Which one?

N

Nicole McGrade

Guest
Hi, I'm quite new to RF's and so am possibly looking at a Leica M, but not sure which one. I do understand a little about them but still not enough to make my final decision, hopefully you can help me.

The camera needs to have an in-camera spot meter, be quick to operate, very quiet, and can produce great quality photojournalistic images. I do also like to use Aperture Priority sometimes but work with Manual most the time.

Thanks for your input, kind regards, Nicole
www.nicolemcgrade.com.au
 
Hi Nicole, and welcome to the RFF!

As for your question, are you sure you want a Leica?
I mean, I don't think any of those have spot metering capability - even the latest M7 and MP have center-weighted metering. AFAIK, only M7 offers AE automation (aperture priority).
But, if the whole point is photojournalistic style, maybe you could consider VC offerings, like the Bessa R2A or Bessa R3A? Which lenses would you use?
If you go the Leica route, the cost will be at least 3-4 times more, but OTOH, Leicas are also quieter than Bessas...

I guess your best options are Leica M7 (the only one with AE, otherwise M6 could be used) and newer Bessas (R 2A and R 3A), which both offer AE, AFAIK.

One of the best sites for classic rangefinders info is Stephen Gandy's Classic Camera Profiles.
You'll find a wealth of info there, and be sure to check out his Leica M Guide.

Hope this helps, and once again, welcome to the RFF!

Denis
 
Hi Denis, thanks. I mainly use a 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm and 105mm on my Nikon F90X which is driving my nuts. I find it to clunky, loud and the AE-L is not 'ergonomic' enough for me. I must have small hands. I'd much prefer a camera I can work much easier.
Cheers
Nicole
 
Although center weighted, the M7 has a relatively small well defined metering area. Far from a spot meter though. But, if you are looking for a small descrete easy to use camera I would question the real necessity of a spot meter. With experience you will be able to compensate for any variations in the scenes you are shooting.

The Bessa meters have a larger metering area, skewed to the bottom of the scene. If you truely are looking for a RF camera with a spot meter you should consider an Olympus SP. The leaf shutters are very quite, though you will be stuck with only one lens.

Actually, perhaps the Leica CL may work too. It is very small and the meter area is also tiny. Again, not spot, but a very small area.

Here are some links.

http://www.cameraquest.com/olysp.htm
http://www.cameraquest.com/leicacl.htm
http://www.ph.utexas.edu/~yue/misc/35SP.html
 
Hi! Nicole,

Welcome to the forum. Your gallery is really great, especially those portraits.

Another choice maybe the Konica Hexar RF if you don't mind it is a little bit more electronically constructed. :)

Keven
 
Just to add to what has been said: The Leica M7 is the closest to what you describe; automatic with full over-ride. The CL is a nice little camera with a spot meter as a "by-Product" of its construction; it has a CDS cell on a swing out arm. Mine works fine, but many have died over the last 30 years. The M7 features modern electronics for its meter and has aperture-preferred automatic exposure. The Konica Hexar has a built-in motor wind; one can be added to the Leica. Without the motor, the Leica is quieter.
 
Nicole welcome to the forum! :) I think the consensus above for the M7 is right. It's quite a change to move from an SLR to a rangefinder so you might want to borrow or rent a modern Leica (say an M6TTL or an M7) to see how you like it.

I moved from a Nikon F3+MD4 motor drive (kind of like your F90X in terms of size) to an M6TTL over a year ago and now the F3 is collecting dust. All the controls on a Leica work opposite to a Nikon; the shutter speed dial, the position of the aperture/focus rings on the lens barrel, the rotation of the aperture ring, it takes a bit of getting used to. Plus there is the issue of not being able to preview DOF in the Leica viewfinder... But if you visualize a composition before putting the camera to your eye you will really like an RF cam - very different from the tunnel-view of an SLR finder - you just have to get used to the framelines.

The Leica lenses are of the highest quality. If you do a lot of portraiture you need to be careful about the lenses you buy, some of the modern Leica lenses are painfully sharp and IMO unkind to people, but many lenses from 20 or 30 years ago are really amazing. You'll notice a big difference between Leica and Nikkor lenses.
 
Nicole... you asking for advice? If I had a gallery like yours I'd be dishing it out big time!

Have you used a rangefinder before? I'd say, as peter_n, try one first and then decide. The switch from SLR to RF can be a life-shaping experience... or a hellish one. You'll find out.

In the meanwhile, welcome to the forum! :)
 
Hi welcome.

I was in the same dilemma sometime ago and did not find any easy answers. That is prob the only similarity between your photography and mine (I saw your website and concluded that we are of different leagues!).

I settled on the Contax G2. Mainly because of affordability.
I loved the Leica stuff but U will afford a body, 45mm, 28mm and 90mm, maybe a small flash... all for the price of a single M7 body.
If u wanted to get a summilux with that M7, for that price you could throw in the 35mm, 21mm and 16mm too!

Metering is centre weighted.
Fully manual or aperture priority.
Autofocus too. In fact it is only autofocus. the manual focus mode is a joke.
the shutter is quiet but the motor drive is not. However the noise level is nowhere near that of an SLR.

It is light and portable. I pack th 21mm, 28mm, 45mm and 90mm and TLA200 flash into a small shoe carrier and hand carry the body with the 35mm.

Nick
 
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Nicole, the M5, produced from 1971-75, meets all of your criteria except for aperture priority. It has essentially the same spot meter as the CL, which some have called a "semi-spot meter" and others a "large area spot meter." The diameter of the metering spot (6 mm) is half that of the of the standard Leica center-weighted meter (12 mm, or 13% of the full film format). For comparison, the spot meter on the F90 covers a spot with a diameter of 3 mm & Nikon's original spot meter on the F4 covered a spot with a diameter of 5 mm.

Like all Leicas, operation is simple & intuitive and the M5 is Leica-quiet. With access to the full range of Leica lenses, as well as other modern M-mount lenses by Zeiss, Konica, Rollei, & Cosina/Voigtlander, it can produce the kinds of images you desire & are used to.

One additional note is that no RF camera has built-in framelines for a 24 mm lens, so that means using an auxiliary 24 mm viewfinder, focusing through the camera's viewfinder, & composing through the auxiliary viewfinder. Because of the great depth of field at 24 mm, facusing can be quick or pre-set.

Of course, you can always simplify things by getting a less clunky Nikon like the FM3a, which will have everything you want except a quiet shutter. At least you eliminate motor re-wind noise.

Huck
 
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