How did you end up with your first Leica M?

A

andrewteee

Established
Local time
7:18 AM
Joined
Mar 3, 2009
Messages
135
I've been reading this forum for a long time now and I really appreciate all of the great work and insightful and helpful input that people generate around here. Now I have my first real post soliciting some commentary.

How did you end up with your first Leica M? I'm particularly interested in hearing from people who are relatively new to Leica or rangefinders in general. What drew you to them and how did you go about your purchase? Since then, how has your photography and gear progressed? What has surprised you about the experience? Was there a path of rangefinders prior to your M? Did you have doubts before committing to Leica, due to its cost of entry?

For a long time now (years!) I've been thinking about A) a rangefinder and B) a Leica. I've held a few Leicas. I borrowed a Zeiss Ikon ZM for a few weeks and really enjoyed the time together. For me, it was a fascinating experience to see and frame through the viewfinder. I love the handfeel and design of the Leicas. I've learned a lot about rangefinders and understand their strengths and weaknesses. And of course, I love film.

Knowing myself, if I start with something less expensive like a Voigtlander R2A or similar, and I enjoy using it, I'm likely to move up to an M someday simply because. (I prefer the better design of the Leica over the somewhat clunkier Bessa.) Same could probably be said for the Zeiss.

I'm not asking if a Leica M (or even a rangefinder) is right for me; that's something only I can decide. Used or new, Leica is a fairly high (many would say absurd) cost of acquisition, so as part of my own decision process I'm simply curious to hear other's stories about their first M. Cheers :)
 
I was an avid OM user and I acquired quite a few good OM lens, back in Spring 08 I was chasing after the elusive 50/2 Macro and heard a few remarks here and there that it was comparable to the Summicron M in term of sharpness. So I dig into the Leica thing, read every single page about RF on Cameraquest and took the plunge on a cheap SS M3 on eBay, one week later I got a Cron DR. And withins a year I have accumulate all that you can see in my signature. And I sold off my Nikons, Canons, Bronica, etc so I can concentrate on Leica M.
 
I guess I am lucky. In 1970 while in the USN, I was issued 2 M2 kits, complete. When I got out 10yrs later, I was able to purchase them at a price so low, I don't even remember. I think it was something like $60.00 per kit. Could have been less though.
I sold them a few years later for some Hasselblad and Nikon SLR gear, something I regret to this day. Re-aquired an M3 about 5 years ago, and since then, Leica lust has me in its grasp, be it SM, M, or M Digital.
 
I got tired of carrying around a heavy DSLR (Nikon D1x), tried a digital P&S (which was small but to slow to operate) and then found the digital Epson R-D1s. Since I had always dreamed using a Leica at some point in my life, the next step was buying an M6 (it was the most "practical" Leica from what I had heard on the Web).

That was only about two years ago ... Since then I tried nearly all M Leicas and a lot of different lenses. Once you have started it is difficult (or takes some discipline) not to get infected by the Leica-bug ... ;)
 
hans voralberg said:
I was an avid OM user and I acquired quite a few good OM lens, back in Spring 08 I was chasing after the elusive 50/2 Macro and heard a few remarks here and there that it was comparable to the Summicron M in term of sharpness. So I dig into the Leica thing, read every single page about RF on Cameraquest and took the plunge on a cheap SS M3 on eBay, one week later I got a Cron DR. And withins a year I have accumulate all that you can see in my signature. And I sold off my Nikons, Canons, Bronica, etc so I can concentrate on Leica M.
Click to expand...


Much the same story funnily enough. My first DSLR was an Oly E510 and I started looking at OM lenses as cheap alternatives that I could mount with an adapter but then fell in love with the OM2n that I got for free essentially with the 50/1.4. I loved getting prints back and I got and quickly started shooting film primarily and accquired a (growing) OM arsenal.

Reading more about film cameras I found Cameraquest and caught some bug reading all the info on those pages. Found a used R3a and 40 Nokton here and got that last April. Enjoyed it throughly. A couple of my friends in a photo club used Leica Ms (M3 and M6TTL) and I'd enjoyed using them as well. Found a used M6TTL at the annual PHSNE show last September for a very good price and decided to splurge or a slightly early birthday present.

The M6TTL and 40 Nokton is what is in my bag most days but I think I still shoot with the OMs more overall.

