Why did you decide NOT to buy a digital Leica M?

Why did you decide NOT to buy a digital Leica M?

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    613
I brought my first Leica, an M3, because it feels so good and sounds so smooth. Now I have a few others, all films. I thought of buying a digital to utilize my Leica lenses but each time I came down to earth on why I have Leicas in the first place.
 
daveleo said:
Absurdly overpriced equipment.
My personal view is "Never buy photo gear that you can't afford to toss in the trash".
If you can toss a $5000 - $10,000 camera and lens setup into the trash, I salute you.

EDIT: If I were shooting film, no doubt I'd buy a used Leica camera/lens package right now.
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I bet you would love to go through my dustbin.:D
 
Too slow, have to turn it on before using it, which makes it less spontaneous and instantaneous and it therefore feels slow.

On the M240, framelines only show up if turned on. Body very thick, not as pocketable as the M3 with collapsible lens. M240 too heavy, I spent an afternoon with one, going back to the M3 was wonderful. Viewfinder very wide angle, the M3 viewfinder is so much more natural to look through.
 
price,price,price!!!!!

price,price,price!!!!!

1.Over my budget for sure.
2.Using Epson RDX1 with ltm Canon and Voitlander lenses for digital.
3.My photographic ability is not worth the expense.With no fix for sensor a used M8 is Iffy at most.
3a.Maybe M9 if price drops enough.
4.I do own an m5 and 6 already.
 
Around 2005 I made some test prints from my 5MP Olympus C 5060. It has a 1/1.8" (7.144 x 5.358 mm) 7x5.4mm size sensor. Resolution of the image was 2592 x 1944 - the best the C5060 can do. Subject was a seashore landscape of Maine taken in 2004 during a vacation.

Olympus%20C5060_zpsb9twtrq7.jpg


I had 4x6, 5x7, 8x10, 11x14, and 16x20 prints made by a lab. Purpose was to see where the print size deteriorated and became unacceptable. I had family & friends look at the prints (not telling them which camera took the photo) and decide which print was unacceptable.

All the prints were great! The 16x20 was gorgeous! None were unacceptable. I knew then that if I could get an acceptable 16x20 from a 5MP camera that there was no need to spend $5k on a "professional" DSLR. I now use an 'obsolete' Olympus E-5 DSLR that has only a 12MP Four Thirds sensor when I need to shoot digital :) ! (I did buy a 7MP Olympus C7070 camera when I saw one on eBay for very cheap. Still use them for family snaps).

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The ONLY reason I would buy a FF digital camera would be to use my wide-angle Olympus OM, Leica M, and Pentax M42 lenses. A Sony A7 or A7II will do that for a fraction of what a Leica M digital will cost. Case closed.
 
Two reasons.

First, have a gander at the section on this site that is all about problems with digital Leica M.

Second, go to the mini gallery inside Fuji Plaza. There they show pictures taken with various digital Fujis. Even shots taken with the tiny XQ2 are good.

In sum: no need to spend all that dough on flimsy tech when there are clearly alternatives that give you better bang for buck.
 
I own both R and M systems, and EOS-M system when they were super discounted on several occasions had the bucks to buy digital M but waited to see shakedown reports. So with the problems, I decided not to. When not shooting for pay, I use a Fire phone! Results go to social networking sites.
 
For me, they are just not the practical workhorse camera that a reflex is.

No zooms.

This from a guy who shot M alongside reflex all through the seventies and early eighties.
 
So, while this is an old post, I think it is still relevant. I come from pro dslr's (Canon 1Dx) I finally broke down and purchased a Leica M8.2 and 50 Summilux. The camera is fussy, cranky, and finicky. The lens is superlative. As a package, I love it and wish I had bought them years ago. I shoot with nothing else.


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dmc said:
So, while this is an old post, I think it is still relevant. I come from pro dslr's (Canon 1Dx) I finally broke down and purchased a Leica M8.2 and 50 Summilux. The camera is fussy, cranky, and finicky. The lens is superlative. As a package, I love it and wish I had bought them years ago. I shoot with nothing else.
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The DSLR :eek: Another soul redeemed from Canikon's grip :D .
 
The M240, in concept, is probably the best camera for my style of photography. Traditional controls, relatively small, excellent picture quality and the possibility to mount just about anything (including my Leica M and Nikon glass), but sadly not the Summicron DR.

I do not need speed, and I prefer manual focus for 95% of my shots too.

