How did you come to use Leicas?

I just got started with rangefinders last year. I grew up shooting SLRs, by the mid eighties, they were rather dominant.

Comments over on APUG initially got me interested in trying a rangefinder. I started with a Canonet 17 GIII which I scored for $20. From there, I went on a dizzying buying spree, picking up any interesting rangefinder under $30 I could get my hands on. Once I started to get proficient at cleaning them up and repairing them, I did better than break even trying cameras. I started watching Craigslist for cameras I hadn't tried or could repair/test/sell.

One day a Leica IIIc came up. I'd been planning to try a FED2 at some point so I picked Leica with the intent of trying it out and then reselling it. I still have it.
 
I learned photography using a Yashica FX-3, which is an all-manual camera with a simple light meter. I was then amazed by the quality of Yashica/Contax lenses and soon bought the RTS II and the RX to go with the lenses. I liked AE cameras due to the convenience, so I purchased a Yashica GTN as my first RF (I was looking for quieter camera back then). The GTN is a very fine camera (Leica killer I'd say). It served me well until I wanted an interchangeable RF system, and so I had brief encounter with Contax IIa and a FED 4. But somehow the ergonomics of those cameras are not to my liking.

Then I stumbled upon the Leica M threads on the local photography forum. Read all the testimonies and decided to get an M6 and a 35mm Summilux.

It was the point of no return
 
The first reason... Because the M body fits perfectly into my hands. :)

Also one of the reasons why I don't have an M8,8.2 or 9. :rolleyes:
 
I was using Nikon stuff (FM-2, F4, etc) and was in school for photography. For some reason I decided to try the user M4-2 after seeing it in a store, and once I did, I knew I found my camera. The nikon stuff was sold and I got a M6 and 35mm / 50mm Summicrons. Used that longer than any other camera.
 
About two years ago or so I decided after using and lugging around SLRs then DSLRs around for pretty much all my life that I want something light and compact while at the same time felt sturdy in my hands and from what I'd read the Leica M seem to be just what I was looking for. So I picked up a bargain M4-2 and Summarit 5cm F 1.5 from Keh which I sold about a year later to get my M6 then finally I added a M8 this past Christmas.
 
It was the mid-1990's. A Contax G died in my hands. After that, I wanted to go full mechanical (w/ a meter). Very limited selection for what was then current production. My brother always raved about Leicas. My Grandmother used an M3 in her extensive travels. So I picked up an M6. That turned into an M6ttl, and then it became an MP. Recently, I added an M7.

And Leica have led me to dabble into some old Zeiss cameras and Leicaflex, but that's another story.
 
I liked using RF's, I wanted something fully manual and of high quality and ended up with a M6 after disliking AE mode on my Zeiss Ikon (which I look back as the better camera). However after obtaining a Hexar AF and using a T3 on the street a lot more I am questioning if the Leica is worth holding on to. I'm very tempted to sell the M6 and get a Makina 67 as I certainly don't need three 35mm cameras.
 
In '84 I was still working as a full-time PJ and was looking for a more discrete camera for doing low-key feature work. At that point a bunch of equipment that was used as press loaners at the Los Angeles Olympics was becoming available at a deep discount to working press and I jumped on a M4-P with Winder, 35/2, 50/1 and 90/2. It all ended up being sold in the the 90s when we needed money, but I came back into the fold in '06 with an M6 after first using a Bessa-T for a few years.
 
Shooting with the M6 tonight, I think my favorite parts about the leica is seeing the moment even as the shutter is clicking, and not making noise. Such a joy not to interrupt people during a concert.
 
I was an SLR user before buying a Yashica GSN out of curiosity. I enjoyed using the rangefinder, but auto-only cameras that don't display the shutter speed anywhere drive me nuts. Ended up selling it, got a Kiev instead. Got great results for the most part, loved the handling and the focusing accuracy. Eventually got frustrated with the viewfinder, particularly the size and the lack of framelines. I also wanted to add more lenses, but didn't want to use an external finder. Decided that I wanted either an M or a Nikon S3.

During my search, I jumped on a great deal on a Bessa R, which I was a little nervous about due to the short base length, but it worked pretty well. I still missed focus more than I liked with faster lenses, so my search continued. Not long after, I found an M5 on Adorama's used page for a great price. It had some issues - rangefinder and meter were inaccurate - but Sherry Krauter fixed both issues for $125+s/h. Works perfectly now, and I've been all set ever since.

