New Body!

[SolaresLarrave]

Well, I finally made it: all the anxiety is over and now I'm really beaming with pride, as the owner of a magnificent new "used" Leica M6TTL body.

This time, in black. With a nice, black Summicron to match.

I'll be selling my chrome body as soon as it comes back from DAG, where I sent it to get a light leak fixed. Right now, I'm really happy!

Just wanted to share, not brag.

 

[back alley]

good on you francisco!
we all deserve to be happy!

joe

 

[taffer]

Francisco !

so you're no more a Leicaman Wannabe ! you're a complete Leicaman now ! 😉

And know what? Couldn't resist the siren call and bid on a Canonet QL GIII-17 last weekend. Surprisingly (or maybe there's something the other bidders knew and I passed), the final price was stuck to my first bid, that is $22.50 🙂

The black plastic eyepiece from the finder is missing, but seller claims the camera works properly (we'll see), and seeing how most of them went for more than $40, that was in fact my maximum bid. These cameras are not so rare in Spain, but on my local camera store they go for about EUR30... in non-working and ugly condition (!)

And... (this is the good part), looking for user reviews of the camera, I've ended finding one review for this camera... from our well known member SolaresLarrave !

Hehe, I always enjoy finding RF forum people on other forums too.

Anyway, congrats ! And a black body ! they are so... cute.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Let there be Leicas and Canonets for all!

Yeah, sure, but it sure would help to bring peace to the world...

Oscar, I'm really glad you finally have a Canonet! Now, if I were you, I'd get a EUR 30 Canonet for surgical purposes, say, like the eyepiece or the strap. Also, if you can get a hold of a decent automatic flash, there you go! Even the Minolta X220, a rather "rudimentary" light, works wonders with this camera, as you can alter the light output by changing the ISO settings. Another thing: swivel head to bounce light.

That's all folks! It all seems I'll be photographing the Thanksgiving Turkey with a nice Leica this year!

 

[rover]

Wow, you are a 2 Leica Man (for now)! Congratulations.

 

[Doug]

That's pretty nifty, Francisco! Which Summicron did you get with it?

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Doug, it's the classic 50/2 in black. Needless to say, it's a heavy body, but the lens feels strangely light in comparison with the chrome I had before.

I don't know yet if I should sell the chrome body, or keep it and get another lens. I'll flip a coin, though: two Leicas in the house of a snapshooter sounds a bit too much to me. WW YOU D?

 

[rover]

My natural, normal response would be to keep both.

But, that is a very big investment. I may feel guilty due to the sticker price and sell one to "pay" for the other.

I may (probably would) cheat though. Sell one to get another lens or something else that I "need."

For me, Leicas are really big toys, so having two would be hard to justify to myself.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

One vote for Sell... OK, I can take it like a man.

Now, it's my firm goal to sell it, pay then for the other and save for a nifty lens later.

Although I could be greedy and get a cheap one for the chrome body (not a 50, of course) and keep both. At times someone in my brains says that a Leica body is like money in the bank, but then there's this other voice that says that Leica market prices have only one way: down. Choices, choices...

Again, what would you do?

 

[back alley]

part of my thinking would involve my ability to afford keeping them both. do i have the money and there would be no real consequences?, then keep it.
would things be tight, like kraft dinner for a year tight? then sell it.
or just mean that i have to quit the fine wine and good cigars for a year, hmm, maybe keep it.
also, is my wife ok if i keep both? or will i be sleeping on the couch and beggin' for some lovin' for a year? sell, right now!!!

in a perfect world having 2 bodies and at least that many lenses would be great. that's why i decided not to sell my second mamiya 6 body.

can you afford it...?

joe

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Joe, the way you put it makes things look different. I will sell. Thanks a lot!

 

[taffer]

Francisco,

Joe made some very good points, maybe if you have to sacrifice something important in order to keep both, you'll be remembering that each time you use the camera, hence you wonderful hobby wouldn't be that fun anymore...

AND a Leica is big money... you can always make an effort and keep the camera, but you can also sell it, get a good money for it, and "invest" some part of this money in ebay "fishing". You know, I think we all enjoy winning some bargains there from time to time 😉

Even though sometimes they're not bargains at all but just a set of bits and pieces into a camera body, but oh well, that's gambling...

Also, remember that you can always bring your nice Canonet or another of the wonderful compact RF as a backup when shooting with your black Leica... you can even put Leica glass on some cheap FSU RF. Seems that the combination works well, but haven't experienced it, so if someone has more info I would be grateful.

BTW, I'll stay tuned for a parts Canonet (but I still have to wait that mine arrives 🙂, about the flash, I'm sure I had a little one that came with one of my SRTs, I don't even know if it works (thats how much flash I use 😉)

 

[Picture Guy]

Why not keep both for a month, shoot both for a month? An unexpected favorite might emerge.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

I just had a meeting with my accountant, a small pocket calculator. If I keep both bodies, even with one lens, I won't be able to do much in terms of buying film and getting it developed. Besides, there's an impending trip to Barcelona in March. Maybe, as Taffer put it, I may re-use some of the sale money in glass, Leica or otherwise, although, at this point, I've trained my eye to the limitations of the Canonet, and I can get used to doing a bit of foot zooming as well.

Any takers here? In any case, let's wait for the camera to come back from DAG, because I don't have it with me right now.

I may have to keep it for a bit of time for a simple reason: the after Christmas sales slump. I noticed last year that right after the holidays, ebay sales (of Contax G rangefinders) were slow, and so were offers; prices were going down and some items were being relisted. Seems that I'll have to keep the camera until February or March, when the demand may pick up a bit.

Thanks for your thoughtful comments to all! Now, it's just a matter of get the film back from the grocery store, where I left it for quick developing, and check the negs in search of "problems." I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Well, about a week ago, the chrome body came back from DAG, where it got a thorough check up and a nice diagnosis: the problem is not light leaks but poor film developing. I put it in its original box, thinking about photographing it in January, to sell it later on eBay.

However, last night I needed to run a battery check/comparison, so I took it out of the box. It looked so beautiful and shiny that I decided to give it to myself as a Christmas gift. I'll have to save money to get a lens for it, but then, it doesn't need to be Leica glass; there are choices usable with lens-mount adapters, like a Jupiter 9 or an Ultron... In any case, that's my Xmas gift!

Besides, it's pretty much like having money in the bank...

Merry Christmas to all!! 🙂

 

[Doug]

Congratulations on twisting Santa's arm! A very pleasant gift indeed, and so conveniently at hand. 🙂

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Well, let's hope that a "self-inflicted" gift still counts...

 

[rover]

Oh it does. I am close to buying my gift for every reason this year, and it will count.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Well, the alternate body is out, with straps already on and ready to go. And I'm fishing for a wide angle lens.

How are things in your neck of the woods? Do we see a high-quality TLR coming your way? 🙂

 

[rover]

I think I will surprise you Francisco when I make my move, maybe this week, probably next. I will let you know.