Cheers,
-Gautham
 
I wanted to buy a 5D mark II and was saving some money when I thought "hey if I'm buying another camera why not buy and try something that is different, like a rangefinder? "

So, I asked around, joined some forums and finally decided to look for a used film rangefinder. I decided to get a used film RF cause the price of a digital M or a new film RF like MP or M7, is too expensive for a guy who only wanted to try something different and didn't know if he was going to love or hate shooting with a rangefinder camera.

Well turns out I love shooting with my M6 and I'm thinking about getting an M digital :D
 
My downward spiral...

~15-20 years ago, Nikon N70

Traded for a Nikon FM2n 10 years ago. This camera with the 50/1.4 AIS lens taught me that less was more.

9.5 years ago I bought a complete CLE kit (used) that had been sitting in a camera shop window for ages and fell in love with rangefinders. Lusted after Leicas but not in a position to buy.

4 years ago went digital with D70s then D300.

June last year on a whim, got out my CLE and shot a roll of XP2 and fell in love with it all over again.

July last year a local camera shop had a black paint MP for sale at less than used EBay prices. (Not a big market for high end, all manual film cameras in my town :D). You can guess the rest.

Ultimately I blame the FM2n. It changed the way I thought about cameras and photography.
 
someone wanted to sell a camera. it was jammed. turned out to be a mint over 1,000,000 Leica M3 with a 35/2.8 Summaron, 50/2 Summicron, and 90/2 Summicron. I was working in a portrait studio at the time and knew zilch about Leica. But it was pretty, and I took the chance. Total $75. Cost of repairing the M3 $85.

Stephen
 
raid knows my story. i would not have bought it if it were not for him.
basically i let my local camera store know if anyone wanted to trade in a leica i was game. they (much later) refered me to someone! this is not everyday thing they get in. for some unknown reason they did not buy the kit from him on the spot.
i bought my "kit" as complete for $920 becasue the owner switched to canon digital.
my M2, M4P with ratty motor attached
came with the first gen summicron 35 thats in rough shape
the optically perfect 50mm dual range that brings up 35mm framelines
a completly mint 90 thin tele elmarit that i sold becasue i dont use that focal length often. and a nice case and digital spot meter

the M2 needed a cla and the m4p was good to go.
 
Last edited:
When I started studying photography at high-school, my dad gave me his Leica R4. I'd always been an SLR user, and added a Nikon N70 to the R4 for a bit more automation. Rangefinders never even blipped on my radar...

... until in 2002 my dad bought me an M7 set (compete with 50mm Summicron). At first, I didn't really get on with the camera, and it languished at the back of the cupboard. Four years later, I was intrigued by the M8 I saw at Leica Ginza in Tokyo and bought it on a (really expensive) whim. I liked the camera, but something kept nagging at me...

I pulled the M7 from the cupboard and... fell absolutely, completely in love. Since then, I've sold all my 35mm SLR gear (except the R5 which went to my girlfriend) and use exclusively Leicas (and an XPan)... After using Leica glass, it is very difficult to use anything else...

I'm wedded to the format and company for life...
 
In 1985, when I did my work with an SLR and three lenses, an elderly journalist friend happened to say that he had a couple of cameras which he wanted to sell as he no longer used them. Turned out to be an M3 and a Canon VT Deluxe. Lenses: Canon 28mm, Leitz Summaron 35/3.5 (with SBLOO finder), Serenar 50/1.8, Summarit 50/1.5 (unusable on account of flare) and Komura 135mm. I got them dirt cheap as there was no market for RF cameras at the time. Used for 17 years.
 
I was in about my 3rd year of photo enthusiasm and had a year-old Pentax SLR as an upgrade from a cheaper brand. I'd heard about Leica in the magazines and at the photo club. I figured its strengths would add versatility to my kit, so when I found a lightly used M2 at a local shop I bought it, along with a new 35 Summicron. Carrying both cameras was indeed a versatile set for street shooting, and I had a lot of fun with it. It was a good move; still have that M2 and Pentax kit today.

I just looked up the first roll I shot with the M2... Family snapshots at 4th of July gathering, go figure. Tri-X in Diafine. That was 42 years ago...
 
