How did you come to use Leicas?

About 1980 or 81 a co-worker offered to sell me two cameras. One was a Pentax Spotmatic, which I already had or a Leica M2 with a 35mm lens. I bought the Leica.

I shot part of the first roll through it with the lens cap on.

I still have the camera along with a M4-P I bought about 1986.
 
In H.S., had an AP history teacher who was a Leica devotee. He talked with passion about Cartier-Bresson and Alfred Eisenstadt. So the word "Leica" was known to me, but nothing beyond that. Then, 20 years later, I was at a camera store and had a few minutes to spare so asked to see second-hand M3. As soon as I picked it up.....(remainder of story predictable). Now have M3, M4, M5 and M7.
 
I used Nikons ever since I bought my first camera (FM2). A couple of years back I was looking for a more compact alternative.
 
I was attracted to rangefinders, but I didn't like the 'cubical' Nikons, Kievs, Canons and Contaxes and more of the same...

I guess therefore it is the mixture of high quality lenses and the smooth Barnack- and M-bodies.
 
For me, it was trying a Leicaflex. I guess ultimately if that beast showed me Leica quality, its bulk led me away from SLR-dom, other than a brief flirtation with an R5, and I ended up using LTM bodies and then going M.
 
I actually can't remember! although I only got it last year.

Hmm I think a friend persuaded me to try out the camera.
 
I touched an M3, and it touched me.

My photos aren't magically better, but if feels wonderful to use such a beautiful machine.

And it's pretty much the only thing I have which doesn't take batteries...
 
my Leica history is as old as my RFF membership. back 2006 was still happy dRebel newbie, but through some lens googling (or dpreview making noise about then new M8) I must have ended up here and got hooked. started with M3 + few other film models since, now using M8.

Chris101 said:
... and Ned ... well you old-timers here know Ned, eh!?
Click to expand...

he's trolling LUF nowadays if you miss him ;)
 
Recent convert to Leica, though have been conscious of them for a long time. Was looking for something to take the place my bulky dSLR, especially for travelling. First camera I used was a Zeiss Ikon Contaflex (fixed lens SLR), so wanted to get back to manual simplicity and film too. Got a Nikon FM2 and stuck 50mm 1.8 on it with b&w film. Loved the combination. From reading on web (probably M8 reviews too!) and elsewhere wanted to try a rangefinder for the viewfinder experience. Toyed with the idea of getting a Canonet, but decided may as well go whole hog and get a Leica, as I would probably end up doing that anyway. Got an M6 and 50mm summicron and never looked back. Since then have added an M3 and M8 and a ZM 28 lens. It works for me.
 
I blame my brother for my shift towards rangefinders... Since as far back as I can remember, he's had an interest in photography (shooting film only, with no interest in digital whatsoever).

I had been shooting with a dSLR for a few years when I mentioned in passing to him that I had an interest in getting a film camera to try something different. Within a few hours, we had jumped online & I had bought an old Zorki 4 with a Jupiter-8.

I loved using that camera & lens so much that I saved up & bought an M4-P and now the M4-P & 35/2 Biogon are my first choice for almost any scenario when I leave the house (over my Canon 5D & 24 & 85 L-primes, which I'm considering selling).
 
Assorted point and shoots from the 80's > Olympus OM-1 > Minolta Dynax 700i > Olympus 2MP digital thing the size of a small moon > Canon Ixus 750i > Olympus SP35 > Contax G1 > Ricoh Caplio GX100 > D200 > OM-1 > X100 > M6
 
(parts of this story have been told in other threads)

I got started on a Pentax DSLR, using mostly old prime lenses. I've never really liked autofocus and rarely need it, and those old chunks of metal had so much more feeling than the kit zoom. That got me interested in using older cameras, shooting film. I had a Pentax MX for a while, great little SLR. But I was curious about rangefinders, having tried a Canonet for a few months in my early teens. I "knew" (at least thought) that I'd never be able to afford a Leica, so I got a FED-5. Shot one roll with it and realized that I loved the rangefinder experience. All of a sudden I started getting annoyed with the SLR blackout and the blurry viewfinder. I wanted that sharp, bright view of the world!

The FED didn't get much love though, so I bought a Canon P. Amazing camera, but when winter came around the shutter started sticking and getting a CLA was quite a lot of money... During that time I had learned that Leicas didn't have to be that expensive and while I was trying to decide wether to get the Canon serviced or sell it and get a Leica an M4 popped up in the classifieds here and I decided to go for it!

I haven't regretted it a single second - even though I sometimes miss the Pentax 40mm ltd lens I sold to afford it. Now the DSLR rarely gets used, but the Leica is always around my neck or in my bag. I develop and print my own black & white photos and wouldn't want to change a thing. Well, I wouldn't say no to a cron or lux instead of my Jupiter 8...
 
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My first encounter with the name Leica was in anthropologist Colin Turnbull's book The Forest People, where he mentions in passing having a Leica camera.

Somehow the name stuck in my mind, and I investigated Leicas a little bit when thinking of getting into photography, and immediately got dissuaded by both the price and by how rangefinder cameras do not do close-up photography well.

Eventually got interested in rangefinders as a smaller and lighter alternative to SLRs for those times when I don't want to lug an SLR outfit around, and then eventually asked to handle a used Leica at a camera store. Once I looked through the rangefinder and saw how wonderfully bright and easy-to-focus it was, I was pretty much fated to buy a Leica of some sort sooner or later.
 
Watching Tunas incredible work on another site and also finding RFF. The first Leica I held I owned. Very few people in my hometown even know that Leica is a camera.
 
I started with slr's around 1969 and had a hard time focusing in low light, so I tried a friends canon 7s and all of a sudden I could focus and shoot at slower shutter speeds. So I got rid of my slr's and had a 7sz (had no idea it would be so rare) with the 19mm, 35 2.0, 50mm 1.4 and a 100mm f3.5. It was a great set, about three years later I wanted to add another body and went with a M-3 and slowly sold off my canon lenses and replaced them with Leica lenses. Still have all the M lenses but one, I got rid of a 35mm f2.8 I should have kept but it's hindsight like always. Too many lenses to really use properly 21,28,35,50,65,90,135,200,400 & 640 with a visoflex, plus a Alpa 10D with the proper adp to use all the visoflex lenses on.

Now I use my M lenses on a Nex-3 mostly the 28,35,&50 and am having great fun again.
wbill
 
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