Hmmm . . . I might buy something Leica

[sf]

Might.

Looking at the Leica CM, Minilux, and an M3 body down at Glazer's. Now, the M3 is not in the best shape - but has been CLA'd. The CM is nice, but is $750. The Minilux is at KEH, but they have kind of a bad repution for the E02 error.

If I buy the Minilux, I can have the nice glass/compact 35mm camera AND I can afford to buy a nice little digital p&s to throw in the bag with my REAL cameras for all those snapshots not worthy of film.

What would YOU do? I have a feeling that I might go the minilux direction, but the M3 is also attractive. So is the CM. . . .

 

[SolaresLarrave]

M3, George, M3

Viewfinder, more lenses (even wides with dedicated viewfinder), no electronic failure risk, guaranteed longevity... and they're a chick magnet! 🙂

 

[kvanderlaag]

A Leica M was the best thing I've done in a long, long time. If it's been CLA'd, there should be nothing stopping you from buying that camera!

...and it truly is a chick magnet. The CL gets me, "Aww, it's so cute!" With the M2, it's like crows to a shiny rock.

 

[rover]

How much is the ugly but serviced M3?

 

[sf]

OK. Pretty obvious what the proper choice would be. Now, I'm not sure if that M3 is single stroke or not - will have to check on that. Is single stroke important? Should I even care?

 

[trittium]

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Interchangable Lenses Are Like Crack!

 

[sf]

Yeah . . but you'd be surprised at what one can do with just one lens. I survived my entire 2 week photographic extravaganza in England and France with only the 45mm lens on my Bronica RF645. I had the 65mm, but never used it. I'm going to consider the M3 above all, and see if I can't squeeze a p&s in there somehow, a digital one, because I'll need something to take pictures of my cameras with. 🙂

 

[MelanieC]

...and it truly is a chick magnet. The CL gets me, "Aww, it's so cute!" With the M2, it's like crows to a shiny rock.

It is?

I mean, I'd probably be drawn in by an M, but that's because I'm obsessed with mine now. Three months ago I wouldn't have noticed one.

I wouldn't call it a guy magnet, and given the male/female ratio in classic camera-land I'd imagine it should be. Hmmm.

Anyway, my vote is for the M3 because mine is so much fun, and I love how solid and lustrous it is. I don't know what a CM or a Minilux are, though.

 

[sf]

...and it truly is a chick magnet. The CL gets me, "Aww, it's so cute!" With the M2, it's like crows to a shiny rock.

It is?

I mean, I'd probably be drawn in by an M, but that's because I'm obsessed with mine now. Three months ago I wouldn't have noticed one.

I wouldn't call it a guy magnet, and given the male/female ratio in classic camera-land I'd imagine it should be. Hmmm.

Anyway, my vote is for the M3 because mine is so much fun, and I love how solid and lustrous it is. I don't know what a CM or a Minilux are, though.

Oh yes it is! If I saw some girl using an M3, that would be it. I'm a shy guy, but I'd overcome anything for that. I've never seen a girl using one, though. I think the M3 tells alot about its owner. Kind of like the person who owns the particularly rare old time Ferrari instead of the brand new Modena. It's just better.

 

[former member]

I have them all trained. Or brainwashed.

M3.

 

[harry01562]

So far it's a consensus choice.... M3. If you are sorry with the choice later, a recently CLA's M3 is probably one of the easiest cameras to re-sell. Then you can use the proceeds to buy the p&s digital that will be worthless in months, rather than decades.

Harry

 

[MelanieC]

My boyfriend is far more fascinated by my Rolleiflex than my Leica.

I suppose if my boyfriend and I break up, then, the thing to do is to hang both cameras around my neck, loiter in some public place, and wait for the classic camera freaks to start lining up? And maybe have the Canonet peeking shyly out of my bag so the guys know I'm not just all about the bling.

This is a rather entertaining thread.

