How did you get into Leicas?

[Livesteamer]

In high school, in the early 1970's, I bought a Nikon S with 50mm f2.0 from the local camera store for $100 . In college I worked for yearbook and newspaper and I used the little Nikon in the theater because it was so quiet. I had a Nikon F as my main camera and used that for many years. By 1990 I was having trouble focusing the Nikon F in low light so I picked up an M3 and a 35mm Summilux. I was amazed that I could get accurate focus and Leica became my main camera system. Today I like using a IIIc and 50mm Elmar but still use the old Nikon S now and then. Joe

 

[zuiko85]

One of those "things" I always thought I wanted. Upon retirement, sold a bunch of stuff accumulated over the years, bought a body and 2 CV lenses, and later a 90 f4 Elmar. The dream, as usual, has turned out to be far different from the reality. I guess I really like TTL viewing and would just as rather pick up my rusty trusty old OM-1 or even more likely my Pen F.

Ah well.

 

[tstermitz]

Saw this ad:

Leica M4 - $950 (Parker/Denver)
Date: 2009-12-01, 9:29PM MST
Reply to: sale-xjwvv-1490950476@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]

Silver Leica M4 with Leitz Wetzlar Summicron 1:2/50 Lens with original lens cap.
Also includes Leica light meter MR and X2 lens adaptor
I had it appraised on 12-1-2009 at a retail value of $1200.00.
This camera was purchased by me in Frankfurt Germany in 1973.
I still have copies of the receipts.
Cash only

There were a couple of flaws: a very small dent on the top, and (oh, noes!) someone had written with indelible marker on the original red box saying "Fragile, Xmas Ornaments". I was the 2nd person to commit, first person fell through, and I offered full price.

Then there was this ad:

Leica M6 w/3 lenses - $4500 (Longmont)
Date: 2009-12-02, 9:55PM MST
Reply to: sale-ye5wr-1492591765@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]

Leica M6 - Black - Mint condition in box
Leica Summicron-M 1:2/35mm ASPH lens - Mint condition in box w/soft case
Leica Summicron-M 1:2/50mm lens - Mint condition in box w/soft case
Leica Elmarit-M 1:2.8/90mm lens - Mint condition in box w/soft case
4 B&W filters
1 Kirk Enterprises quick release bracket

This time I was a little smarter, let the ad sit for a couple weeks, and offered something like $4,000.

Finally, There was this ad:

Professional Grade LEICA - $5800 (FoCo)

Date: 2011-10-14, 12:33PM MDT
Reply to: sale-2mmqc-2649725310@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]

Why buy new? Come into our store and find this

PROFESSIONAL GRADE MODEL M9 LEICA DIGITAL CAMERA

This item shows very little ware and is in fine condition.
This low price includes 2 additional lenses, memory card, and power adapter

Visit us at... [redacted to protect the innocent]

Adrenaline spike; speed limits exceeded; "Are you the guy who called?", "Ummm, yeah...".

What were the "additional lenses" (i.e. additional to the 35mm Summicron)? 24mm Elmarit-M, 50mm Summilux. I guess the shop just looked up the camera price and didn't factor in the lenses. They had lost the power adapter in a box somewhere, so I got them to take off a fifty bucks.

I lucked out by buying just as lens prices were going up. And, I was able to sell a couple duplicate lenses to bring the total investment down.

You make luck by watching regularly, and being ready to jump when you need to. I've seen other deals come up when I had no money available, and all I can do is wish luck onto somebody else.

 

[Hosermage]

I started with the Sony NEX5, the mount-any-lens camera. Since Sony's lens selection was lacking, I started buying M-mount manual focus lens, the 50'Cron DR. Loved that lens, and started lurking in Leica image threads in various forums. Finally, I was able to buy a second-hand M9 at a price I could barely afford and never looked back. I liked how I didn't need to read the manual once to operate the camera.

 

[Solinar]

I migrated to a Leica II from a FED 2 and Zorki 3M. I love how it slips into a pants pocket when fitted with the collapsible Elmar.

Best Regards,

 

[hellomikmik]

I was looking for a digital zeiss ikon and m9 was the closest hit.

 

[barnwulf]

While in college studying photography in the 1960s, I bought a Leica IIIf. In 1968 I sold the Leica and to help pay for a new Nikon F and I used Nikons for a lot of years. About 7 years ago I bought another IIIf and shortly after that I bought a M4 from Youxin and I have been hooked on Leica cameras since then. - jim

 

[Brian Atherton]

Aged about fourteen, in my local library researching for an art project, I came across a book of Cartier-Bresson’s photos and was immediately enthralled with his work and intrigued by his choice of camera: Leica.

Knowing nothing about Leica, I checked out a Leica users’ handbook, and thought “what a fascinating camera and history”.

