How did you get out of Leica?

Ko.Fe. said:
...I don't see any practical reason to send M4-2 for fourth repair and pay for it next to its initial price for me.
So, in your thirty-odd working years, which film M were those - "I can barely remember anyone needing a Leica repaired"? M4?
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Sorry, but I don’t understand what you are questioning in relation to my quotation you’ve highlighted.

I made no reference to a M4-2 or a M4. The only Leica M I wrote about was a M3.

As for my recollection of Leicas needing repair I am writing about my experience amongst the people with whom I was acquainted not photographers I wasn’t.
 
Just a point, how about those people who buy Nikon and Canon in the hope of looking like a pro, improving their photos and all the other reasons that are thrown at Leica owners?

Regards, David
 
David Hughes said:
Just a point, how about those people who buy Nikon and Canon in the hope of looking like a pro, improving their photos and all the other reasons that are thrown at Leica owners?

Regards, David
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Certainly happens ... the D5 with a huge zoom because they have to look the part. It can be said about any expensive camera of course. But because Leicas are not mainstream they get special attention from the haters.
 
David Hughes said:
Just a point, how about those people who buy Nikon and Canon in the hope of looking like a pro, improving their photos and all the other reasons that are thrown at Leica owners?
Regards, David
Click to expand...

I think back to the '60's through maybe the early '90's serious amateurs bought the equipment that pros used. Not to look like a pro but if the camera is what pros bought then it had to be a good camera.
No different today then athletes plastered with advertising stickers for shoes, clothes, equipment, etc so people will buy that brand. If it's endorsed by someone famous it must be worth buying (never mind the fact the pro is getting paid millions to wear a company's shoes).
 
Brian Atherton said:
Sorry, but I don’t understand what you are questioning in relation to my quotation you’ve highlighted.

I made no reference to a M4-2 or a M4. The only Leica M I wrote about was a M3.

As for my recollection of Leicas needing repair I am writing about my experience amongst the people with whom I was acquainted not photographers I wasn’t.
Click to expand...

So, in thirty-odd years your M3 didn't needed repair and some others you know but don't know which Leica they used also didn't needed repair?
Did they told you it or you just never hear from them talking about repairs?
 
My M3 & M6 only needed 1 CLA in over 30 years each..still work like a charm..
No bubbles on the M6 either..looks great still..used to carry it everywhere..

Took some of my favorite images ever with those cams too back in the day..
But I think you get into Leica for the fast/small lenses..
At least I did..
I've never had a Leica lens needing a cla..
Never was brave enough to get a Leica digital body..
Maybe someday..
 
Since I quit working in photography in the early 90s, I've had exactly three cameras that needed to be repaired--two Canons and a Leica. All were film cameras. I've never had a digital that quit working or needed a repair. Now prior to the early 90s, I burned through several Nikon F2, F3 and FM cameras and two or three Nikon lenses. But that was work related.
 
Ko.Fe. said:
So, in thirty-odd years your M3 didn't needed repair and some others you know but don't know which Leica they used also didn't needed repair?
Did they told you it or you just never hear from them talking about repairs?
Click to expand...

The M3 wasn’t mine, it belonged to a clumsy friend: it needed repairing, as I stated.

In the circle of photographers I was acquainted with who worked for a living, photographers who owned and used Leicas (and other makes) professionally for advertising, magazine, press, fashion, college tuition, two who worked in camera shops and amateurs in a photography club, I can recollect only the two Leica repair incidences I wrote about.

My direct personal experience.

How do I know? We were friends or work colleagues, we took photos for a living or for pleasure; we were gear heads. When we got together we talked and obsessed ad nauseam about cameras and gear, about what worked and what didn’t; occasionally we borrowed gear from each other. When we bought and sold gear or had gear in for repair, we talked about it.
 
Leica M8 did me in

Leica M8 did me in

I shot Leica Ms for nearly 40 years. Sucking up all my resources (and finding it increasingly hard to find quality C-41 color processing in my area) I purchased an M8 when they first hit the market in the USA. Big mistake! Its controlling firmware was NOT ready for prime time. I struggled with the camera for several months without much success. Fortunately the LHSA was having its annual meeting in my area that year. Being an LHSA member at the time, I attended and quickly sold al my 11 Leica lenses. (My hapless M8 was sold on eBay to a gent from New Zealand.) After a ten-year absence from serious photography, I just purchased a Fujifilm X100T, also called the "poor man's Leica." Can't say enough about this wonderful Japanese instrument! Finally, I'm able to explore color digital photography with a truly useful RF instrument in my hands. (I am sure the current generation of Leica M digital cameras are tops but that train has now left the station for me. I'm a Fujifilm shooter for the rest of time.)
 
I`ve been using film M`s for about twenty years .
First a `55 double stroke then added a 1960 M2 and finally a 1969 M4.
Never has a problem with any of them .
The M2 did need a shutter adjustment after I put the first roll through but that fault was present before I bought it .
I don`t take any special care of them .
I use them in the worst of British weather out in the fields and hills .
The M3 has been dropped onto a concrete pathway .
Never understood the cost argument .
 
I've been out a lot with my M3, which is just wonderful. A small camera bag, three lenses and the spot meter, I can't think of a more portable camera for general photography. Just a joy to use - shame it took me til my 52 year to start using one.
 
I won't say I've gotten out of Leica, but I have shifted away from M's, which as much as I love them, just have not been scratching all of my photographic itches.

It was a weird place to find Leica lenses, but a local farm auction had a Leicaflex Standard set came up. I got the lenses for cheap (single cam 50mm summicron-R and 90mm elmarit-R), which were in almost flawless condition. The body went for more than it was worth, so I got one for a hundred bucks on the bay.

I really like the feel of the Leicaflex Standard. The size and weight are actually not much different than the M5.

I sold most of my M mount lenses and bodies and now only have an M5 and a 35mm Summicron, which is my favorite setup for low light shooting.

In place of the M mount lenses I found a few great deals on some screwmount Leica equipment here and there - a Leica IF off of DAG's site, in great condition and serviced, and a bargain grade 21mm F4 super angulon which I removed the M mount adapter from. These two items are a perfect match.

So here's my current arsenal - for me, I feel each of these bodies is the best for these particular focal lengths.

Leica IF / 21mm Super angulon
Leica M5 / 35mm Summicron
Leicaflex Standard / 50mm summicron / 90mm elmarit

Wait wasn't this thread about getting out of Leica? I guess I failed.... but I have come out ahead money wise.
 
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