Hmmm . . . I might buy something Leica

[StuartR]

Light of my life, fire of my M3...get yourself a 50mm summicron of any stripe George, and I think you will be happy. The brilliance of the summicron is really quite something. Anyway...Nabokov...well he is my absolute favorite after majoring in Russian and History at my college. My favorite is Invitation to a Beheading, followed by his short stories (Spring in Fialta, Terra Incognita, Ultima Thule, etc), and Pnin. For what it's worth, I think Nabokov would prefer a collapsible summicron. That is just a guess, based on having read 90% of what he wrote.

 

[MelanieC]

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

Sorry, but that line would probably make me flee. No offense. 🙂

I am lucky in that a 50mm Summicron came attached to my M3. I've sadly realized that I'm financially limited to this one lens for the foreseeable future, but hey, things could be way worse. I figure if a fool like me can get some decent shots with this lens, without metering, it must be one hell of a lens.

 

[wlewisiii]

After reading through the thread, I'd say the M3 and 2 lenses - 50/3.5 Elmar & 90/4 Elmar. Possibly a 35/3.5 too, but I'm not fond of external finders. Uncoated prewar lenses, preferably. If you want the best of Leica, there is an argument that can be made that this was it. To be certain, there are real delights and advantages to later lenses, but those lenses - far more than the bodies - are what made Leicas reputation and why Zeiss _had_ to come out with the Sonnars. And dealing with f3.5 will teach you a real appreciation for what they did in the 30's & 40's... 😱

(Just more proof that _real_ competition is what is best in any industry... 🙂 )

William