How did you end up with your first Leica M?

[yeeper]

I bought a Canon 1D mark 2. Great camera. I missed film. Especially black and white. 6 months later I bought an M6 and a 50mm Summilux non-asph.

I still love the 1D and have since bought a 5D mark 2. Love that too. But my M6 will need to be pried from my cold dead fingers. I have since added a CV 28 ultron, CV 15mm, CV 35mm, Summicron 75mm asph.

Horses for courses.

 

[Uncle Bill]

Dad gave me his M3 three weeks before he passed in 2005, my brother got the IIIG. I love my Leica and shoot with it semi regularly, wish I got under happier circumstances though.

 

[edodo]

My first real camera was a canon EOS5, it was too ugly and attracted too much negative attention, I got rid of it after only a year. Then I got a bargain on a leica minilux, truly amazing lens but autofocus and slow EV adjustement drove me crazy (still got superb image from this cam, that I miss it to this day). So I took the plunge and bought a leica screwmount IIIA and I really enjoyed photography like never before. I sold it but it was on of the best cam I have ever had. Someday I'm gonna have another screwmount that's for sure. Still you have to CLA the screwmounts as they are pretty old today! Then I bought a M4 with a summicron 50mm, the third version w/o tab. I fell in love with the logical and easy all manual experience! Today still have that M4, plus a M4P. I tried the leica CL but wasn't keen on it... Maybe one day if I find a good deal I'll add to those M4s a M7!

 

[winoto]

saved up for a user set of black classic M6 with 35/2 and 90mm lenses for sale by an aussie photojournalist. haven't looked back since. sold off all my russian barnack copies; and my nikon SP and contax II have been sitting idle in the cupboard. i now own an M3, 2 x M6 and 2 x M4 with an obscene amount of voigtlander and leica lenses used daily.

 

[lewis44]

Got it from my father. After coming home from school and developing his neg's and doing contact sheets for him, he finally gave me a Kodak Brownie. Sent me out ant told me when I could get a good image with it, He'd give me an upgrade.
I finally got to where the rolls started having a few keepers, and low and behold, he got me an M3. This was back in the late 50's so it was pretty new. He shot with Rollei's and Speed Graphics and everything was 120 and larger so him getting the M3 for me was a big deal.
I have had either Leica or Nikon ever since.

 

[Talus]

Compared to most of you I'm very new to rangefinders. I bought my first Leica in 2007 on ebay. M6TTL built in 2001.

I was in Guatemala in a state park 100 miles from electricity. My Nikon DSLR's battery died just as I arrived at the 10 or so crystal clear natural pools that spill into one another through the valley. Very disappointing. I got back to the States and came across a 100% mechanical camera, so I did a lot of research and bought the body and a 50mm Summicron. Wonderful contraption.

 

[robklurfield]

In the summer of 1983, I took the proceeds of a workman's compensation claim (from a back injury that still follows me everywhere I go) and spent it on an M4, 50 DR Summicron, 35 cron, 90 tele-elmarit, Sekonic L398 and a nice small gitzo tripod. Also, about 30 rolls of Agfa color slide film. Kept all of the gear until a few months ago. Still have the gitzo. Replaced the camera and glass with an M8 recently. Now thinking about restocking the glass. I dropped the Sekonic 15 years ago, cracking the rotating head. If I pick up an old LTM body, I guess I will need to replace or fix the meter. If money weren't an object, I would have held on to the M4 and the M6 I later added. Money is an issue, so too bad for me. First big shooting trip was to Paris for a belated honeymoon in 1983. Replayed that last month with a big trip back to Paris with my still beautiful bride. Connected with our kids, now 23 and 20 while there. Took a gillion pix with the M8 on the trip. Happy to have it.

 

[Haigh]

The moment I was handed one by a salesperson I was hooked on the viewfinder and ergonomics. I sold every bit of my SLR gear for an M4 and two lenses. The M4 and I are still married even though I have a fling now and then with a D80 and an LX3.

 

[robin a]

My Lieca came to me as a result of RFF.I was out for 6 mo. with a broken Rt. shoulder,nothing to do,so, it was FORUMs.Kinda interested in this one and all the Leica users.After getting several rangefinders I had to "go for the gold".A pristine M3 from the classifieds.It is my favorite............Robin

 

[historicist]

I got my first one, a M4 P, because I wanted to own all of the classic cameras (Nikon F, Leica M, etc. etc.). Had to find a lens for it and got a Summicron 50mm for an outrageous price, at least it felt like it coming from buting Nikon lenses where a 50mm f2 would be a tenth of the price.

