Ruhayat
Well-known
Not writing this for anyone in particular, just thought I would share a story. It might help prospective Leica buyers, who knows. I started off on the Leica road inadvertently when I bought a Panasonic LC40 and everyone complimented the photos I took with it. This perplexed me because I felt I was (am) an average photographer, so it must have been the camera.
I eventually decided it must be the lens it was using - the Vario Summicron from a company with an odd name of "Leica". I didn't even know how to pronounce it, at first. One thing led to another and I ended up with a "proper" Leica - the Digilux 2 and was happy with that for 2 years. Then I came across a brand new, chrome M6TTL sitting on the shelf.
Since then, within 4 years, I have owned every M model between the MDa and the M8 (except for the M4-2, which I avoided due to the documented issues with it).
My first "real" Leica was the M6TTL, which I bought because it was brand new, and cheap (cost the same as a used copy now). I was never entirely happy with it, though, cos it was heavy (maybe because at the time the only Leica lens I could afford was a cheap 90mm pre-ASPH Summicron!), it had a chrome finish (which attracted attention sometimes), and because I kept thinking I really need That Other (undefinable) Leica, which became the story of my life, really.😀
My next Leica was a black chrome M7, which I loved for its AE mode. Travel photos were so much easier to do cos you could grab shots faster. Paired with the 28mm Elmarit (was using the R version at the time, hyperfocused) it was the perfect snapshot camera. But that was also why I eventually got bored of it, alas.
Then I found a black chrome M4-P. I loved this camera because it was so light and felt smaller in my hand, somehow. The unit I bought was a beater so I was happy to bring it everywhere, whereas the M6TTL always felt precious (since I bought it brand new, even more so) and the M7 felt like a brick compared to the M4-P. I used it mainly with a 50mm 1.5 Summarit, which was a good fit because of the M4-P's bigger framelines for the 50. But I wasn't completely happy with the M4-P because it lacked a meter and while that was fun, it also meant I couldn't use it as my sole camera every time.
After I had 3 Leica Ms I got guilty so decided to sell off the M6TTL. It wasn't long before I got an M8, though. Once I got the M8, I got rid of the M7 because I felt it was a duplication of the AE camera I need. Bad mistake: I never got on with the M8: too fat, didn't feel like a Leica in my hand, didn't *sound* like a Leica, either. Mated to a 35mm 1.2 Nokton I felt I had a great digital Noctilux wannabe set up. But while it made distinctive images (mainly cos of the Nokton), the size and weight of the combo made me think I might as well just carry my Pentax K5 with 50mm 1.4 Zeiss Planar, which made a more pleasing shutter sound to boot. I sold it off after just 2 months.
And then as luck would have it I came across an MD-a, the "blind" Leica. What genius! The most basic M of all - no meter, no viewfinder, no rangefinder. It is lighter than the M4-P but is made of brass (it's based on the M4 chassis). I weighed the two options and decided to sell the M4-P to a friend and keep the MD-a.
But having a blind Leica is a bit limiting, so when a beater M6 came up for peanuts, I pondered for a couple of weeks. After a few weeks and the M6 was still up for sale, I thought it must be destiny somehow 🙄 and bought it. I enjoy it more than I did my M6TTL: it feels lighter, the skin makes it look more handsome (even though the top is already bubbling), it's black chrome, and it's in user condition so like the M4-P I didn't feel worried about taking it everywhere.
After my mum passed away last week I thought I should pare down my cameras to the basics. Just maintain one camera and maybe just a couple of lenses at the most (maybe a 28mm Summicron which I don't own but have tested and liked a lot more than my Elmarit ASPH, to pair with my 75mm Summarit which gives stunning photos).
I did entertain an MP, which someone is putting up for sale with a third discount off the new price. But I dunno. I just didn't like the glossy black paint when new. Maybe if I found a beat-up, brassed copy I might jump on it. Or maybe one of these days I will get me a brassed M4, which I have an inexplicable yearning for.
Anyway. So there it is. My Leica journey. A yarn for a slow day. If you care to share yours, let's hear it!
I eventually decided it must be the lens it was using - the Vario Summicron from a company with an odd name of "Leica". I didn't even know how to pronounce it, at first. One thing led to another and I ended up with a "proper" Leica - the Digilux 2 and was happy with that for 2 years. Then I came across a brand new, chrome M6TTL sitting on the shelf.
Since then, within 4 years, I have owned every M model between the MDa and the M8 (except for the M4-2, which I avoided due to the documented issues with it).
My first "real" Leica was the M6TTL, which I bought because it was brand new, and cheap (cost the same as a used copy now). I was never entirely happy with it, though, cos it was heavy (maybe because at the time the only Leica lens I could afford was a cheap 90mm pre-ASPH Summicron!), it had a chrome finish (which attracted attention sometimes), and because I kept thinking I really need That Other (undefinable) Leica, which became the story of my life, really.😀
My next Leica was a black chrome M7, which I loved for its AE mode. Travel photos were so much easier to do cos you could grab shots faster. Paired with the 28mm Elmarit (was using the R version at the time, hyperfocused) it was the perfect snapshot camera. But that was also why I eventually got bored of it, alas.
Then I found a black chrome M4-P. I loved this camera because it was so light and felt smaller in my hand, somehow. The unit I bought was a beater so I was happy to bring it everywhere, whereas the M6TTL always felt precious (since I bought it brand new, even more so) and the M7 felt like a brick compared to the M4-P. I used it mainly with a 50mm 1.5 Summarit, which was a good fit because of the M4-P's bigger framelines for the 50. But I wasn't completely happy with the M4-P because it lacked a meter and while that was fun, it also meant I couldn't use it as my sole camera every time.
After I had 3 Leica Ms I got guilty so decided to sell off the M6TTL. It wasn't long before I got an M8, though. Once I got the M8, I got rid of the M7 because I felt it was a duplication of the AE camera I need. Bad mistake: I never got on with the M8: too fat, didn't feel like a Leica in my hand, didn't *sound* like a Leica, either. Mated to a 35mm 1.2 Nokton I felt I had a great digital Noctilux wannabe set up. But while it made distinctive images (mainly cos of the Nokton), the size and weight of the combo made me think I might as well just carry my Pentax K5 with 50mm 1.4 Zeiss Planar, which made a more pleasing shutter sound to boot. I sold it off after just 2 months.
And then as luck would have it I came across an MD-a, the "blind" Leica. What genius! The most basic M of all - no meter, no viewfinder, no rangefinder. It is lighter than the M4-P but is made of brass (it's based on the M4 chassis). I weighed the two options and decided to sell the M4-P to a friend and keep the MD-a.
But having a blind Leica is a bit limiting, so when a beater M6 came up for peanuts, I pondered for a couple of weeks. After a few weeks and the M6 was still up for sale, I thought it must be destiny somehow 🙄 and bought it. I enjoy it more than I did my M6TTL: it feels lighter, the skin makes it look more handsome (even though the top is already bubbling), it's black chrome, and it's in user condition so like the M4-P I didn't feel worried about taking it everywhere.
After my mum passed away last week I thought I should pare down my cameras to the basics. Just maintain one camera and maybe just a couple of lenses at the most (maybe a 28mm Summicron which I don't own but have tested and liked a lot more than my Elmarit ASPH, to pair with my 75mm Summarit which gives stunning photos).
I did entertain an MP, which someone is putting up for sale with a third discount off the new price. But I dunno. I just didn't like the glossy black paint when new. Maybe if I found a beat-up, brassed copy I might jump on it. Or maybe one of these days I will get me a brassed M4, which I have an inexplicable yearning for.
Anyway. So there it is. My Leica journey. A yarn for a slow day. If you care to share yours, let's hear it!
