Leica M6, M7 in a Digital World?

[bherman]

All;

I am a digital photographer D300, 24-70mm F/2.8 AF-S Nikkor, 70-200mm F/2.8G AF-S, 14-24mm F/2.8 G AF-S etc. Pro Glass.

I also own a Nikon P5000 10MP compact digital. This camera is ok. In perfect lighting, not too big of an enlargement etc.

I've owned Leicas in the past and really enjoyed them. I don't have any Leica glass anymore, but (perhaps I'm nuts), I'm thinking about a Leica M6 or M7 (used) and a 50mm Summicron or Summarit. The only 35mm that I own now is a Rollei 35 (German) with the Tessar lens.

Sometimes I just want to "go back to basics", if you know what I mean. I use the Rollei when I want to travel light and get good results, but it's no Leica.

On the flipside, it's becoming more difficult to get 35mm film developed by a decent lab.
Should I just save my money $$? Is there any merit to this? I'm not interested in an M8

Thanks

Brad

 

[Ben Z]

it's becoming more difficult to get 35mm film developed by a decent lab.

That's my problem. I personally would be happy to shoot the 300 or so rolls of color and chromogenic film I have in the freezer, but the last independent lab within 50 miles of here just went out of business. Making 2 round trips of 110 miles each, with gas @ $4+/gal would take more dedication to film than I can muster, and paying for shipping on top of processing, likewise. I might try using Costco again, but I had very bad luck with them before (lost film).

If you can develop your own (I can do b&w but don't have the temperature controls for color) then you just have to reconcile yourself with the time and effort of scanning. Personally except for a very occasional kick, I don't have the gumption for it. I haven't bought a film camera in ages, and recently sold both of my M6's (which leaves me with 2x M4's and a couple of screwmounts, plus some Nikons and a couple Rolleis...so I'm hardly devoid of film cameras 😀) Would I buy an M6 now? Not in my situation. But yours may be different.

 

[willie_901]

If you can not find a reliable lab to process color film, then the only way to get back to basics would be to use B&W film and develop it yourself.

If you've never done it, B&W development is straightforward. You do not need a darkroom. But you will need to scan your developed negatives. While this is not tedious to me, some people think it's a drag.

I use a local photo lab (1 mile away) to develop color C41 film. They develop the roll and scan the negatives to a CD for $7.44. Each frame is a 6 MP jpeg. These are great for proofs and computer screen display. I adjust the color cast and contrast in Lightroom. I re-scan frames I want to print as large 4800 ppi, 48 bit tiff files.

I scan my home-developed B&W film as small color tiff files (1200 or 2400 ppi). I remove any color cast using HSL desaturate in Lightroom. Again, keepers are rescanned as large tiff files.

william

 

[OurManInTangier]

I use the Nikon D3's for work, astonishingly good btw (...especially compared to their predecessors,) and have recently bought an M8 with which I am very happy. However I still use my M6's for what I've always used them for, black and white film.

I use the Nikons and M8 for colour work simply because I wanted to do more colour photography but, like you, find fewer and fewer reliable labs, whereas the b/w I soup in my bath, scan in my study and can fibre print at a friend's house if I wish.

One thing I would say that I have found. Before buying my second M6 body and the M8 I had thought about buying an M7, simply for the Aperture Priority mode - a mode I tend to shoot in with SLR's. However, I found with the M8 that I've gone back to a fully manual mode as I use on my M6's as I meter for light and shade and adjust as I move rather than rely on the AP system which can be fooled with backlighting etc when you're shooting quickly. Maybe if I simply adjusted my habits but I find it quicker and simpler to do it the old fashioned way and it ensures no confusion when switching between the M8 and M6.

Essentially, IMHO, you simply can't go wrong with an M6.

Hope you find the answer you're looking for

 

[Doctor Zero]

Bherman, it may also depend whether or not you make your living from photography? The speed with which clients want to see results may play into this.

I do not claim to have any answers, but am pondering something similar, if perhaps from the other side. I am currently all film with really no interest in digital. Unless a digital camera was made that was affordable(ish) and had as many buttons as my Bessa R2! Yes, I know, you can put even a D3 in manual and ignore the rest, but that seems a waste of technology somehow.

So my thoughts at the moment are to find a good portable digital -possibly something like the Canon G9 or equivalent other brand- and use that for day-to-day shooting and things the parents/in-laws/etc. want copies of soon. And then change the R2 for a Leica, possibly an M2, and use that for my own personal fun/artsy stuff, where no-one but me really cares how long it takes before I see the results. And yes, maybe go black-and-white and do my own developing/scanning.

Happily (?!) at the moment I'm "in between jobs" (for which read: waiting for a visa!) so I can think lots before commiting any money.

Whichever way - enjoy what you do and good light!

Doctor Zero

 

[Paul C. Perkins MD]

Back to basics? Get an M-2 or an M-4. Nuff said.

 

[dave lackey]

Wait a minute...you are considering the costs of DRIVING? All the pro labs in the Atlanta area suggest mailing everything to them both ways which is very cheap and pretty fast.

So, what's the problem with developing your film? Just buy the M6 or M7 and enjoy life while you still can. If you do not, you will surely regret it. That is why I shoot both film and digital. I use my D2 bodies for the professional work for which I get paid... but the film...heh, heh...that is for me!

Enjoy your Leicas!