I had massive buyer's remorse until I got the first roll back, and was blown away by the quality. Frankly I didn't like the body so much - RF patch flare - and I still don't feel the same way about my M4 as I do about my F or my Rolleis, to which I am very attached.

In general I think I prefer SLR/TLR type shooting to RFs. But the Leica M offers a small body with small high quality lenses and the ability to hand hold at slow shutter speeds, so that's why I still have one.

 

[Vics]

I started SHOPPING for a Leica back in '69 but never bought because I thought they were too much money. So instead, I spent a FORTUNE on second-tier gear until I finally inherited my Dad's Contax IIIa. After an overhaul, I got hooked on RF pretty quickly. Then my family bought me an M3 for my 60th birthday, and now I'm ready to sell all the other gear that is gathering dust on various shelves. I would tell any young photog to buy the camera he/she REALLY wants now and save all that expense and frustration. Photography's hard enough without worrying if it's you or the camera.
Vic

 

[takeda72]

My passion for photography started with Lomo. It was 8, 9 years ago. I bought a Lomo LCA and I really got myself into lomography. Then I discovered cameraquest.com. In Brazil, where I was living, the Leicas are very, very expensive (much more than in the US and Europe). So, after reading cameraquest.com, I bought Canonets, Olympus RFs, etc.

In 2004, I moved to Argentina. One year after, I had some extra tickets for a Coldplay concert and someone offered me a Leica Minilux for them. I said yes. And I fell in love with the Minilux and then I started to search for a Leica M.

My first M was an M3. I had a Pentax DSLR, sold it and bought the M3. Last year, I went to NYC and got a classic M6. By far, the best camera I ever used.

I sold all my cameras (I had some good digi compacts like Ricoh GX100 and Sigma DP1) and decided to shoot only with film and my M6. I am lucky to know Eduardo Albesi (he is a RFF user) and I bought from him my two lenses: a Summicron 35 IV and a Summarit-M 50/1.5.

Maybe someday I will buy an M8. But for now, my M6 is all I need.

Cheers.

 

[Mephiloco]

I borrowed a M5 about a year or two ago from a friend to shoot a festival. She didn't have lens caps and I was shooting efke 25 and without knowing burned holes in her shutters. She insisted on having Leica fix it and it set me back $500 =(

I decided I kind ofwanted a Leica, and got a canonet to hold me over. Fast forward to about a month ago I was about to buy a Canon 7 (thinking a M was out of my reach). I kept getting outbid on the 7's, and was about to pay keh $140 for one. I sold off my AE-1 Program with its 50/1.8, my Autofocus Film canon, a 28/2.8 lens and then saw a M2 and M3 on ebay within my reach. Ended up getting an m2 for $400.. the m3 sold for $450. So, I now have a M2 en route as well as a skopar 35/2.5.

After selling my other gear (old stuff I didn't use and had gotten for free, literally) The M2 ended up costing me $200, and then my girlfriend bought me the lens as an early birthday present (its about 2 months away). I've been contemplating selling my T90 to give me more cash, but I don't think I can part with such a fantastic camera with spot metering, especially when FD glass is so cheap (and performs great in most cases).

Anyways, my skopar should be here early next week, followed by the M2 a few days later, then I have to perform surgery on the M2 to repair some pin holes in the curtain.

At this price point I couldn't resist getting a Leica. Oh, and I sold off some wacom tablets for really cheap to help fund the leica as well 😀

And yeah, I've told this story in probaly 8 of my 17 posts.. but hell.. it's a Leica with a good lens at my favorite focal length.. and it's a whole lot smaller than my T90 (which I normally take to concerts etc)

 

[Jasper Street]

I recently bought my M3 after using film and digital SLRs for a few years. Like some of the other users, I didn't enjoy lugging around the big heavy SLR gear. I wanted something more compact, quiet, and discreet, and I was attracted to the all-mechanical operation of the M3, and I was looking for sharp lenses. I'm also a fan of solidly-made machinery.

So, since I started using my M3 (about a month ago), my photos have become unspeakably bad! But when you buy quality, like Leica, you have no one to blame but yourself! So I keep haunting this forum, gathering knowledge, and practicing!

 

[Jasper Street]

My father used a Zorki back in the 1960s and 70s. He encouraged an interest in photography but I was never keen on the heavy old Zorki. He first made me aware of Leicas but could not afford to get one. I went down the SLR route and from film to digital but was disatisfied with using a computer to take photos.