 

[Doug]

I'll make a counter-culture suggestion... Canon PowerShot G-whatever (3,5,6...). This little brick is more than a point'n'shoot digital but it can handle that chore too. I got my G3 partly because it had f/2 at the wide end where I expected to use it the most in documenting maintenance issues and damage in rental units. I've also used it to take a few shots illustrating camera gear, with pleasing results. The LCD is fully articulated too so the screen side of it can be folded up hidden against the back of the camera. I had originally intended never using the LCD at all, but quickly found I needed it for close-ups. 🙁 Anyway, this might be a pretty versatile choice for shots other than those worthy of the Bronica RF645. 🙂

 

[SolaresLarrave]

I was kidding about the chick-magnetism of the M3! 😱

The real chick magnet? Ahem... 😎 <drumroll>

The M6 with an old Elmar 90/4.

A girl in Barcelona followed the camera with her eyes rather shamelessly... and another girl at the Chicago Blues Festival just had to ask if my camera was "like, all manual." 🙂

I said yes. She said "Wow!"

Time to try with my M3! 😛

BTW, it should work better with a collapsible lens! :angel:

 

[yossarian]

OK. Pretty obvious what the proper choice would be. Now, I'm not sure if that M3 is single stroke or not - will have to check on that. Is single stroke important? Should I even care?

My old friend Walt Johnson prefers the double stroke--it's easy to get used to. I think
I'd skip the electronic poseurs, and following the chick magnet theme, you'd also need very worn out boots, jeans which are thread-bare in strategic places, a black
Tee shirt, and a loose-fitting long sleeve shirt over the Tee, but unbuttoned (and not
tucked in, of course). And no stupid baseball cap, regardless which direction you might point it. You might want to add an analog watch, possibly worn with the face
palm-in. A wrist strap is worth considering, but you could also wrap a neck strap
around your wrist so the camera is always in-hand. And if you get the double stroke,
make certain at least occasionally you cock the shutter with the camera at your side,
so it looks casual and second-nature.

I am NOT poking fun here--these are serious, carefully considered suggestions, at least the chick magnet ones are. I'm too old to pull this stuff off now myself but in my younger days....well, I didn't have an M3 but some of the other stuff worked.

Fred

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Interchangable Lenses Are Like Crack!

Yes, like "crack!" the noise your bank account makes 😛

 

[Avotius]

um....do you have any lenses that will go on the M3? If you do then i would go the M3 way and a decent light meter, if you dont have lenses for the M3 you might want to think about that...

 

[rover]

I was kidding about the chick-magnetism of the M3! 😱

The real chick magnet? Ahem... 😎 <drumroll>

The M6 with an old Elmar 90/4.

A girl in Barcelona followed the camera with her eyes rather shamelessly... and another girl at the Chicago Blues Festival just had to ask if my camera was "like, all manual." 🙂

I said yes. She said "Wow!"

Time to try with my M3! 😛

BTW, it should work better with a collapsible lens! :angel:

The proper reply to that young lady Francisco is of course,

"Yup, all manual, the same way I like my cars and women."

I guess I am in a Dukes of Hazzard mood right now.

 

[StuartR]

It sounds like total B.S., but the whole chick magnet thing is not totally fake. I have certainly had more conversations started with an M3, MP or even M7 than I have with my car (nice, but nothing special...a passat). Girls who tend to be interested in creativity are interested in the cameras because they really do demonstrate that you are interested in photography. Even if you are horrible, at least it shows you are interested.

 

[sf]

um....do you have any lenses that will go on the M3? If you do then i would go the M3 way and a decent light meter, if you dont have lenses for the M3 you might want to think about that...

Well, and I don't think I'm alone here, the M3 is a marvelous creation with or without the lens - and I would have uses for it, even lensless. Would make a beauty of a paperweight, don't you think?

I think Nabokov draws a relevant picture in one of his novels, of the darker side of loneliness. . . if you've read the book, you may recall the passage. Quite a depraved and shadowy depiction of a man, who for our purposes may as well be a Leica lover. Oh, I’d love to share the quote, but just about every facet of the sentence alludes in some way to something very much less innocent than Leicalust.

On a lighter note, I’d find a very cheap little Jupiter or something of that nature, and put it on the M3. I will actually have the funds to buy the body AND something like an Elmar (used).