It wasn’t until I started work in 1966, when the photographer I was working with asked me to find a filter for his Rolleiflex, that I found a M3 with a collapsible Summicron at the bottom of his bag.

I asked him if I could try it out… and was smitten.

Thanks, Fred!

Despite having to use reflexes of one kind or another professionally, for my personal work I’ve always used a 35mm rangefinder, Leicas being most prominent.

 

[CliveC]

I haven't yet, unless you count the Leica Mini Zoom I picked up cheap on eBay.
Just have yet to come across the right one. I keep telling myself that my Canon 7 and P are good enough, and in some ways are better.

 

[Contarama]

Unfortunately I do not have a Leica but I manage to live the dream vicariously through you good folks. 🙂

 

[gilgsn]

I worked for a daily newspaper when I was 18-21. My camera of choice then was the F3, which is still one of my favorites. I once got a Leica M6 brochure from the shop, but could not afford one.

Fast forward almost thirty years, the photography bug bit me again and I wanted a Leica. I found a IIIc on Ebay and loved it. That prompted me to get an M4-P. I think it is probably the best entry to Leica camera one could hope for. I actually wrote a blog entry about it.

Now I want a Summicron 35mm ASPH, but that might take a long time. For the time being I use the CV Color Skopar with good results.

If I ever win the lottery I'll get an MP.

Gil.

 

[Vics]

My two wonderful grown children bought me an M3 and a collapsible 'cron for my 60th birthday.

 

[johank]

I inhered a IIIf, then a M4-2. I have always been a Rf fan Kiews, Contaxs so there are a few lenses. Analog Rf are fast and small.

 

[Dave Jenkins]

Most of my photo-heroes are Leica shooters, and I longed, oh, how I longed, to be able to see the world through the viewfinder of a Leica as they did. I struggled with this for more than 40 years.

My first Leica was a IIIc with an f2 Summitar that I bought for $40 at the Bird Road Drive-In flea market in Miami in 1969. I owned many Leicas over the intervening years, but always wound up selling them. As hard as I tried, and I did try very hard, I simply could not attain real proficiency with rangefinder cameras. I made a few good pictures with them, but ultimately, they just did not work for me. I sadly sold my last Leica, an M3, in 2010. Leicas (and rangefinders in general) are wonderful, but they're not for everyone.

In my heart I’m a globe-trotting, black&white film, Leica-shooting photojournalist in the mold of Elliott Erwitt, Henri Cartier-Bresson, or Josef Koudelka. But the bitter truth is that I am an autofocus, SLR, zoom lens, color photographer. That’s what I am, and I just have to deal with it.

But lately, I've been thinking, "What if. . ."

 

[raid]

I saw a Leica- I bought it- I was sold.
It was a like new M3 with 3-4 chrome lenses, all like new looking. It was nearly a spiritual experience.

 

[rumbliegeos]

I had been using large Nikon slrs for many years, when in the early 2000s I wanted to get a light, small, backup camera for scientific fieldwork. I had been reading Ivor Matanle's Classic Cameras book and he certainly sang the praises of Barnack Leicas. So, I got a black dial IIIf off ebay, eventually sold it and bought a red dial IIIF, and now it is one of my favorite cameras. I have gone through a number of different lenses before settling on a Summitar, a Nikon 50mm 2.0, a Summaron 3.5 and an Elmar 90mm 4 as a kit.

 

[Roger Hicks]

I read an essay about Leicas in an anthology and said to myself, "Oh, yes." Off to KEH I did go. Here's the essay in its original form:

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/09/24/070924fa_fact_lane?currentPage=all

Lovely link: thanks. But the editor should have been shot for translating "Morgan 4/4" (four cylinders, four wheels, instead of V-twin 3-wheeler) as "Morgan four by four".l

Cheers,

R.

 

[angelog]

I needed a good travel system 11 years ago for a trip to Thailand and so bought a Bessa R2 with a few lenses. I was so captivated by the the concept that I kept getting something a little better till now I have three M bodies that I use on a regular basis. I have to thank Steven and this site for helping me take the plunge.

 

[thegman]

This forum, and kenrockwell.com, I'd say. With all the dpreview stuff and similar sites, you'd be forgiven for thinking film cameras weren't being made any more, but sites like this one made me realise that film cameras and therefore Leicas (that I'd happily pay the asking price for) were realistic choices. I've since gone on to only use medium format, but as Raid said, the first time I used an M3 is almost a spiritual experience. An exaggeration of course, but just an incredible machine.

 

[Monochrom]

I had some SLR´s and always hated them for their size and weight and because they are ugly and always felt cheap no matter how expensive they were...

So during a trip to europe i visited a relative in paris and a friend of him had this magnificent leica m6...immediate attaraction.

So years later when i came back to photography the camera had to be a leica...

And now i am happy with my m9 my elmar and my orion 15.