jack palmer
Well-known
RubenBlaedel said:
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Why Leica? - a confession of equipment junkie
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Paul Jenkin
Well-known
A long journey to Leica.......
A long journey to Leica.......
My photographic journey starts as a 13 year old kid in Stockport (an industrial town famous for its connections to the hat industry - the phrase 'mad as a hatter' comes from the side effects of using mercury when dressing felt for hat making - and the cotton industry).
My dad was a kind and gentle man; a cabinet maker by trade but, via a number of jobs had ended up working in the town planner's office in the local council. We were (and shall always remain) working class - yet my dad loved photography and had saved up enough to buy a Rolleiflex (can't remember the model but it had a lightmeter on the side) which was his pride and joy. He always wanted a Leica, though. I never knew why but I always vowed I'd buy him one when I got rich.
I was more fascinated by my dad's fascination with photography than photography itself. As I was always a bit of a clumsy bugger, he was scared to death of me using his camera and that made me want to use it all the more. Eventually, in March 1974, he bought me an old Edixaflex for my 13th birthday. It had a waist-level finder and a really nice single-coated 50mm lens.
I don't know why, but I hated that WLF and hunted high and low for what I thought was a 'proper' viewfinder. Mind you, taking shots at the local speedway track (Belle Vue in Manchester) was really hard as panning with a reversed image is a difficult task to master! Eventually, I joined a camera club and started to learn about developing and printing my own B&W photos.
In May 1978 disaster struck. At the age of 51, my dad suffered a massive stroke which deprived him forever of his capacity to talk and paralysed his right side. My interest in photography disappeared overninght as my mum and I looked after him as best we could. He survived 15 years. I would have said 'lived' 15 years but it wasn't much of a life.
In 1980, I started work and shortly afterwards, met up with a chap who did wedding photos for a living. I needed extra income as my job was pretty poorly paid, so he showed me the ropes as his assistant at weekends and, eventually, I did a few shots myself. I could have gone pro but it would have meant deopping my salaried job which, at the time, was the only guaranted income I had. Too risky.
Sadly, about the same time, finances dictated that we had to sell the Rolleiflex.
By the mid 80's, I'd enough money to buy a s/hand Olympus OM1n (the adverts showing Patrick Lichfield and David Bailey worked like a dream on me) and this was followed by an OM2n and an XA for back up. I started going weddings for friends and family. Great fun but no money in it for me - just some big savings for my family. That's okay, that's what families are about.
I then found that OM's don't like heavy usage (remember, I'm also a clumsy bugger) and traded them for a Canon A1 with a few lenses (28/50/85). This set up lasted me until the early 90's when I traded the A1 body for a T90. Superb piece of kit. Multi-spot averaged metering. I was in heaven!
Marriage and looking after 2 disabled parents (my mum - a heavy smoker - succumbed to emhysema) meant that photography was, again, bottom of the priorities. Out went the cameras to fund mortgage, etc...
When my mum and dad died (2 years apart in the early-mid 90's) I now had more spare time than I'd had in almost 20 years so.....I took up photography again. This time I got a Mamiya C330 - the nearest thing I could get to what my dad had! I loved that camera - you could even get interchangeable lenses! After a while, though, I bought a s/hand T90 as I knew it inside-out and it was a lot quicker to use and less bulky to carry.
Time has gone so quickly since then. I've had a selection of EOS film models (I switched to Nikon because they just felt more solid and you could use them whilst wearing thick gloves (fell-walking is another hobby of mine) and they wouldn't split like an egg if you dropped one.
I did, eventually, by an RF a couple of years ago. I had a Mamiya 7 (65 and 150 lenses). Probably the sharpest lenses I've ever owned but the camera was such a pain to use on a tripod as the switch for the film loading door is impossible to get at when on the tripod head (unless you buy a gadget to raise it off the tripod plate - which makes it feel rather wobbly).
By this point, I'd gone 'semi-digital' (I won't give up film until / unless it ever disappears) and was using a Nikon D200 'cos I already had the lenses from the time I had an F3.
Last Christmas changed my photographic life altogether. I spotted an M6 and Summicron-M in a London camera store and decided to see what I could get for the Mamiya 7, F3 and selection of 'redundant' lenses. Surprisingly, I was just £50 short of what I needed and my wife gave me the cash as part of my Christmas pressie. I love my little Leica. It's a great tool. Okay, loading film is a pain in the ar$e compared to a 35mm SLR. However, that slowness - combined with manual focusing is making me think more about what I'm shooting. The knock-on effect is that I'm also thinking more when I'm shooting with my digital camera.
Will I keep it forver? Who knows? Given my penchant for trying something new every now and then, probably not. However, I've learned - and re-learned - more about film in the past 3/4 months than in the past 3/4 years.
Sorry to have bored you all to sleep - but I found that quite fun to put into print!
Best wishes, Paul.
A long journey to Leica.......
My photographic journey starts as a 13 year old kid in Stockport (an industrial town famous for its connections to the hat industry - the phrase 'mad as a hatter' comes from the side effects of using mercury when dressing felt for hat making - and the cotton industry).
