What is it with the magnetic Leica attraction?

[rpavich]

It doesn't apply only to men! My fiancée was a Nikon/Miranda/Minolta user for many years, still loves her F4 and RB67, but got interested in Leica after seeing some things I was doing with my M3 and trying it out. Then I got her a digital M and vintage Summilux and the slippery slope started. We went to a local store that sells accessories and used gear in order to buy a filter for her Miranda, and before you know it she's looking at a 32-year old R4. It was just so attractive and felt so good in the hand that she negotiated the purchase of it without having a lens to go with it. The owner of the store said, "The former owner treated it with love, but after all these years, let me keep it for a day and I'll put new seals in it." Next day we went back to pick up the body and she ended up negotiating the purchase of a 60mm macro- Elmarit. So now she has a nice Leica kit for under $700. "I always wanted a film Leica since getting to know yours, and this reminds me a lot of my old Minolta and has Leica glass," she says. Now she has her eyes on a 19mm Elmarit.
Gadzooks! What have I unleashed?

Wow...she's a keeper!

 

[daveleo]

"Rational" ? . . . . I think probably 25% of my photographic purchases you would call rational. Maybe 10% !
Some things you just do and write them off as life's little adventures.

You don't want to die and look back and say ..... "I should have bought one of those years ago". 😉

 

[B-9]

I couldn't pin it Rob, everytime I looked at the RD, it felt like something was missing.

Although the RD is a pleasure to hold and use!

It may be that the Epson looks so much like a Bessa R, you feel a little cheap (although cheap is not exactly a RF word)

 

[rpavich]

I couldn't pin it Rob, everytime I looked at the RD, it felt like something was missing.

Although the RD is a pleasure to hold and use!

It may be that the Epson looks so much like a Bessa R, you feel a little cheap (although cheap is not exactly a RF word)

I know..it's like when I played guitar.

Gibson is the top-o-the-heap in the Guitar world (electric guitar)

I always salivated for one, and have bought literally HUNDREDS of others that were worse, the same, or much better....

But the problem is when someone says: "oh...I see you play guitar...what i's that...a Gibson Les Paul?"

You have to say: "...no...it's not a Gibson..."

and they say "...oh....(with this look on their face like you just farted)


And as they are walking away you must say "...but it's better than a Les Paul! You aren't paying for the name..."


But they are already gone.... 🙁

 

[Michael Markey]

Yeah, I missed that. Thought it was another Leica bashing/sour grapes kind of thread.

Yep so did I .. but then I don`t appreciate the dilemma because I never did care for the design of the RD.

 

[Lss]

What IS it about the Leica name that makes grown men do irrational things like lust for an 8 year old Leica M8 when they have a perfectly fine R-D1x that they love?

It's not the name, it's the camera. Anything better is considerably more expensive.

 

[ray*j*gun]

After all this surfing you probably know that between the M-8 and R-D1x, Leica is not the "irrational" one. It's a better camera in almost every way for not much more money.

I agree. The M8 is a bargain IMO and really a fine camera that does B&W better than damn near anything digital.

Also, however I do confess to the lust of the Barnack version of the magic. I own too many and am always on the lookout for another must have LTM Leica.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

My Leica M4 has no magnets.

Phil Forrest

 

[Ronald M]

Leicas were cool. Much of the cachet is gone with digital as other cameras have similar to equal imaging.

They used to be quiet and reliable. They tend to be neither now. They are fattened up for sensors so the nice feel is gone. The electronics is garbage compared to my Nikons.

There be diehards who will buy an M because that is what we always used. I have an M8 and 9P.

I used to use film Pentaxes and switched to Leicas because of the image quality. They are definitely not the same. With digital the gap is considerably more narrow.

They are nice to carry as they are small.

 

[Michael Markey]

Leicas were cool. Much of the cachet is gone with digital as other cameras have similar to equal imaging.

They used to be quiet and reliable. They tend to be neither now. They are fattened up for sensors so the nice feel is gone. The electronics is garbage compared to my Nikons.

There be diehards who will buy an M because that is what we always used. I have an M8 and 9P.

I used to use film Pentaxes and switched to Leicas because of the image quality. They are definitely not the same. With digital the gap is considerably more narrow.

They are nice to carry as they are small.

