The Feel of an M

Vics said:
Wow. I have some comments and questions. One: I agree with your daughter about the smell of film. I've always loved it. Two: Tell me more about your method of fishing the leader back out of the cassette.
As to the feel of the M camera, I too love the way the M3 "disappears" when I'm using it. after a few minutes, I don't even feel the weight of it. As you say, it just becomes part of you. I've never had a digital camera other than a cast-off from my wife that I use for eBay and the like, but I'll keep shooting film till they stop making it. The feel of the M3 has a lot to with that.
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Fishing leaders? For a moment, I thought I was on the fly-fishing forum.;)

An old trick. For a leader wrapped into the cassette, just get an old strip of film, lick it well, stick it into the cassette as far as it will go and the new film leader will come straight out either on the first attempt or a few subsequent attempts until you get to be an expert at extracting!:)

Good to carry an old film strip around in your bag. If you like the taste, just replace it periodically with a new strip.:D
 
dave lackey said:
Fishing leaders? For a moment, I thought I was on the fly-fishing forum.;)

An old trick. For a leader wrapped into the cassette, just get an old strip of film, lick it well, stick it into the cassette as far as it will go and the new film leader will come straight out either on the first attempt or a few subsequent attempts until you get to be an expert at extracting!:)

Good to carry an old film strip around in your bag. If you like the taste, just replace it periodically with a new strip.:D
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Emulsion side to emulsion side (stickiest) is best, right?
 
Smell of film, yes, I understand that, and I'd miss it if I switched to digital. As for Leica feel, hmm, maybe not sure, I certainly get that "quality camera" feel, but don't feel it's specific to Leica. Of course it's such a personal thing, that I can understand that you only get it from Leica.
 
My 5-year old can take good photos with a film compact (and she even managed it with my M2, although I focused it first). She is hopeless with a digicam; the lack of a viewfinder seems to flummox her.
 
For me, there is a deliciously tactile experience to shooting with a film M. Even the M9 doesn't have this feeling, which is a combination of the slimmer body, soft shutter and silky wind-lever. The M7 seems to feel even more solid than the M9, which is probably due to the slightly heavier weight but in a smaller package.

I used to shoot with a Canon 30D; it was my main camera for almost two years. After that I bought a 5D Mark II. I had to leave the 5DII at home when I went on a trip, and when I picked it up again, I thought, 'ah, this is what a real camera feels like'. Strangely, the 5DII no longer gives me this feeling, but the M7 does. The Contax T3 gives me that 'real camera' feeling but the Ricoh GRD or GXR does not.

I think there may be an associational component, too. In my mind, I know that the M9 is full of circuits and wires, whereas the M7 holds the robust legacy of the film M's. So at least for me, there is an association of film vs. digital, too.
 
Wow!! I had no idea you could do this - I have a bunch of rolls that need this fishing procedure!
Thanks, I keep learning tricks on RFF :)!


dave lackey said:
Fishing leaders? For a moment, I thought I was on the fly-fishing forum.;)

An old trick. For a leader wrapped into the cassette, just get an old strip of film, lick it well, stick it into the cassette as far as it will go and the new film leader will come straight out either on the first attempt or a few subsequent attempts until you get to be an expert at extracting!:)

Good to carry an old film strip around in your bag. If you like the taste, just replace it periodically with a new strip.:D
Click to expand...
 
daninjc said:
Wow!! I had no idea you could do this - I have a bunch of rolls that need this fishing procedure!
Thanks, I keep learning tricks on RFF :)!
Click to expand...
This is indeed a neat trick, if you don't have one of those thin stainless strips (called a film retriever IIRC) made for this purpose. Used in the same way, with a little hook formed to catch a sprocket hole. Used to carry one in my bag.

Edit: Well, looks like they're still around!
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=film+retriever&N=0&InitialSearch=yes
 
My short list contains Leica M2 and M3, Barnacks, my Nikkormat FTn's, the sadly-departed Mamiya C330 and Horseman 970.

At one time I used to shoot the Nikon F100 and the D300, which I both found very impressive as well. Bulky but great finders and image quality, both of them.

The one thing that interests me to use next to those, is a Robot Royal 36.

Guess I just like cameras built like tanks... :D
 
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