My dad was a kind and gentle man; a cabinet maker by trade but, via a number of jobs had ended up working in the town planner's office in the local council. We were (and shall always remain) working class - yet my dad loved photography and had saved up enough to buy a Rolleiflex (can't remember the model but it had a lightmeter on the side) which was his pride and joy. He always wanted a Leica, though. I never knew why but I always vowed I'd buy him one when I got rich.
I was more fascinated by my dad's fascination with photography than photography itself. As I was always a bit of a clumsy bugger, he was scared to death of me using his camera and that made me want to use it all the more. Eventually, in March 1974, he bought me an old Edixaflex for my 13th birthday. It had a waist-level finder and a really nice single-coated 50mm lens.
I don't know why, but I hated that WLF and hunted high and low for what I thought was a 'proper' viewfinder. Mind you, taking shots at the local speedway track (Belle Vue in Manchester) was really hard as panning with a reversed image is a difficult task to master! Eventually, I joined a camera club and started to learn about developing and printing my own B&W photos.
In May 1978 disaster struck. At the age of 51, my dad suffered a massive stroke which deprived him forever of his capacity to talk and paralysed his right side. My interest in photography disappeared overninght as my mum and I looked after him as best we could. He survived 15 years. I would have said 'lived' 15 years but it wasn't much of a life.
In 1980, I started work and shortly afterwards, met up with a chap who did wedding photos for a living. I needed extra income as my job was pretty poorly paid, so he showed me the ropes as his assistant at weekends and, eventually, I did a few shots myself. I could have gone pro but it would have meant deopping my salaried job which, at the time, was the only guaranted income I had. Too risky.
Sadly, about the same time, finances dictated that we had to sell the Rolleiflex.
By the mid 80's, I'd enough money to buy a s/hand Olympus OM1n (the adverts showing Patrick Lichfield and David Bailey worked like a dream on me) and this was followed by an OM2n and an XA for back up. I started going weddings for friends and family. Great fun but no money in it for me - just some big savings for my family. That's okay, that's what families are about.
I then found that OM's don't like heavy usage (remember, I'm also a clumsy bugger) and traded them for a Canon A1 with a few lenses (28/50/85). This set up lasted me until the early 90's when I traded the A1 body for a T90. Superb piece of kit. Multi-spot averaged metering. I was in heaven!
Marriage and looking after 2 disabled parents (my mum - a heavy smoker - succumbed to emhysema) meant that photography was, again, bottom of the priorities. Out went the cameras to fund mortgage, etc...
When my mum and dad died (2 years apart in the early-mid 90's) I now had more spare time than I'd had in almost 20 years so.....I took up photography again. This time I got a Mamiya C330 - the nearest thing I could get to what my dad had! I loved that camera - you could even get interchangeable lenses! After a while, though, I bought a s/hand T90 as I knew it inside-out and it was a lot quicker to use and less bulky to carry.
Time has gone so quickly since then. I've had a selection of EOS film models (I switched to Nikon because they just felt more solid and you could use them whilst wearing thick gloves (fell-walking is another hobby of mine) and they wouldn't split like an egg if you dropped one.
I did, eventually, by an RF a couple of years ago. I had a Mamiya 7 (65 and 150 lenses). Probably the sharpest lenses I've ever owned but the camera was such a pain to use on a tripod as the switch for the film loading door is impossible to get at when on the tripod head (unless you buy a gadget to raise it off the tripod plate - which makes it feel rather wobbly).
By this point, I'd gone 'semi-digital' (I won't give up film until / unless it ever disappears) and was using a Nikon D200 'cos I already had the lenses from the time I had an F3.
Last Christmas changed my photographic life altogether. I spotted an M6 and Summicron-M in a London camera store and decided to see what I could get for the Mamiya 7, F3 and selection of 'redundant' lenses. Surprisingly, I was just £50 short of what I needed and my wife gave me the cash as part of my Christmas pressie. I love my little Leica. It's a great tool. Okay, loading film is a pain in the ar$e compared to a 35mm SLR. However, that slowness - combined with manual focusing is making me think more about what I'm shooting. The knock-on effect is that I'm also thinking more when I'm shooting with my digital camera.
Will I keep it forver? Who knows? Given my penchant for trying something new every now and then, probably not. However, I've learned - and re-learned - more about film in the past 3/4 months than in the past 3/4 years.
Sorry to have bored you all to sleep - but I found that quite fun to put into print!
Best wishes, Paul.
Paul Jenkin
Well-known
Jack,
you summed it up perfectly. Good things are definitely worth waiting for. I knew I'd get a Leica one day - I didn't realise that would be one day in 33 year's time.
Regards, Paul.
you summed it up perfectly. Good things are definitely worth waiting for. I knew I'd get a Leica one day - I didn't realise that would be one day in 33 year's time.
Regards, Paul.
LOOP
maraboutflash
Not a boring story but full of life ! Thanks !
johnnygulliver
Established
I sold my first leica (M4-2) and always missed it. 15 years later by chance I saw an M6 in a backstreet Tokyo camera shop (Lucky Camera, Shinjuku, Tokyo) and bought it on impulse, I never looked back ... 😀
B-9
Devin Bro
It seems a common attribute to everyone's stories, is the reasoning that these cameras offer more portability.