First saw Lica cameras in a shop window in Cambridge opposite Kings in about `73. Window full of ,what I know now ,to be Barnicks. What struck me was the price of those things !Everyone ,at that time , was using SLR cameras. In the eighties bought a pair of leica binos for birding and still use them. Put down the cameras in the nineties and have only just started again. When I did I bought a Lumix P&S because of he Leica lens. Great little camera but could not get on with all the automation and having to compose on a screen.What I now understand to be shutter lag was also a real show stopper for me.
Started looking around and remembered that the last camera that I had used was a rangefinder. An early Cannon Shure Shot.Started reading up on the rangefinder and the people that used them and got interested. Visited a few sites including this one and took the plunge twelve months ago with an M3 D/S and a CV 40 Nockton.Recently bought a 2.8 Elmarit. No regrets.
 
One year ago, I bought a cheap broken R-D1, and spent quite a few hours fixing it: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56871

Once it worked, I bought a 40 Nokton, and enjoyed rangefinder photography so much that I almost don't use my dSLR alymore. But I know that even if I can manage to do some maintenance myself for a while, a digital camera will die eventually, and that's why a month ago I bought a M2, films, developing tanks, chemicals and a neg scanner. At the current price, I couldn't (or wouldn't) afford another R-D1 if mine died.

I ended up taking a lot less pictures than with my dSLR, even with the digital R-D1, but I think I get a lot more keepers. I don't think a M2 + some Voigtländer glass (I also have a 21mm) is expensive, it is about the same price as an entry dSLR kit and will last much longer normally. Of course, Leica lenses stay way out of my financial reach for the time being, but I don't think it would make such a difference in my case.
 
I am a DSLR user (EOS 20d with 28/1.8 and 50/1.4 primes) and I met at work a Leica user.
He praised rangefinders and Leicas.
After a year, I bought a Canonet to try RF cameras and I liked it.
A few month later I bought a used M6 Classic with et 50 summicron and a 90 tele elmarit.
Now I shoot mostly with the Leica and TriX. I still shoot with the 20d but the Leica is smoother.

Gérald
 
Last year I sold a bunch of cameras for a friend of a friend which included a M2. It was sold to a buyer in Japan who was not pleased with the camera. I offered a full refund and the camera was mine. Performs well although a CLA is planned. A great camera.

John
 
I started shooting street photos using a digital point and shoot and found it too slow to react. On a dull wet day the camera seemed to get confused so I dug out the Pentax MX and started using film again. I have recently ordered an M2 from a dealer but it has had to go back for a service. I have a 28 and 35mm lens waiting to use. I will see if it is more discrete to use than an SLR.
 
I was slowly acquiring camera gear by buying and selling cameras on the internet. One day I found a Zorki 3M SLR camera without the 39mm screw mount lens. I bought a Jupiter-8 to find out it didn't focus and started reading on the Jupiter-8, then FSU rangefinders, then Leica M cameras. The latter I read on Cameraquest.com.

When a Minolta CLE kit was offered to me at a very modest price, I took the bait. Loved it, joined RFF while using that.

Bought a Canon 50/1.2 and then a Leica M3 for easier focusing.

The CLE kit has gone by now, so has the original Leica since a month.

Current set up: DIY Black M3, a black M5 and a black M8, and the lenses in the signature, as well as two related LSM cameras.

I have sold off all SLR gear last month to buy the M8. Now it's rangefinder only, part pure love, part necessity due to too much weight on the aching back with a DSLR and lenses kit.

To me, Leica has been like a very pleasant viral infection, resulting in permanent infatuation. I love my lenses, the ease of use of the system and its build quality and ergonomics.
 
Summer of '78. Blew my summer earnings that were supposed to go towards college on rock concerts, beer, an M3 and a 90 Summicron.

Back then we would sneak bottles of Jack Daniels into the concerts hidden under the camera gear.
 
i remember at age 8, using glossy paper that came with a gift,
trying to print pictures by putting 1950's negs on them.
holding them up to the light, and using water,
and household cleaning solvents.

i was imitating something i'd seen on a tv show.
by high school i began printing on my own.
i was given a cheap, 'robbins' rangefinder.
then took a class in high school. graduated to 'yashica tl electro/slr'.
by college; 'canon ef, ae1, later a1'. then nikons.
always wanted a leica.

after shooting for 2 years with a 'nikon d200' ,
i started yearning for film again, (and rangefinders).
'leica' was the natural choice.
saved up for a used 'classic black m6'.
no regrets.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom