Ronald_H
Don't call me Ron
After a lot of looking at, thinking of and browsing for, I found my Leica starter kit. It’s a user (beater) M2, with a Voigtlaender Nokton 50mm, f1.5.
These are my predictions on my soon to be purchase:
5 people will congratulate me on the wisdom of my purchase, and wish me good luck and good fun.
4 people will express contempt for the Voigtlaender, because it hasn’t got the ‘build quality’ or ‘bokeh’ of a Summicron and almost demand I buy a used example of that lens.
3 people will mention the ‘affordable’ new Summarits.
3 people will state that they would have preferred an M3 instead, as the ‘ultimate’ classic Leica or maybe because of its longer EBL, overlooking the fact that I want an M2 due to the framelines.
3 people will try to convince me of the need for a CLA for such an old camera.
2 people will say that I would be better off with an M6, because of the light meter and because they are much newer.
2 people will be surprised that I dind’t buy a Bessa.
2 people will rush in to say that an M2 is harder to load, unless it has the quickload kit installed.
2 people will make some sort of generic Leica statement while never failing to mention that they have 2 M3’s, an M2, an M7 and 3 M8’s + 17 screw mounts (and never, ever make a photo)
2 people will show off their collection of FSU cameras and Jupiter lenses, all bought for next to nothing.
2 people will warn me about eBay scams.
2 people will scorn that film is dead and that I can only be happy with digital.
2 people will reveal that the M4-2 and M4-P are less loved and therefore cheaper.
1 person will recommend a Leica CL, Konica Hexar or a Minolta CLE.
1 person will ask why I didn’t consider a screw mount Leica.
1 person will suggest trying a nice copy like a Nicca or Canon 7 instead.
1 person will remember I just bought a Canonet and wonder why I didn’t shoot with that (capable) camera for a while before buying a Leica.
1 person will do the unthinkable and suggest I stick with my beloved Evil SLR Nikons.
Ok, what did I forget?
Anyway,
The M2 and Nokton are for sale at a reputable local dealer. They are very reasonably priced. I want a user, not a looker. The seller offered a CLA for 150 euros and gave me his own address and the address of his repair technician. I am free to have a look at the merchandise. I like Bessas but I have Leica envy/GAS. The M2 is a beautiful classic design with a longer EBL than Bessa’s and the nice 35-50-90 frame line combo. I have a tiny Gossen digiflash hand held meter. I can Sunny 16/guestimate light to a degree that hardly any shot on negative film will ever be lost. Voigtlaenders are very good and much, much cheaper than Leica lenses. If I will ever feel the need for that untangible ‘Leica glow’ I can still buy a Summicron (which I probably will). The Canonet is doing fine, but I just want a Leica.
These are my predictions on my soon to be purchase:
5 people will congratulate me on the wisdom of my purchase, and wish me good luck and good fun.
4 people will express contempt for the Voigtlaender, because it hasn’t got the ‘build quality’ or ‘bokeh’ of a Summicron and almost demand I buy a used example of that lens.
3 people will mention the ‘affordable’ new Summarits.
3 people will state that they would have preferred an M3 instead, as the ‘ultimate’ classic Leica or maybe because of its longer EBL, overlooking the fact that I want an M2 due to the framelines.
3 people will try to convince me of the need for a CLA for such an old camera.
2 people will say that I would be better off with an M6, because of the light meter and because they are much newer.
2 people will be surprised that I dind’t buy a Bessa.
2 people will rush in to say that an M2 is harder to load, unless it has the quickload kit installed.
2 people will make some sort of generic Leica statement while never failing to mention that they have 2 M3’s, an M2, an M7 and 3 M8’s + 17 screw mounts (and never, ever make a photo)
2 people will show off their collection of FSU cameras and Jupiter lenses, all bought for next to nothing.
2 people will warn me about eBay scams.
2 people will scorn that film is dead and that I can only be happy with digital.
2 people will reveal that the M4-2 and M4-P are less loved and therefore cheaper.
1 person will recommend a Leica CL, Konica Hexar or a Minolta CLE.
1 person will ask why I didn’t consider a screw mount Leica.
1 person will suggest trying a nice copy like a Nicca or Canon 7 instead.
1 person will remember I just bought a Canonet and wonder why I didn’t shoot with that (capable) camera for a while before buying a Leica.
1 person will do the unthinkable and suggest I stick with my beloved Evil SLR Nikons.
Ok, what did I forget?
Anyway,
The M2 and Nokton are for sale at a reputable local dealer. They are very reasonably priced. I want a user, not a looker. The seller offered a CLA for 150 euros and gave me his own address and the address of his repair technician. I am free to have a look at the merchandise. I like Bessas but I have Leica envy/GAS. The M2 is a beautiful classic design with a longer EBL than Bessa’s and the nice 35-50-90 frame line combo. I have a tiny Gossen digiflash hand held meter. I can Sunny 16/guestimate light to a degree that hardly any shot on negative film will ever be lost. Voigtlaenders are very good and much, much cheaper than Leica lenses. If I will ever feel the need for that untangible ‘Leica glow’ I can still buy a Summicron (which I probably will). The Canonet is doing fine, but I just want a Leica.
Last edited:
