SLR guy trying to like an M2 outfit

[Koolzakukumba]

Hi folks,

I've been using 35mm SLRs for almost 40 years but I recently bought a Leica M outfit and have started writing about my trials and tribulations on my blog. It's a little on the negative side at the moment but I'm really trying to like the rangefinder. It might be of interest to some of you who are thinking about an M. I'm up to the third instalment which is here but you can read the first two parts by scrolling down to the bottom of the post.

Constructive criticism is welcomed in the comments section on my blog but please don't be too hard on me - i'm doing my best to get as comfortable with the M2 as I am with my OM2.

 

[Lauffray]

I like your Gibson-esque shots, especially the first one.

You're probably not liking the weird change at first, only the uncomfortable and negative stick out, but that's fine, I think I had some of the same thoughts at first too.
You might grow to like it or maybe not, I don't think it's a camera for everything

 

[Filzkoeter]

I enjoyed reading your Leica diaries. I for example really don't like using SLRs or other cameras with TTL viewing. It feels much too restricted for me, it cuts down my "flow" when photographing.

Also your problem with the M2 and the band of light on the right side. It looks to me as if it needs to have it's shutter brake slightly adjusted (it's propably too stiff). This is very easy to do and shouldn't take more then 5 minutes of your time.

http://www.pentax-manuals.com/manuals/service/leica%20basic%20repair.pdf

Figure 6 - Closing curtain brake adjustment - needs to be turned sligtly (10-20 degrees) counterclockwise


Edit: you can usually see the end of the closing curtain after the shutter is fired... it shows more on the slow speeds <1/15 and less on the faster speeds >1/30

It's okay if you can see ~1mm of the end after firing the shutter at slow speed (the end is clamped with 2 sets of "perforations", or whatever you call then... if you can see only one set as in the picture above it should be usually okay). If the end of the closing curtain shows more then in the picture above, turn the brake as I described.
At the fast speeds the clamped end should more or less end at the film gate.

 

[rscheffler]

Back in the early 90s I acquired an M3 with a 50 and 90. Up until then I was only familiar with SLRs, with under 10 years experience, so still relatively new in photography. It didn't really work out for me and I sold the kit within a year. At that point I was getting the results I wanted more easily with SLRs.

Fast forward about 20 years and I took a chance on a used M9 and a few lower cost lenses to determine whether RF could address aspects of my DSLR photography with which I was growing increasingly unhappy.

Contrary to my experience with the M3, I found the M9 easy to learn and quickly became proficient with it. Some of it may have been the extra 20 years of photography experience, but I think much of the success was because it was digital. It was simply a lot faster and easier to get the feedback I needed to correct early mistakes. I could fine tune my technique and troubleshoot technical problems as I made each image thanks to instant review. Even then, looking back, it probably took me months of fairly regular outings to smooth out the process and become comfortable with the system.

Considering that you're starting fresh with a film-based system, you should give it a fair amount of time to work out the kinks and grow comfortable with the rangefinder approach.

Oh, and yes, I never cap the lens that's on the camera. Caps are also off all lenses in the bag during an outing.

Bottom line - give it time.

 

[Lauffray]

Bottom line - give it time.

I agree with this, I also think the RF system is an acquired taste and that SLRs are a little less niche

 

[Koolzakukumba]

Figure 6 - Closing curtain brake adjustment - needs to be turned sligtly (10-20 degrees) counterclockwise


Edit: you can usually see the end of the closing curtain after the shutter is fired... it shows more on the slow speeds <1/15 and less on the faster speeds >1/30

It's okay if you can see ~1mm of the end after firing the shutter at slow speed (the end is clamped with 2 sets of "perforations", or whatever you call then... if you can see only one set as in the picture above it should be usually okay). If the end of the closing curtain shows more then in the picture above, turn the brake as I described.
At the fast speeds the clamped end should more or less end at the film gate.

That's very interesting, Miko. Thank you. I'll have a look at the camera and see if I can sort it out.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

I like what you've written, Bruce. In fact, I left a comment and added your blog to the link list of my own blog about shooting with an M4-2. Take a look at it (link's in my signature) and feel free to comment as well!

 

[Dan Daniel]

Keep going with the rangefinder, but don't drive yourself nuts. After almost two years of playing with an M3 kit, I sold it off. I know what the name of this forum is, so I won't be excessively rude. I will say, though, that there is a reason that Leica and other rangefinders stopped being used by most photographers after SLRs become reliable cameras. If rangefinders were the best camera design for most people, they would be the most common type of camera. They aren't the most common; draw your own conclusion 🙂

Hey, have you tried a Rolleiflex TLR? After you sell off the Leica kit, look into one for your next camera adventure!

 

[Koolzakukumba]

Keep going with the rangefinder, but don't drive yourself nuts. After almost two years of playing with an M3 kit, I sold it off. I know what the name of this forum is, so I won't be excessively rude. I will say, though, that there is a reason that Leica and other rangefinders stopped being used by most photographers after SLRs become reliable cameras. If rangefinders were the best camera design for most people, they would be the most common type of camera. They aren't the most common; draw your own conclusion 🙂

Hey, have you tried a Rolleiflex TLR? After you sell off the Leica kit, look into one for your next camera adventure!

Got three, Dan. 😱. 2.8f, MX EVS and a Standard from 1932. Love 'em all!

 

[Koolzakukumba]

I like what you've written, Bruce. In fact, I left a comment and added your blog to the link list of my own blog about shooting with an M4-2. Take a look at it (link's in my signature) and feel free to comment as well!

That's very good of you, Francisco. Thank you.

 

[MCTuomey]

enjoyable read and hats off to your adventure with film M's. take care, lest the considerable allure of B&W film and leica steal your senses ...

 

[Vics]

Annie Leibovitz said she didn't think a dyed-in-the-wool SLR shooter could ever get comfortable with a rangefinder.

 

[John E Earley]

I really enjoyed the diaries. As an on-again, off-again RF user I find I have very mixed feelings about using a rangefinder. You accurately touched on most of the issues both positive and negative.

 

[semilog]

Hey, RF's aren't for everyone. Never were, never will be.

It's worth trying, even trying hard, to like them. But they are no panacea and many great photographers do their best work with something else.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Smart ... idea to draw attention to the blog with negative opinion about Leica.
Please, let M2 go, it will do better in loving hands.

I'm not SLR guy at all, sorry.

 

[geetist]

i'm quite the opposite. Just sold my last leica body today on the forum, and I'm gonna be using an FM2 and an F3 from now on. Leicas are extremely good cameras for walking around and capturing random moments (which SLRs are not that terrible at), but other than that SLRs win at almost every other types of shooting.

 

[leicapixie]

I was surprised to see how many of Leica faults you noted.
In such a short time!
They are all true.
I have used M3 since the 50's, my own since 1966.
My M3 received new in 1967, arrived with no working RF.:bang:
Assembly finished in South Africa.
I was not offered another body..
3 signatures on my Guarantee card.
Only one Japanese camera, Spotmatic arrived jammed from Hong Kong.
It had a "Tested" sticker from JCII !
A screw from their collimator had come loose in test and fallen into my SP.
It was immediately repaired and the JCII was billed..
Leica seems to need adjustments and services if used too little or too much.
I have read your blog and agree.
How to overcome the foibles of RF system.
Use the M2 and one lens only, for a few months.
No SLR in this period.
Use depth of field scales plus RF.
Don't try to do "exact" shooting but freer.
Process the films, make a few prints.. not just scans.
The SLR is now used alone!
Keep to one lens, say the 50mm as in RF.
Use the SLR to see beautifully.
Turn the lens around, hand held and do close ups etc.
Use the effects of wide apertures.
See how much depth of field a 50mm really has at smaller apertures.
If your SLR is Nikon, don't use it with your M!
Everything is other-way round, causing confusion.
Old joke! Don't use a Leica with a Nikon.
If one stops working,
you will always have the Nikon..
My Pentaxes and later Nikon-F system never needed services.
The Nikons needed repairs due to dropping or "things" thrown at me and Nikon.
Civil Disturbances in a changing South Africa.
I love my Leica M but I really like SLR.
Oh! Is there differences between Leica results and say Pentax.
Yes! If i shot similar scenes and subjects together, the Pentax Takumars were more grainy!
Erwin Puts explains why some lenses are more grainy..
I found it out making larger prints.
Never sell a Leica.
The MD maybe..

 

[dave lackey]

Jeez, going from a metered camera after 40 years. To an M3.

I, too, went the same route with a perfect S3 2000 kit. I was gobsmacked with the camera but my results were spotty at best. Sold it and got the M3. It was easier with the patch and focusing but, again, spotty results.

So I locked up all the SLR gear both digital and film. Yep, I focused on the M3. It took almost a year to get the results I wanted using a crappy meter. Fast forward... I now use the M3, and M6 for most "serious" work. Although I have been on sabbatical for awhile, I am roaring back with my Nikon SLRs and a resurrected DSLR (free gift after it was dunked in a river!).

For me, each system has different tasks they are suited for... The variations are endless. Even today, I enjoy the SLR experience especially with film. More so than anything else. But historically, I like my results with the M bodies the best.

This year, I will dedicate more exclusive time with the Leica R8. How is that for "hybrid-ity"? LOL. It is a winding rabbit hole with no end.

I figure I will spend the rest of my life trying to master the M3. Don't get discouraged.. The brain works a different way with an M3 than it does with an SLR... It takes time for bonding!

Good luck, and enjoy the adventure!

 

[De_Corday]

As a dedicated SLR shooter saving for a rangefinder... Are the skills a rangefinder demands applicable back to SLR shooting, or are they just different animals?

 

[oltimer]

Hi folks,

I've been using 35mm SLRs for almost 40 years but I recently bought a Leica M outfit and have started writing about my trials and tribulations on my blog. It's a little on the negative side at the moment but I'm really trying to like the rangefinder. It might be of interest to some of you who are thinking about an M. I'm up to the third instalment which is here but you can read the first two parts by scrolling down to the bottom of the post.

Constructive criticism is welcomed in the comments section on my blog but please don't be too hard on me - i'm doing my best to get as comfortable with the M2 as I am with my OM2.

I just about misread the headline. In 1966 it would have said; "thinking of going to the newer model SLR and giving up my M3". Good luck on your transition. You will enjoy it.