Suggestions / advice for new camera

[Ray Kilby]

I paid around £1600 in the early 90's for a new M6 body. These pre owned cameras now go for between £2000 to 2500 approx. Wex photography UK are selling the new M6 at £4,990.00 I just looked up what £1500 was worth in today's money via Gemini AI and it said £3,750. So they were a little cheaper then. (if the AI is correct)

I tend to buy new bodies, if they are digital, as I want the latest tech, but now purchase film cameras and lenses pre owned, but only at a reputable store, with warranty and and I go to the actual shop and try them out. I wouldn't purchase via the internet.

I can't speak for other brands and how they have faired. I just don't know. My advice is only you know what you can afford and what you really want. And other range finders are excellent too. It's a choice thing. Buy the camera you want and which suits you and then enjoy it.

 

[boojum]

What to buy, what to buy, what to buy? As has been posted, Leicas lose little value. Buy one used and you can probably sell it for about what you paid or a little less which can be thought to be "rent." Digital, yes, new is better, but . . . The M9 still is prized for its colors. The bugaboo is the corroding sensor glass so you want one that Leica fixed or one an aftermarket tech has fixed. They were cheaper a few years back. A good sensor M9 has doubled in price in the last few years. Why? The color is popular.

The M240, a rugged camera with a great big honking battery, has very good color, more muted than the M9, and is neither as rare or as costly. Ooops, correct that, on eBay they both run US$3K to $4K and more. They are both good with good color. If you can swing it I'd say bite the bullet, get the Leica you lust after and not take the loss on buying and selling another camera on the way to the Leica. And as much as I complain about Leica and their atrocious service and pricing, they are great to shoot.

 

[Ray Kilby]

And as much as I complain about Leica and their atrocious service and pricing, they are great to shoot.

I hear you. It appears to be a common cry amongst Leica users. LOVE the product, despair of the company.

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

You can't go wrong with a used M6 from a reputable dealer, like Tamarkin. Also, I don't think you ever mentioned how your thinking on the Pentax Monochrome evolved, but I am pretty evangelical about that camera, which I adore, and I also think of the all-metal Pentax Limited series of lenses as similar in feel to Leica lenses, plus with rudimentary autofocus. One you have the controls set up as you like, you never need to think about them again.

 

[silvershadelynx]

@squirrel$$$bandit thanks for your response! I still find the Pentax K3 monochrome an interesting camera, but it has many buttons and options, so I prefer a simpler camera.

About a leica, for example, M6 camera: except look and feel, has it technical advantages when it comes to technical quality? I guess this is mostly influenced by it's lenses?

 

[Ray Kilby]

@squirrel$$$bandit thanks for your response! I still find the Pentax K3 monochrome an interesting camera, but it has many buttons and options, so I prefer a simpler camera.

About a leica, for example, M6 camera: except look and feel, has it technical advantages when it comes to technical quality? I guess this is mostly influenced by it's lenses?

It is very simple. Thats the beauty. I don't even bother half the time focussing by looking through the range finder, I just go by the numbers on the lenes. And the shutter is very gentle so you can easily hand hold at a 15th. I can get it down to an 8th with little problem,and with a bit of leaning against something even a 4th. It has basic speed. 1000 to 1 sec and B. It has iso settings from 6 to 6400. I leave it always at 400 and only use 400 film. The metering is simple. It's just fully manual. I dont bother ever with a flash, but it's around the 60th mark if you want to go there. The lenses are fantastic.

It fits in my hand and suits my way of taking images. Other cameras might suit you better. It's just choice and preference.