I've thought about getting an M6 on occasion (mostly so I can use collapsible lenses), but I much prefer the M5's viewfinder, so I'll probably stick with what I have.
 
I had only been taking pictures for a little over a year with my Canon DSLR when I began to grow increasingly bored with the camera making all the decisions for me, and looking like a major nerd/creeper when I would go out with my friends drinking, eating, going for walks around Sacramento or San Francisco. I did a touch of research on what tools street photographers preferred, and I stepped through the wardrobe to the magical land of the Leica. In August '10 I ended up trading my Canon 50D + Sigma 30mm + $$$ for a Leica M6ttl and a CV 35mm Color Skopar. I used it for the whole weekend shooting and ruining film (I forgot to wind the film quite often) at the Outside Lands festival. I haven't looked back. I've been trying to get more of my college friends (I'm at UC Davis) into rangefinders and/or Leicas, but it's difficult to tear people away from either their cheap P&S cameras or their clunky DSLRs that they claim to love so much. Although I think there maybe a Great Awakening in regards to film cameras in my generation, hand-in-hand with the vintage love affair.
 
I blame Michael Johnston. Started out for a year, and two years later I'm shooting 90% Leica and selling off a lot of my other gear because it's just lying in the closet...


tbarker13 said:
Ooh. Here's one for the Leica marketing machine. Make everyone's first Leica free. Get em hooked. Sort of like the way the drug dealers do it....:)
Click to expand...

The big problem of course is that that first Leica will last them the rest of their life...
 
Learned the hard way you can't shoot solo acoustic acts in a small club with an SLR--especially if you're using a motor drive, too. Ends up with audience--and the artists--hating you.

Heard rangefinders were the camera I needed--quiet and inconspicuous. Tried my Dad's old Retina--focusing with it was a pain, most of the shots were off. Tried someone's Canonet. A little better. Thinking about buying it, until I went to a camera store to check on an item I had put up for sale. Walked into the back room, and there, sitting in a box on the floor, was a beat-up M3 with 50mm Summilux someone was looking to sell.

I thought "the answer to my problems!" and a few minutes later, I was walking out the door with the camera. Even though the camera was "well-used," to put it nicely, I was impressed with the obvious excellence and solidity of its construction. Not like any camera ( all Minolta SLRs) I had ever had before.

Took a little time to get used to focusing with a rangefinder patch, but once I did.......I was hooked. And like most addictions, this one has taken me from bad to worse, and cost me a lot of money. After having a a used M, I wanted a NEW one, which led to not one, but several M6s, an MP, and then into the digital Ms...and then there's the second (almost new) M3 I had... and the Barnacks (three of them, two of which I still have)....
 
When younger, I used film point-and-shoots: the last one being a Ricoh something or other. I cared little for the camera and less for the film, being ruled by one thing only: low price.

In 2000/1 I used my first digital camera: an Olympus 'something or other' that belonged to the company that I work for. After a while I decided I wanted a camera of my own (digital of course!) and after a lot of research decided on a Canon Powershot S3 IS. I used this for a while (and still do) but became aware of its' limitations for taking photographs of things that moved - like my son playing football - and in low light.

Consequently I bought a Canon 40D.....which was later replaced with a 1D Mark IIn and a couple of L lenses.

At around this time I think it's fair to say that I became a little bit obsessed with cameras. I started reading more on websites (not always a good thing) and found a comparison between photographs taken with a Canon 5D and an Olympus Trip. The author (who's not universally liked!) was making the point that one did not need to spend a four-figure sum to get an acceptable picture. So the research into film rangefinders began..

After an Olympus Trip, a Fed 3, a Fed 5, two Zorki 4's, a Ricoh 500G, a Yashica Electro 35GS, an Olympus XA' an Olympus 35RC, a Konica Auto S3 and a Bessa R I realised that things had got out of hand.....

Within the last three months I trimmed my camera stash down (I haven't mentioned the MF cameras...) and received a bonus from work. With the words of Roger Hicks ringing in my ears (paraphrasing: 'why waste a lot of money on a lot of mediocre fixed-lens rangefinders, when you could have one good Leica?') I bought (surprisingly) my M4-P. It arrived this week, and I finally understand why people have a very certain affection for these cameras: they feel 'substantial' and very high quality.

