How did you end up with your first Leica M?

[Bill Blackwell]

Long story short -

I was taught photography in Jr. high school on a Leica M3 (so I was spoiled from the beginning). I bought my first Leica (a Leicaflex SL) when I was in high school. Later, I tinkered around with Nikons, but I started buying and using M cameras after I graduated from college; I've been using them ever since.

 

[Jasper Street]

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

Hey, thanks for the advice. I eventually figured out how to lock the lens and now I'm looking forward to some gradual improvement.

I'll keep on reading this forum and practicing and I'm sure things will get better. It's a journey, right?

 

[Benjamin Marks]

I was living in northern California and within walking distance of my apartment was a small camera store that occasionally had used gear in the display case. I been taking pictures for the better part of a decade at that point.

I was drawn to classic gear from the 50's . . .pretty much all I could afford in the early 1990s. From that little store I purchased an M3 and a 50 Summarit and then, a little while later, an M3 DS and a 35/3.5 Summaron. I still have other cameras but I was then and am now hooked on the way the world looked through an M viewfinder.

Ben Marks

 

[Mephiloco]

Speaking of which.. Here's my first Leica. Just arrived yesterday, spent half the day cleaning it and repairing the pinholes in the curtain, taking some junk shots on some neopan ss just to satisfy my curiosity and see how they look. Also want to make sure it has no light leaks and that my patch job is holding.

If only I could figure out why it won't focus under 3 feet. At right around the 3 foot mark the rangefinder stops moving. I recalibrated the vertical sync (it was off) and the horizontal sync seems dead on (focused on something on the mirror, then my reflection and it gave me 1 and 2 meters respectively.

I think My m2 just doesn't like to focus that closely.

 

[literiter]

In 1981 a co-worker walked into my office and showed me two cameras he was left in a will. A Pentax Spotmatic and a Leica M2. The Leica had a 35mm lens, case and Leica meter. He had no use for them.

I bought the M2 as I had a Spotmatic already. It was $100.00.

I was advised that I got took.

 

[Doug]

Mephiloco, congrats on your "new" late-fifties vintage M2! Mine looks just the same, with button rewind and no self-timer. Mine is the earliest variation, made in the 8/6/1958 batch of 2500 (935001-937500); the very first batch of 200 is dated 11/25/57.

Anyway, with a Zeiss ZM lens, which will focus to 0.5m, mine "decouples" just under 0.7m, so that's the close-coupling limit for my M2. With lens removed, you might try moving the RF roller on its arm inwards and then outwards to feel any resistance or gumminess.

It could be that this camera had been typically used with a lens focusing only to 1m, and the RF arm got gummed up with lint and old stiff lube in the range of movement for focus closer than 1m. Woudn't hurt for an experienced tech to take a look at the camera in view of doing a clean, lube and adjust on this 51 year old rig!

 

[raid]

I got a phone call from a stranger; he knew someone whom I knew ... etc.
He had a divorce and he had to unload his M4-MOT. I had never seen a Leica before that day. I forgot what I paid, but I sold it to KEH one hour after I bought for twice what I paid.

 

[joebt]

I had heard about Leica but never saw one in any of the local shops in my area. One day when I was out shooting with my Panasonic LC1 with a Leica SF-20 Flashgun mounted on the top, I was approached by a Leica Pro, who handed me an invite to attend his Leica Street Photography Workshop. He was also carrying a mint condition Leica M7 at the time.

I skipped class the following Saturday and attended the Workshop. The fee was $100 which paid for the lessons and the useage of a Leica rangefinder body and lens and 2 rolls of film for the day. He also bought us all breakfast too. I choose to use the M7 and a 24 or 28mm lens, I can't really remember. I made a lot of mistakes that day including exposing the film at the end of the day when I went to give the camera back.

I waited about a year, and then I decided to buy my first Leica Rangefinder. I ended up purchasing a Leica M6TTL (0.72) with a version four 50mm Cron, which I still have to this day. I have also picked up a M3 DS and another M6TTL (0.85) which was a demo model, and a bag full of Leica lenses.

 

[rickp]

It must be hereditary? Subtitle: I’m old, so the story is longer than most 🙂

It must be hereditary? Subtitle: I’m old, so the story is longer than most 🙂

Mother did her own b&w darkroom work and printing, including my baby pictures (1948 on). Color went to the lab. Good quality, even by today’s standards.

Me? Probably box cameras (red window in back), Kodak Brownies and Instamatics until high school, then yearbook photographer (1963 and 64) with the school’s Speed Graphic/Polaroid back, and a Rollei TLR. Flash bulbs? Learned to develop and print b&w in the school darkroom. Major experience.

