The Allure Of Leica

[dcsang]

I'm pondering again.

Now this is not necessarily a bad thing but I have only been using my M7 of late.
I have film loaded into my M2 but I haven't shot it in about 3-5 weeks.
My IIIc is being neglected.

Considering these three sentences I have been thinking of selling off my IIIc and the lenses I have for it. The Elmar 50 collapsible, the incredibly sharp 35mm f3.5 Summaron, the Canon 50mm f1.8, and the Jupiter 8.

Now.. I pick up the IIIc and it's got the 50mm Elmar on it. I hold the camera in my hands and fire off a few empty shots at the slow speeds and fast speeds just to be sure things are still "up to snuff" per se. I then look at the camera, and, marvel at the classic retro design, the shape, the wonderful knurled knobs and feel of the black sharkskin leatherette.

The camera, it seems, possesses something that I used to recall from my teenage years when I would hunker down in my parent's basement with my buddies from high school and we'd spend hours on the weekends playing Dungeons & Dragons. The camera has charisma. It's strong enough to make me reconsider. It's nice to look at, nice to hold, and although it's not being currently used at the frantic pace I'd like it to be used at I'm still not sure I could let it go.

I don't have this same feeling for any other digital gear I've ever sold. I didn't have it for my Hasselblad (although GeneW can attest that I have been considering getting another one at some point because of photos I have shot with that camera). I didn't have it for the M6 or M3; although the M3 was hard to give up.

I guess there will always be "another" piece of gear that I could chase after but why is it that this camera has such a strong character to it? Is it the fact that it makes that lovely "flip" sound when I trip the shutter? Is it because I can carry it in my coat pocket? Or maybe it's because, in a pinch, if I was in danger, I could use the butt end of it to knock someone unconscious? 😀 (ok ok .. so maybe the last question is taking things a bit too far)

But really.. have any of you, who have owned or do own a Leica ever noticed this about your cameras? I mean, in the end, yes they are tools to be used and can, in the right hands, produce stunning images (like most cameras) but unlike most tools, this camera, to me, has some type of personality.. I wish I could explain it... 😀

Still.. I must consider my current gear and whether I can let go of "my precious"...

Just meandering in thought,
Dave

 

[Trius]

What's wrong with keeping a friend?

What's wrong with keeping a friend?

Dave:

We infuse certain objects with emotional meaning. For most of us here, it's a camera, cameras, lenses, etc. I don't think there is anything at all wrong with this.

Consider a work of art ... say, a painting that one purchases for display in the home. It has no real "practical" use other than to be enjoyed. But no one in their right mind questions someone who is able to own a fine painting, drawing, etc.

So if a camera is, in our eyes, a work of art, a wonderful example of industrial design, why is that any different? Just because it has a "purpose" that is not currently being fulfilled doesn't mean it should be sold off, traded, etc. I think the expectation that "if you're not using it, you sholdn't own it", is false and I don't really understand it.

I have a bunch of OM bodies that I don't use often. In fact, right now when I grab an OM it's the same OM-1n body every time. If I ever unload OM gear, I'm pretty sure I'll be keeping at least one body and a few lenses if for nothing more than to be able to pick them up and dry fire or make a few exposures for nostaligia's sake. My digicam hangs around so I do ePay shots.

 

[FrankS]

Won't nswer your question, but just want to tell you to keep the IIIc for any WA screwmount lenses you may have. My IIf is cool too.

 

[Keith]

Nicely put ... of all my cameras that don't really get used much my IIIg is the one that is different?

They will have to take it from my 'cold dead hand'. 🙂

 

[back alley]

to be honest, i try not to become attached to my gear.

i really liked the m3, especially after i recovered it, but could not justify keeping it just because i liked it. i liked it better to hold and play with than to shoot with.
i think i prefer the old cameras in feel. i almost bought kim's canon vi-l just because i wanted a camera to fondle and play with.

but if i think about the photos the camera almost doesn't matter.

joe

 

[FrankS]

For fondlers, the camera is everything and the photo is nothing.
For others, the camera is nothing and the image is everything.
For me, I can find enjoyment in both aspects of photography.
I am a photographer and I am a gear-head.