A relatively long journey, and a very long post, for which I apologise.
Now if I can just trim down the film SLRs and MF cameras....
Best regards,
RoyM
 
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i am moving my post to this thread as it seems more appropriate:
my personal route has always been dedicated to the feel of the devices to take the photos. i started with a borrowed k1000 from a long time friend of mine for a intro. to photography course in college, then moved to the digital ranks (d50, fuji s2, d300) and my interest really fell off in photography, might've been the rapidfire capability, instant gratification, crappy glass, bulk of equipment—could only really carry it for 'specifically taking photos', and i hate that. i don't like carrying bags and bulky lenses for the sake of photographing something. i dont to set days to 'go shoot'.
then i was let borrowed an bessa r2 with an ultron 35mm.. it sparked what i had lost in photography, not the photo's themselves, but the mechanics and the process in doing so. the compact rangefinder offered things that the dslr couldn't, like using my imagination to imagine the photo since it wasn't through the mirror, there was a sense of 'skill' involved.
digital workflow is just that, digital, i spend most of my time in front of a computer, spending days doing photos with digital retouching and all of that is kinda relieving to be able to mix some chemicals, develop and print sometimes. a physical chemical item thats crafted to me is worth more than digital data. i like to hang my prints, handle them and show them to friends.. to show them a bit of nostalgia but current.
from then i went and purchased an leica cl, which i liked but still curious about the true M experience, so i bought an M2 which is now another RFF members camera , now i have a m6 with a nokton and cron 40, and a stash of tri-x and fuji acros.
though, i will get a d7000 soon for the 'work' photography, nothing is wrong with using the leica (or any film camera) for personal use. i just find it enjoyable, as i'm sure many of those who shoot will attest. i'm 24 now, but i've dabbled with almost every bit of photography available to me. i mean even on tumblr (which i am on along with istillshootfilm & photographist and the like) just looking at film photos being posted on a social media network is just 'cool', but it's not the primary function for shooting so.
 
I started to be really interested in photography a year ago. I never owned any cameras before, may be in a childhood a Smena 8. I've got Olympus e-420 with two lenses as a present from a friend. Shortly after I sold it and bought a Canon 30D. Over the passed yearI bought lots of L lenses (most of them), but it just was not it. I got an offer to trade my Canon body and it's battery grip for a R7,2 x winders and elmarit-r 24mm 2.8. I am glad I did it. Shortly after I decided to try a RF. Since then I am shooting my IIIa with Summar 5cm f/2 every day, more often than the R7. Now I bought an M2. It is fantastic experience shooting Leica camera but you all know that. I wish I had one when I was a kid... And of course, I kept all the L lenses for my Canon A2E body. They will make a great birthday present for my son :)
 
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I was using Nikon Digital Cameras (D70 and D300) for Underwater Shooting and had upgraded to those cameras from a Nikonos V. At that time, I was going out shooting with a friend who still shot film and he used an F3 and a Voigtlander (R3M I think). I tried to convince him to go digital but he was set on film using his F3 and his Voigtlander. That prompted me to buy an FM2N for sale on fleabay and some Nikkor and Zeiss lenses. Then on one of our shooting adventures, we got into a discussion about rangefinders and my Nikonos V. He explained to me how rangefinders work and how they were great for wide angle work. About that time I walked into Pro Photo Supply here in Portland and saw they had an M6 for sale. After posting here for advice, I ended up buying it! Soon after that I enrolled at my local community college for a darkroom class. Now I was developing film under the guidance of my darkroom instructor. Then I found a very attractively priced Leica Super Angulon lens on my local Craigslist. My darkroom instructor pointed out that I should buy an M3 for the Super Angulon rather than the Bessa T I was contemplating buying. I discovered I really liked using Leicas instead of my heavy D300. The whole experience of taking pictures was now simple, exactly like it was when I was a kid. Gone was confusing array of choices, menus, etc on my D300 that drove me crazy.

The interesting thing is that my friend, who was dead set on shooting with film, ended up buying a GF1. He is now having fun with his digital camera.

Ellen
 
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