Actually, I can afford it without problems, but I find it too expensive for what it is. That's highly personal, but I cannot morally justify a camera like that, if I can redo my kitchen or buy a decent second hand car for that amount of money.
 
Ronald_H said:
Actually, I can afford it without problems, but I find it too expensive for what it is. That's highly personal, but I cannot morally justify a camera like that, if I can redo my kitchen or buy a decent second hand car for that amount of money.
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What would be a price point you could justify for this product that you consider probably the best for your type of photography and that you could afford without a problem?
 
I was at the decision making point recently. I purchased coded new Summarit 35, which was meant for M8 originally.
To get M8, I would have to sell two Canon L series lenses, one of them is 50 1.2L (amazing lens) and Canon 5D (same as M8 in terms of MPs and high ISO, but FF) to be able to get M8 locally under low canadian dollar (1800 CAD).
Instead I sold only one Canon L lens, which wasn't in use much, 100L for 800 CAD and added $150 cash to get few years old Canon 5D MKII with FF sensor, 21MP and ISO 6400 better than used $4K M240 ISO 6400 is.
 
I learnt from a tecnical point of viewe that sensors needed a 90 degree light to preform at their best. That is best done in a DSLR so I got one.
About Leizts non intrests in service D-Leicas I have heard enough. Secondly film gives another challange and feeling. The gain i non film weight is outwighted by hauling lenses, and finally I'm happy with film RFs.
 
splitimageview said:
How soon we forget....


"Dear LEICA M8 customers,

The desire to own a digital camera manufactured by Leica,
possessing the identical lifelong value retention associated with
every Leica product, was brought to us by many of our customers.
Leica Camera AG has now configured the LEICA M8 to meet this
demand. With today's newsletter, we would like to inform you
exclusively and in advance of an outstanding innovation regarding
your cherished LEICA M8.
With the introduction of a perpetual upgrade program, every LEICA
M8 will forever be a state-of-the-art digital camera. Today's and
tomorrow's users will always be able to incorporate the latest
refinements and developments in handling ease and technology. It is
our aim to secure your investment in the LEICA M8 for the future.
While other digital cameras quickly become outdated and are
replaced by newer models, our new concept extends the value
retention and resistance to obsolescence embodied in the Leica
ethos. Over time, we will gradually offer new product features and
developments as upgrade options. Our customers can therefore
still invest in the photographic tools they need without worrying
that they will miss out on improvements and technological developments
along the way."
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Is this for real? Or is it another spoof?

I'd like to be able to manually enter lens codes on my M8.2.
 
pluton said:
Simple: I wear +2 diopter eyeglasses, and that prevents me from seeing the entire frame of anything wider than about 50mm in the classic Leica finder. 50mm is the beginning of telephoto for me.
I am suspicious that a good, reverse-Galilean finder that accommodates eyeglasses could be designed now in the 21st century, but Leica has chosen to maintain the retro design at the expense of progress.
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Yes that brings up a point about the finders on the Leica digitals. Why do they not follow their own example set by the film M models, and offer 2 or 3 finder magnifications? With the 0.68x finder on my M8.2, I can manage the 28mm finder (37mm FOV) but I can't even find the 24mm framelines with my glasses on. And my prescription is around minus 4.5 to minus 5 or so--and I need my glasses. Why is there no M8 or M9, M240 (etc.) with a .58 finder? If I were to buy an M9, I would need to use my external finder just to use my 28mm lens! In fact, they ought to make an M with a .5 finder, with framelines for just 24mm, 28, 35, and 50. I think it's a strange omission.
 
raid said:
I first got the M8, followed with a partial trade/cash for the M9. I bought both cameras used, and the total cash amount for both cameras was less than $5000. I tried to plan ahead for depreciation.
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I don't think I have $5000 in my entire collection.

I have a film M and a Voigtlander, and I shoot a bunch of different stuff from Pentax (D)SLRs, a Pentax 67, Mamiya C330, Medalist, 4x5 and 8x10. The digital M wouldn't be as versatile as the Pentax digitals by themselves, and I would likely have to sell all of it just to afford the body, let alone lenses.

The value for money just isn't there for me.

EDIT: In fairness, I am thinking I probably have breached 5k for all of it, maybe even double that...but $5000 for a single camera body is still an IMMENSE proposition, considering the most expensive single item I've ever bought for Photography was $700 (Sony RX100).
 
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