 

[John Rountree]

I think the camera can transcend itself. We use the camera to record images that give us enjoyment. The very act of finding the image then using the camera provides a certain satisfaction in itself. So, the instrument that is responsible for bringing so much pleasure into our lives becomes more than a mere tool, it becomes a friend.

 

[FrankS]

I think that a carpenter would have a favourite hammer, one that feels better, even though his/her other hammers are just as capable of pounding in a nail.

 

[kevin m]

I am a photographer and I am a gear-head.

Frank, speaking as a person who had DAG put a black dot and an M3 wind lever on his M6TTL when it went in for a finder upgrade, I think you're in good company. 😀

 

[nf3996]

Speaking as someone who has twice sold an M6 and regretted it each time, I have to agree that using a Leica M camera is definitely a tactile experience. I too appreciate a fine photograph, but I also enjoy using a fine tool. I now have an MP and I'm determined to hang onto it!

 

[Flyfisher Tom]

Frank, speaking as a person who had DAG put a black dot and an M3 wind lever on his M6TTL when it went in for a finder upgrade, I think you're in good company. 😀

Ahaa ! The truth about the dot comes out ! 😀

 

[Magus]

Post deleted by posters request

 

[Ara Ghajanian]

Sell it and buy another toy.

 

[MCTuomey]

Interesting postings. I'm more of Ara's temper. Sometimes I think I have an aversion to gear, esp if it's sitting around. I sell quickly, very quickly, if the stuff isn't being used regularly. I don't see the point of having unused equipment - collecting is not really in my repertoire.

I do like using my M4 and 50/2.8, though. Also my CV 35/1.7 and 90/2.8 Tele-Elmarit on same. Have sold other more expensive lenses and bodies that, despite stellar reputations, didn't get my use vote. Guess I'm a kind of rube, as I don't hear the sirens calling ...

 

[Ara Ghajanian]

I'm more of Ara's temper. Sometimes I think I have an aversion to gear, esp if it's sitting around. I sell quickly, very quickly, if the stuff isn't being used regularly. I don't see the point of having unused equipment - collecting is not really in my repertoire.

Actually, I have a Rolleiflex TLR collecting dust for the last 13 years. The shutter needs to be repaired, though. Otherwise I'd use it.
Ara

 

[egpj]

The rangefinder cameras I have get used before anything else in the stable. That having been said, my IIf comes out for little forays where I want a camera that feels personal. I could use one of the MP's for something personal but it would not be the same. I guess it is the mindset I have when I approach taking a picture with the IIf compared to the MP. The IIf has no internal meter so I do not have that little double check of my external readings. Sometimes I do not even meter with the IIf. I'll look at the light in the area and make a decision about the settings. It's more personal using that old camera. The camera has become a part of me and I the camera, working together in the process of making an image. Everything from advancing the film to my decision on the shutter speed and f-stop. This cohesion of man and machine is beautiful. I don't get that out of the MP... as much. You know, I might be able to get that out of the MP if it had a 1:1 view finder and the framelines have always been a pet peeve of mine but I digress. For me the older cameras hold the mystique of photography.

 

[FrankS]

I got started in photography after finding my father's old camera in a closet. I wish it had been a Leica. I'm going to leave my children some items that are important to me, when I pass on. They can just sell them if they aren't interested, but I'll give tham that chance. Leica and other cameras, and a couple of BMW motorcycles, one for each.

 

[Rafael]

My M4 comes from my father. I don't know whether the joy of using it comes from the camera itself or from the fact that it belonged to my father and that he used it to take pictures of the family as I grew up. I suspect it's a bit of both. Whatever the source, there is a magic to using this particular camera. Occasionally, I have flirted with the idea of selling it. It's an original black paint M4. So, I could probably buy an MP and more with the proceeds. But thoughts of selling this camera are always short lived. I could never sell it.

So Frank, although it's only my personal experience that I have to convey, I can tell you that I treasure the Leica that my father passed down to me.

 

[borismach]

back alley.
I like your statement very much - if i think about the photos the camera almost doesn't matter.
bm

 

[Wayne R. Scott]

Dave,

I think that the only sensible thing to do is keep your old Leica and sell the nasty M2, at a very reasonable price. Please PM me 2 days before you list it🙂.

Wayne