.

 

[dcsang]

If you wish to keep a film M then sell the M7 & buy an M3. I really don't know what selling an M7 is over the cost of an M3 but I'm thinking you can sell the M7,buy an M3 & put the difference toward the M240. All you need is an M3 anyhow.🙂

Hmmm.. that may be an option too..

Regardless - I think I've made up my mind to get an M (240) (or whatever outrageously priced digital M there is in the next few months...)

Cheers,
Dave