I still have my Nikon FE which I love but it's now worn out so was looking at Nikon F3s on the internet auction site when for some reason I remembered those conversations with my father and looked at Leicas. To my surprise they seemed affordable and after research I decided to get an M3.

It was in quite ropey condition with a poor summicron collapsable lens and my first results were terrible but I loved the mechanical feel of it and bought a replacement summicron and an exposure meter. I did take it with me on a trip to Kenya (along with a D70 for the wildlife) and took just a few shots with it - most failed but one took my breath away. It was of some orphans singing in a concert and it was quite unlike any photograph I'd ever taken before with a luminous glow and character that I still find special.

From then on it was a rejuvenation of enthusiasm which I have maintained for well over a couple of years now with no sign of abating.

hey, your comments are very encouraging to me.

I've just started using my first M3, and my results so far have been horrendous. It's a little discouraging to go from SLR, with which I was often able to get reasonably good results, to the awful results I'm getting with the RF. I'm using a collapsible lens too. Are these lenses often problematic?

It's probably user error, but it would help to know if there was something wrong with my equipment. Then I'd know better how to improve.

 

[Vics]

My collapsible 'cron is great. Turn the camera to face you. pull the lens toward you. Turn it clockwise til it stops. Take pictures. This lens is quite "soft" wide open, but that often makes for great portraits. This is a low-to-medium contrast lens that takes some re-calibtating of your workflow. The "sweet spot" for the lens is around 5.6, so aim for that. Leica optics seem to be at their best where the light is scarce, so follow the light.
It took me the best part of a year to begin getting what I had expected to get from this camera, and I was about to give up when it all came clear to me! Be patient, and you'll start seeing results that will just knock you out! If you want to shoot film, you should go the wholoe way to the wet darkroom. Nothing really matches a great gelatin silver black and white print!
Enjoy!
Vic

 

[Graham Line]

Had to have a camera with a brighter finder and quieter shutter for meeting coverage in the early '70s, when SLRs ruled the news world. Found a used M2 with a 50/2 for something like $350 -- RF prices were hitting bottom then.
I'd learned on meterless rangefinders like the Argus C3, so it wasn't a big jump.
The M2 got worn out and went to someone who absolutely had to have one at any price. 😉
Current user is an M4P with Minolta, Leica and Voigtlander lenses.

 

[Mephiloco]

Given to me in 1977 when I turned 17, an M2 with 50mm Summilux, filter, hood, case, box and instructions. Still have it, recently serviced, now 50 years old. I shoot film 90% of the time. The alternative offer from Dad was a metered CL with two lenses. I chose the classic M. Teenagers are like that, go for the hard choice. I just gave my daughter a beautiful Nikon F3 for her 16th birthday. She wanted a proper SLR and I could not buy something second rate.

Who is that in your picture? Somone on another forum I frequent uses that same picture as his avatar

 

[DavidC]

My brother in law called me in 2004 and asked whether I would like a Leica.
Having dreamt about one for many years I wasn't about to refuse. He asked my preference and I told him an MP. He eventually convinced me that an M7 was better since I could have automatic exposure as well as manual. I have enjoyed the M7 with 50 summicron ever since.

 

[A440]

My first 35mm camera, when I was a kid, was a Vivitar 35 ES rangefinder and a superb little camera that I loved using. I then got into using a Pentax Spotmatic 500 SLR with a 35mm lens for years. Eventually I upgraded that to a Leica R3a with a Summicron 50mm lens...the quality of the images astounded me, but it was such a big camera! So, I lusted after an M6 for over a decade but was never able to afford one, till a couple of years ago. I was looking for M6's on ebay when I spotted a black paint MP. I fell completely in love with the look and concept of it, so I bid for it...and to my suprise I won it! I then looked around the web for a lens, either a 35mm or 50mm Summicron. But could find very little on the market. Then, I spotted a well used Lux 35mm ASPH at a dealers, with perfect glass, going very cheaply and bought that.

I then bought some film and started taking photos. Wow...is all I have to say after 2 years of picture taking. What an amazing camera and lens the MP & Lux is. I felt immediately at home with the rangefinder, probably because of my experience as a kid with the Vivitar. I can honestly say I've never enjoyed taking pictures more. I'm glad I bought the Lux too, even though it is big (the hood is big too) you quickly get used to the occlusion in the viewfinder and I've managed to steal some really great shots in low light.

I'm totally nuts about all things Leica M now...and the other day tried out an M8. Very nice...but at £2.5k ....boy that's a lot of money (and film!). I'm tempted to try out an M3 with a 50mm too....seems like that is a real classic combination (and cheaper than an M8!).🙂 Ah...decisions, decisons.