End 65, moved to Paris. Birthday present next year was a Pentax SLR with normal and tele lenses. Developed and printed b&w in the bathroom - towels stuffed around the door – “what’s that awful smell?”. Color was Kodachrome and Ektachrome, later Agfa something for the “splashier” colors. 1968 started with Nikon F, later Photomic T (?). I remember a 21mm with viewfinder, a 105 f2.5 and a 500mm MTO mirror lens from Moscow, but there were probably others.

Somewhere around this time, Hasselblad had been to the moon, and I’d been to the factory in Gothenburg. Multiscreen panoramas were part of the tour, made with 4 x 500ELM on a circular bracket, carried by a weightlifter. Hooked on square! Bought a 500C from Dixons London duty free; traded the 80mm for a 50mm Distagon, added a 150mm later. An SWC joined in the mid 80s and was a favorite for a long time. Happy Hasselblad for almost 20 years.

But digital was coming. Started with an Olympus E-10 in 2003 – it was soooooo light and easy to travel with (Maui, Tokyo, Hong Kong on its maiden voyage). Then a D100, changed to a D2H, then to a D2X, and pretty soon the Nikon kit weighed even more than the Hasselblads. Sure looked like a pro, but intimidated everything except zoo animals and flowers. Unfortunately, with a 17-55 on most of the time, I was on DSLR “autopilot” – let the camera do the composition (zoom!), focus, bracketing, exposure, white balance. Lots of good pictures, not a lot of magic.

2007, held an M8 + tiny little Summicron 35mm on it for the first time. What a different feel, and auto-nothing except A. Back to the basics. Fast lenses, no flash, watch the action come into the frame. A whole system fits in one little Billingham bag. Do it yourself. Look for the magic. I carry it (almost) everywhere.

I did sell myself on the need for a backup camera, rationalizing “just in case the M8 batteries ran out on safari”. (LOL) Tried and enjoyed a Ricoh GX-100, and an M3 (amazing), but the latest is my new old Xpan (back to Hasselblad!) with 45mm and 90mm lenses. Lots of interesting film still out there to try and, like the M8, it’s still a rangefinder which fits well in the hand. Regular and panorama mode at the flip of a switch – great fun.

Now I need a travel agent……….

Greetings from Hamburg

Rick

 

[platorulez]

I started out as a purely digital photographer using a Canon S40 point and shoot back in 2003, then moved onto the 10D and got a nice collection of L glass along the way. After I met my wife, I ended up with the happy (mostly) problem where we ended up in a tussle over who got to use the lenses (even though we each had our own camera body, we could only afford one set).

I also started to feel that the DSLR setup, while producing nice images (especially the 5D), was just too heavy for day to day use, especially with a baby in tow. So late last year, I began doing research to find a compact digital camera that could give me the same image quality as our 5D, but without the bulk and weight.

So I stumbled upon Leicas, and the love story began. I couldn't afford the M8, so I bought myself a CL and Rokkor 40mm first, and was amazed at how little I missed having a zoom lens. I'm not a very careful person with my gear, and I found the CL (though still better made than most modern digital cameras) a little fragile, and decided to upgrad to the M6 TTL when I saw a good deal for it, all the while telling myself that it was going to be a temporary fix until I managed to afford an M8.

I now love my M6 so much that even if I could afford an M8, I don't think I could bear to part with the M6. I have also come to see the beauty of film in terms of the tonality, colours, and rawness of the images, which is very hard to reproduce with digital. I used to love digital images and could never imagine shooting film, but I now find that in comparison, digital images sometimes tend to look a bit too clean and sterile. That said, I still miss the convenience of digital, and I'll certainly be in line for the full-frame M9 when it appears.

I'm just glad I had the chance to discover a whole other side of photography in this unexpected way!

 

[35mmdelux]

Lots of interesting stories...

Learning about photog, in 1990 I bought a Hasselblad but found it too static. Lots of detail but missed the decisive moment...

Sold it a year later in favor of M5 and after a while traded the M5 for M4-P. This was before the digital revolution; good film gear was really expensive. After a while I began earning more $ and film gear became less expensive, finally after yrs of shooting Leica a perfect storm in my favor.

 

[leicadave]

Let's see, bought a Leica IIIc outfit from a diplomat in Kabul while in the Peace Corps there, traded it for a IIIg in Hong Kong in Feb., '68, and about 10 years later, +/_ traded the IIIg to Don Chatterton in Seattle for an M2 which I've had rebuilt with an M6 viewfinder but still have, ca. 30 years later.