I think that's a good summary.
Digital has certainly narrowed the gap and confused the issues too I'm minded.

 

[aizan]

- they're well made and designed.
- a lot of great photographers have used them to do their work, so buying a leica means you have the equipment to do great work, too.
- they are a sign of wealth and taste.

 

[uhoh7]

What IS it about the Leica name that makes grown men do irrational things like lust for an 8 year old Leica M8 when they have a perfectly fine R-D1x that they love?

Sounds more like a rare burst of logical thinking :bang:

The M8 is worlds above the perfectly nice RD1x, and both versions are among the best cameras in the world today, in the right hands.

M8 will never be a classic because of some loud film snobs who have never gotten over the initial shock of a digital Leica, and more important the crop. OK the need for external filters was a bit much LOL Funny enough, the slight crop makes the camera sensational with lenses like the elmarit v3, which the M9 hates.

This is to everyone's benefit as the camera is now a true steal.

 

[giganova]

What IS it about the Leica name that makes grown men do irrational things ...

They invented the 35mm format and have been making high-precision mechanical/optical cameras for ~100 years. Many people simply appreciate these little mechanical masterpieces -- especially in this fast-paced digital throwaway culture we all live in. The high price points gives them the aura of exclusivity, which makes people who own them feel more "special".

 

[dee]

I bought my M8 with an inheritance simply because I wanted a digital ANALOGUE vintage style camera !
I use it with a 1950s Summitar and adapted to a Contax Mounted 1959 J3 gifted by Brian Sweeney .
There is nothing remotely rational about this - rational was buying a Minolta XD7 with the excellent 50 f1.4 rather than the sexy Leica version.

 

[mdarnton]

I'll be honest about it: for me it's the dorky early-1900s aspect of the system. Who else, until the last wave of stuff in the 90s or so, had a "system" where all the lenses looked totally different from each other and looked like they came out of someone's basement machine shop, for instance. When I started adding a lot of Nikon SLR stuff I started keeping my lenses in baggies, because I couldn't identify which lens I was reaching for by touch anymore as I could with my Leica stuff, which I kept in the cut and seamed-off tops of old socks. There's a certain charm to a system where you can look at the evolution as you can see the additions on an old farmhouse, and Leica is the last camera with that look, still.

As far as function goes, I don't care much. Give me something that feels good in the hand and has the basics of lens opening/shutter speed/focus/film, and I'm happy.

 

[Out to Lunch]

As a rangefinder user, the analogue Leica's are not my favorite: they are heavy; you can't see the ISO of your film on the camera; exposure compensation is a joke; bottom feeding film is a headache. The digital M-E produces good results but in comparison of the Epson R-D1X, it fails....the Epson produces many more keepers in ''AE'' mode than the Leica does.

 

[MCTuomey]

- they're well made and designed.
- a lot of great photographers have used them to do their work, so buying a leica means you have the equipment to do great work, too.
- they are a sign of wealth and taste.

and they're sexy as a camera can be

M8 will never be a classic because of some loud film snobs who have never gotten over the initial shock of a digital Leica, and more important the crop. OK the need for external filters was a bit much LOL Funny enough, the slight crop makes the camera sensational with lenses like the elmarit v3, which the M9 hates.

This is to everyone's benefit as the camera is now a true steal.

Buy an M8. Add a ZM biogon 28 and c-sonnar 50. The James Brown of Leica kits.

 

[Range-rover]

I purchased one a few month a lovely M8 and I think it's terrific, all they did
was take a M7 and stick a digital back on it, and every time I go out and take
pictures with it, it's It's like a different photo experience less in the way of
taking that picture.

 

[tennjed]

I just purchased a 56 year old M2 that is in great shape. I do not know if it has had a recent CLA, but it feels and operates as though it is going to operate for another 50 years. My 50+ year old M3 is off for CLA. I expect it will be as nice as the M2 when I finally get it back. My grandchildren will be able to ponder this very same question, i.e. Leica mystique, as they fondle these very same cameras.

 

[Rayt]

I can shoot very fast with M rangefinders. I can compose, focus and shoot faster than anything else. With AF SLR I have to worry about focus points. I don't know why others choose Leica but for street there is no better alternative....for me.

Where are the magnets? Are they to keep film flat?