What next?

[shayallen]

I am Completely new to range finders and RFF so I have a few questions that I am sure have been asked here before so Please forgive me... I am in the process of buying a leica M7 and 50mm2.0 Summicron-M. First is this a good camera and lens to start with? I am confused by the different View types (7.2,8.5,5.9) and not sure which one I should buy or if it matters. I will be shooting mostly scenic stuff and street photos(my digital lenses used the most are between 17mm and 60mm).

And next what should be my second lens? 35mm?? and what would be the best Voigtlander in that size I don't think I can afford another Leica yet!

Thanks for your thoughts...

 

[januaryman]

The camera you choose should meet your needs. For me, the M2 and M4 are perfect. I assume you weighed all the options. If you're just starting out, a nice 35mm lens would be a good starting point, as I found after beginning my own with a 50mm. It all depends on your shooting style and subject matter. There are no right or wrong answers for ALL photographers, but there is surely right answers for you, and for that you need to ask yourself some of the questions I hinted at above.

I'm no lens snob, and get perfect decent photos from my Jupiter 8, as I do from my Canon 50/1.4 or 50/1.8 or even my (well, this I like more than the others) Zeiss 50/1.5 conversion lens that I bought from Brian Sweeney, lens conversion artiste extraordinaire.

Signing off, to allow the lens gurus give you detailed answers on your question. But you will love shooting rangefinders. Really. Good luck.

 

[sleepyhead]

An M7 with a 50mm Summicron sounds like a lovely first RF camera. A classic combo.

As for a second lens, you may want to consider a bit more space between your lenses than 35-50mm, for example a 28mm and 50mm combo, or a 50mm and 90mm combo, depending on if you gravitate more towards wide angles or towards telephotos...

Either way, enjoy your new kit!

 

[shayallen]

Thanks guys I was also deciding between the M6 and M7 and was a little afraid I would have trouble with exposure on the M6... Any thoughts on the different view types?

 

[Avotius]

I have an M6 but would gladly sell it to get an M7 if it was not a 1000 dollar jump. To start with an M7 and 50 summicron is a great way to get going. For shooting 50mm lenses I would choose the .72 because you get a good view around the frames and if you so wish to use wider lenses like a 35 or a 28 it is a lot easier then with a .85 viewfinder. The .58 finder is great if you use 28's and 35's but then start to stretch 50 a bit as the frame lines are a tad small then but still very usable, also .58 m7's are a little rare and fetch a bit of a premium when they show on the used market. My m6 is a .72 and I use 28-35-50's on it and it works great, but I wish it had aperture priority shooting, the only thing missing on the camera in my opinion.