Still like it better than my M8 which flares like mad, and love my newer D Lux 4 in b&w and should use the M4 or M7 more than I do. But there is that trip to Mali coming up which may be a good time for film again, the D Lux around the neck, a coule of others on the shoulders.

 

[peterm1]

In about the early 1990s my interest in photography had been renewed after a long period of disinterest. And I began to imagine owning an M3.

But here in little old Adelaide South Australia they were few and far between in the days before eBay. I waited ages. One came up thru a camera shop owner I knew. I loved this guy - he was an old Czech gent and he ran an old style camera store complete with a large wooden cabinet lined with drawers each chock full of "stuff" that we camera buffs love. I spent many hours and dollars finding things i really really needed. Well- you know the story.

Long story short he had a mint M3 with a mint Summilux (his personal camera) that he offered to me for a really great price. But someone else had right of first refusal and eventually they took the offer up leaving me bereft but all the more determined to fulfil my desire. (Incidentally a month later I saw the same camera and lens for sale in the local newspaper classified section for about $500 more. Obviously the buyer knew the value too! I was understandably p*ssed about this not the least because iI could not help but feel it kinda took advantage of a sweet old guy in my view. Oh well. I guess my standards are different to others.

Another friendly camera store salesman (who I still deal with today - hello Tom) offered me an M4P with a mint 50mm Summicron on a long layby deal - I could pay it off over 6 months or so. Then he offered me a mint boxed 35mm summi (4th version) which was added to the "pot" and then he offered a 90mm Tele Elmarit. So being weak..........!

But still no M3. Eventually the same guy who got me the M4P found an M3 DS from the first year of prodcution in nice condition with a Summitar / adapter and gave me right of first refusal. I snapped it up even though I now had an M4P as well. Funnily enough it never rains but it pours. A year later I saw an M3 DS in wonderful condition in another store at a great price complete with a Summarit 50. I guess you can guess the outcome.

I bought a few extra lenses and such over the next few years but there was one final part of the equation. A few years later when travelling in Central Europe with my dad (who had migrated from there) I found a lovely 50mm Summicron dual focus in a little store in Budapest. Lovely condition - near mint and optically perfect . I snapped it up as the price was about half what I would pay in Oz - assuming I could find one that is. (Again pre eBay this stuff could be hard to come by.) When I got back to Australia I wandered into a camera store I frequented only to see the "goggles" sitting there with an asking price of $35. So now I also have the complete DF summicron - not that I make use of its near focus abilities much but nthat sucker is a wonderful lens.

So there you are. At my peak I owned no less than 3 Leica Ms and one Leica 111a in lovely condition. I have since sold one M3 as I just was not using it enough and wanted ("needed") some other stuff. I still love my M3 which is beautiful, moreso in fact than my M4P but could not really imagine selling any of them unless something really really happens that demands it - even though I am increaslingly shooting digital

I am especially hanging onto the M4P associated lenses as one day I "know" that siren song of an M8 will sing its sweet message to me.

One final comment. It is now getting harder and harder to make such buys. Almost all of the old style camera stores have gone and those that have survived all now sell digital stuff pretty well exclusively. It is pretty rare that you can walk into a store and stumbloe on that gem that you have been lusting after.

 

[x-ray]

In 1968 while in college the chief photographer of the college paper was leaving and needed a replacement photographer. On review of my portfolio I got the job as a staff photographer. At the time I was using Minolta equipment and Henry the chief was using three Leica M's. After working a few months s a PJ I found myself working under very tough lighting conditions and felt an M would be a good solution. I had a friend who worked for a near by news paper and used Nikon SP's and S3's. I tried his cameras for a few jobs and tried Henry's M's for a few assignments. I really liked the SP and the M2 about the same but availability of Nikon SP gear was limited in my area. I walked into one of our local Leica dealers and they had a minty M2 and 50 summicron for sale. I purchased the M2 for $250 and the 50 for $125 and that started a 40 plus year of using M's. I wound up with a great kit by the end of the year. It consisted of 2 M2's and a nice DS M3. My lenses were a 21 3.4 SA, 35 1.4, 50 f2, 65mm and viso 2, 90 elmarit, 135 hektor and 200 f4. NIce kit for a 20 year old college guy I used these for many years putting about ten thousand rolls through them before trading them for a beautiful Linhof Technika 70 with three lenses and accessories. I then rebuilt my system with M2's and an M4 and roughly the same lenses with the exception of the 90 which was a summicron and the 135 which was an elmarit. The 200 was dropped from the lineup because i was now using Nikon F's for some of my work. To this day I stills shot Leica M's. I have one of my early M2's and three MP's with a nice complement of more modern M glass.

