How do you turn a Leica into a user?

[xayraa33]

Get another Leica, make sure it is not mint this time, and just use it. But just think, all Leicas were minty looking at one time, someone has to use them & I do not know if you can use a Leica in the afterlife ,if there is such a thing or place...... , so use it in this life.

 

[jlw]

dll mentioned Winogrand's M4. If you haven't seen it, here is picture showing the famous pressure plate...
<source: CameraQuest>

🙂

I thought you usually got this type of pressure-plate marking as a result of film sitting for a long time in the UNused camera, rather than from using it a lot.

If you're constantly running film through the camera, it's always being pulled across the pressure plate, polishing away any marks, or so I'd think.

 

[xayraa33]

You can also do what I do, Use non super expensive, non minty Ltm Leicas, Like a user IIIc or IIIf, affordable, even after a CLA and still a Leica.

 

[Nick R.]

You can also do what I do, Use non super expensive, non minty Ltm Leicas, Like a user IIIc or IIIf, affordable, even after a CLA and still a Leica.

Last year, I set out to simplify my camera choices to three quality users (user as in used regularly, not condition): I've stuck with the plan and now have a Hexar AF for point and shoot, a Bronica RF for medium format, and the leica M4-P for 35mm RF. Not using the M4-P would violate my goal, which I see as a means to attain camera sanity.

I paid top dollar for the Hexar and the Bronica so I treat them carefully but take them everywhere, from a leaking coal mine to an overgrown swamp. When I bought the Leica, I expected to do the same with it. I suppose what It comes down to is seeing the Leica as a tool and not a work of art and finding the middle road between abuse and disuse.

 

[back alley]

3 DIFFERENT cameras?

i never would have thought...😉

joe

 

[Nick R.]

Of course, that doesn't include the RFF multiplication factor!

 

[Flyfisher Tom]

With all new equipment, especially Leicas, I tie them to the back of my car and drag them around town for at least 5 miles (sometimes 10 miles for good measure). The kids in the neighborhood love it. Reminds them of sparklers on the Fourth of July.

That way I don't feel bad about scuffing them up 🙂 I have a good time, the cameras get to go on a fun ride. Everyone is happy!

Take your equipment out, they will thank you.

 

[Bill Ely]

The one-half cases made by Luigi Crescenzi (www.leicatime.com) are great! You might consider one.

He made one for my Contax IIa (which you can see on his website under "Other Cameras), and it is beautiful, as well as very functional. I had him make the strap 13mm wide, instead of his usual 15mm, and I also designed the lettering on the shoulder pad. He shows a Contax IIIa on his website, but the case was made for my IIa. The classic red velvet lining was his idea.

We also collaborated on a similar case for my Contax G2, which is also shown. The smooth tan leather and the black finish of the camera are really complimentary.

I am very pleased with the cases. They don't protect the cameras 100%, of course, but they certainly help.

 

[sf]

Turning a Leica into a user?

Turning a Leica into a user?

With a hammer.

A sledge hammer.

They tend to withstand most other punishment.

Just forget its Divinity, and you should be OK