Putting your mark on a new camera.

i bought a very "slightly' used m6 ttl and 35mm asph 'cron that still had the plastic cover on the base, unfilled warranty (passport) cards, completely un-marked pressure plate and hardly a fingerprint on it (i think it was one of those "how do you load film in this damn thing... oh forget it! i'm selling it!!!" leica's).
since then it's been halfway around the world, seen 100's of rolls of film, many rainstorms, snowstorms, windstorms, and customs agents. 50mm's, 35mm's, 75mm's... sf 20's, sb-24's... finders... and on, and on, and on.
it will never, never, never leave my hands. i will wear through the finish, leather and everything else.
sorry, what am i trying to say? yeah, i guess i FULLY understand.
john
 
steph,
You posted that you are looking at a Ikon as your new camera, if you plan on keeping it FOREVER and passing it down in the family, why not buy something purely mechanical that will last...
Leica etc.

The Ikon finish quality is poor and it relies on a circuit board for more than just the meter...

Its your camera just sharing my opinion...

I am trying to decide digital slr vs leica m6
 
Hi Stephanie -

I COMPLETELY understand what you have written. I recommend either an MP or MP3. Black or Chrome will depend on what kind of person you are (I'm a dyed in the wool chrome person and when it came time to buy a companion for my chrome M6, I bought a chrome MP, even though I had thought I wanted the black one).

All the best,
Alex
 
Hmm. Guess I feel the need to be a bit contrarian. We've discussed many of the surrounding issues here in the past. I think, in the end, that the distinction between a new camera and an old camera is false - what you need to concern yourself with is what you need to perform what you desire to do with the camera. (As I like to say about many things, what I want is rarely what I need... :bang: )

I have no interest in trying to prescribe a camera model to you, Stephanie, but would rather that you be certain that whatever camera you end up owning is the one able to do what you need it to do. That may very well be the Ikon. It may not, just as easily.

My most recent aquisiton is terribly impractical - a 2x3 Speed Graphic - but it enables me to do the kind of shooting I want to do when that need is not better served by, oh, the CL or the T90 or anything else I own.

In the end, virginity is over rated... 😱

😉

William
 
I think what William says is true, too, but if you want a new camera (and there is, to my mind, a qualitative difference between owning new vs. used), then I suppose it is assumed that you would get one that coincides with your artistic purpose.

Cheers,
Alex
 
Film or digital?

I'd go for a new Zeiss Ikon, really.

Or maybe an old, hardly used Nikon F-series. Those will brass well, have more lenses than you can shake a stick at, will last forever and will still turn heads. I'm not a Nikon guy myself but damn those F-series look good! And they've through many wars and are proven to be real work horses.
 
FrankS said:
Steph should buy your M2, Remy! I would if I didn't already have one.
Click to expand...

Steph, you can if you want. 🙂 But there are plenty of scuffs on it already, so putting your own mark on it will be difficult. You'll leave an impression, though, with that Japanesque Gold cover on it. 😛
 
First of all, welcome back; it seems I have not seen words from you in awhile. Second, congrats on what sounds like a good opportunity that I'm sure you'll grow with as a photographer. Third, I like your spirit and this plan of yours: one camera solely owned by you, new to you, used only by you. Have I ever had that thought? No, but for me it is not too late: my silver MP was bought new, as was my C/V R2S; either could/would be kept only by me in this life. I do not forsee selling either so they will continue to have my mark (s) on them. Good luck picking a camera, but please do not put too much pressure on yourself because it is "the last new camera" you will buy. Ultimately, the images and their ability to tell the world what you feel and see are the most important thing.

Yep, glad you are back.
 
Steph: I suppose there's something to the "one owner" thing with regard to cameras (both of my Hexar RF bodies, and all three M-Hexanon lenses between them, were purchased new). Then again, I wouldn't pass up the chance to buy, say, a good-condition Leica M6 classic or TTL (something I hope to add to my setup in perhaps a year or so). The important part about the camera is how well, how effortlessly, you work with it...that's the only way I end up "bonding" with any particular camera. Whatever previous life it led with someone else has little bearing in terms of what happens when it's in my hands. The important "mark" to be made will be with the images made with the camera.

That being said, absolutely get the camera that you really, really want. I think that might be easier buying used (especially Leica, where's you can easily come across examples in literally like-new condition), but if absolutely-new is what your heart's telling you, and you get the bucks together, go for it. Your point of view.


- Barrett
 
If Remy was selling his M2 and I had the money to buy it, there's no way I'd turn it down. Reasoning: I like the covering. I don't know if it's that I really do have his same taste in loud camera coverings or if it's just that it's so off the wall that it seems exactly me.

The next thing, of course, would be what lens to get. 😉
 
Hi Stephanie, I know exactly what you mean about putting your mark on a camera. I recently had the same impulse as you and agonized about it for a long time. I ended up walking off the deep end with my purchase, but I think you could have a very good time making a Zeiss Ikon your own.

On the other hand, a fully mechanical body like the M2 is great, and you're almost assured you'll be able to have it serviced for the rest of your life.
 
I agree with Barrett. New may be nice, but ultimately it all comes down to how you and the camera 'bond' when shooting. I've used some cameras that were new or as good as new, or cameras that I know the stories of (my dad's, for example), but never really bonded with them nor felt the need to. Recently borrowed an M4-P one day for shooting some assignments (theatre and portrait) and my own cameras didn't even come out of the bag... The M4-P felt just right to me. Or, better yet; I didn't even feel it at all.

I bought it the day after, even though I previously thought rangefinders might have been nothing for me. I wouldn't say I bonded to it in an emotional way... More like a physical, photographical thing. I know this is one of these age-old rangefinder cliches but I have to admit it fits: it is the first camera that does not get between me and the subject.

Ultimately that's what it comes down to... Not the cosmetics, not the emotional bonding... Just the pictures.
 
This does sound like a discussion about pre-marrital sex, virginity, etc 😀

Under the bottom line, all available M-mount cameras are good. The
difference is in the details. These details are subjective, and nothing
beats you hand-holding the camera before deciding to buy it.

It's also a question about availability vs. budget. Some stuff you can
only buy used (like an M2). In a world where a good M2 is cheaper
than a new Bessa R[32], I would pick the M2, but that's just me.

And as you have said before, S, the body is just the box attached to the
lenses; and you can spend MUCH more money on new lenses than
on the body, be it CV, Zeiss, Leitz or others.

Roland.
 
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