I also own a ZM and a Bessa R2 with a nice set of Zeiss glass and a number of CV lenses. Let me say I love the Leicas but the ZM is super fine and the Zeiss glass is my all time favorite M glass. My Bessa and three lenses stay in my car all the time. The body is very good and the glass is excellent. I would never hesitate to use the Bessa and CV glass for my most critical work. It's that good. The Bessa isn't as smooth and refined as the Zeiss or Leica but still a very fine camera that would deliver the same quality as any other of my 35mm cameras. The CV glass delivers exception images even under tough lighting conditions even wide open.

If I had one bit of advice I would say that what's in you creatively and technically is more important then the camera you carry. All three will deliver equally so it's really up to you to make it perform.

 

[raid]

The Leica acquisition can be somehow intimidating. I convinced myself that one Leica with one lens must do. Else, money will be spent and spent. When I got an M5 the same month I got my M3, I quickly traded it off for other stuff. Two Leicas were simply too much for me at the time.

Many years later, I find myself having broken my set rule.

 

[kbg32]

1978. I bought my first "M" mount camera, a Leitz - Minolta CL. I traded it 6 months later for a beater M3 DS with a 50 1.8 Canon Serenar. That eventually was traded in for a M4, and so on, and so on......

 

[proenca]

few years ago...

I was living in London and went to few shops regularly to buy some lens for my dSLRs and upgrading my dSLRs . Path was Nikon D100 - Fuji S2 - Nikon D1x - Nikon D2x - Canon 1Ds

Everything was fine and I was ending up buying primes for my 1Ds, because the thing weights a ton.

When I was talking to an evil shop man, he told me : why dont you take film ? you spend more days shooting than hours and hours in front of photoshop and the gear is light. here, try this Leica M7.

I was hooked by the rangefinder concept ( heard about it, never used one ) and by the solid and quality feel of the thing.

Went home, researched a bit and went with ALL my SLR stuff and traded it for a Leica M7 brand new, Leica 35 F2 ASPH and Leica 90 F2 ASPH.

I think one of my best pictures ever is taken with that camera.

One year later, my house got nicked and my Leica M7 was taken. Decided to take the plunge and bought my all time lust ( since I got into Leica ) : a black MP.

Three years ago or so, I was doing a stop over in Singapore and bought a M8.

Rationalizing costs, I couldnt justify a MP and a M8 and since digital is free yadadada, I sold the MP

Worst thing ever, I regret it to this day.

M8 is lovely, by far the best digital camera that I used if you tame its quirks and dont except to be a Canon 1Ds III with Nikon D3 high iso files.

But it doesnt have the MP feel, build or quality. Its just different.

Even the girlfriend said to me : I could see that you were almost intimate with the MP, you face was pure joy when using it.

So , with her permission ( yadadad , living together ) I bought myself a nice birthday present which should arrive in next two days : a spanking new, Leica MP Anthracite.

Can't wait to shoot film again.

I bought Fomapan already 🙂

 

[mrisney]

My grandfather had a Kodak Retina, when I thought of rangefinders, focusing ..., it was something old people used to make pictures, lol. I started photography with a Canon A-1 in the late 80's, and came back to photography when I moved to Northern California in the mid 90's. I started working for Oracle, as a software engineer, and ever since then I have had an aversion to digital cameras. When I saw someone carrying around a Leica M4-P. I loved it, no battery, a solid tool, that had no dependencies, and a slim size, that felt in my hand, like something magical. Then the lenses, a Summicron 50, wow, images became less snapshot like, and started to become poetic.

I bought one from KEH. Since then, my love for rangefinders have grown, I love my Mamiya 6, and my Polaroid 600 SE, now a Mamiya TLR C220. Something about focusing a rangefinder, ... getting the 'ghost' to sit directly on top of the image, magic, and the images, from my M4-P, always happy- dropping them off at a processor, and getting them back in a day or 2, scanned TIFF onto a DVD, it's like Christmas each time. I got caught up in the Lumix G1, it's fun, but its not the same, I go back to my M4-P, and never have to recharge it or play with the myriad of menus.
Solid.
Simple.
Standalone.
Scales, haha - (software terms.)
Like Awk, Sed, or the Bourne shell, the UNIX operating system. Very simple, but in the hands of a knowledgeable person, wonderful things can be produced.
It's from another era, it was when Leica was teetering on the verge of collapse ...but still just hanging on, yet able to put out another masterpiece. I like it when something like that happens, just when you think it's almost over, a miracle, like the resurgence of Apple computers in the mid 90's.
It's just my favorite camera.