I bought my Leica's as an excuse to spend so much time on this site!
Shhh don't tell my fiancé 😀
I bought my Leica's as an excuse to spend so much time on this site!
Shhh don't tell my fiancé 😀
lukitas
second hand noob
My dad was a photographer. He used to have a mamiya 330 and a spotmatic and a bolex 8mm ciné camera. when I was 8, he got me a russian twin lens reflex, but it was a dud : light leaks.
When I was 14, he gave me an F2 with a nikkor f1.4 50 to go shoot girls at the beach for the tourist office. I was completely useless, way too timid to approach the girls, but I still have the nikkor.
When I was 25, as an introduction to my career as a pro photographer, he got me a Hasselblad 500C with a chrome planar. I loved that camera, even if it was a hassle to use on the street. I worked a sinar 4X5inch chamber with a schneider and a few rodenstocks as a day job. I dearly loved studio work, setting up food shots, making light tunnels for watches. I still have a linhof technika from those days, with three lenses and a 6X9 back, but it needs some work to make it useable.
One job I remember with affection even though it was terrible at the time : I had to lug around a hasselblad with three lenses in a metal case, with a "portable", "studio", two stand flash set with umbrella light diffusers to go shoot objects at museums all over the country. I think that job made my spine shorter and my arms longer than they should be.
Then I got promoted, I still played around with a nikon fm, but my hassle stayed on a shelf. Then I got sacked, and being disgusted with advertising, I didn't want to think about images anymore.
First I learned milling, drilling, working a lathe, welding, only to discover that honest artisanal jobs are few and far between, so I got to work as a train conductor.
For all that time, I had never thought about a leica. Except once, near the end of my advertising 'carreer'. About when the berlin wall had just fallen. In a fit of gas, I found a few feds and zorkis on a flea market, and I had the stupendous idea (with hindsight) to go and fit them out with some old leica glass : a summitar f2, an elmar f4 90mm. But I never really used them. Pokey viewfinders, the nicest one, a zorki 6, kept flapping open it's back door at the slightest provocation...
Three years ago, I got me a point and shoot digital rollei, and shot a few tens of images, but it left me unsatisfied. Too much time between the pressing of the button and the taking of the shot. Too much like television, depth of field all over the place all the time.
And then I found out about the M9. The price told me to forget about it.
I decided to get a fed2, because it is beautiful, and picasso had one.
It is a very nice camera, with a industar 61. It got me shooting again, and it got me lurking on the soviet rangefinder part of the forum, and then I took a look at the leica digital part, dreaming drunkenly about winning the lottery.
I discovered, that by some miracle of poetic justice, the best leica's are the cheapest : M3's and M2's can be had in the €600 to 1000 range.
I found an M3 bidding below 300 on the 'bay, from germany (that is nice and close), I put in a bid for 360, and I tried to convince myself that surely somebody would bid higher than me before soon, until about five minutes before the end, when I thought I had it nailed. I didn't. Lost the bid in the last 30 seconds. But the seller had an M2 that was coming to fruition 5 minutes later, and I got that one, for a bit less than my 360 bid.
I fell in love with this camera the second I glanced through the viewfinder. This is Leica, the firm that invented the ergonomics of photography. speed on the ring on top. diaphragm at the front of the lens, focus at the back. shutter button on the right, viewfinder on the left, 24X36, it seems self-evident today, but Leica made it so. In three months time, I have made three different skins for it, the fist one, I stitched a leather finger loop on the side, nice for the dedicated street shooter...
But I still wanted an M3. Because it was said that it's viewfinder is even better than the M2. So I took a contax 139 with a planar and a sonar to a second hand shop to trade (in part) for an M3 he had in his window, but he said he didn't even want them for free.
That was a depressing moment.
But then I found a battered but perfectly functional M3 from 1962 in a real leica shop. (living in a capital has advantages). I spent two months scratching the money together, and I got it and I gave it a snakeskin covering. The viewfinder is the best. I still like using the M2 with a 50, because of the field of view around the frame, but the M3 focuses easier, the patch seems bigger.
The M2 is in for repair, the shutter was ok at a 30th to a 125th, but anything slower or faster was out of whack.
I love my two sisters. In french, camera is feminine. so there!
This is of course exactly the kind of story one does not tell at a party, except if you really want to bore them out of their pants, but I hope that among photographers, this has some resonance.
When I was 14, he gave me an F2 with a nikkor f1.4 50 to go shoot girls at the beach for the tourist office. I was completely useless, way too timid to approach the girls, but I still have the nikkor.
When I was 25, as an introduction to my career as a pro photographer, he got me a Hasselblad 500C with a chrome planar. I loved that camera, even if it was a hassle to use on the street. I worked a sinar 4X5inch chamber with a schneider and a few rodenstocks as a day job. I dearly loved studio work, setting up food shots, making light tunnels for watches. I still have a linhof technika from those days, with three lenses and a 6X9 back, but it needs some work to make it useable.
One job I remember with affection even though it was terrible at the time : I had to lug around a hasselblad with three lenses in a metal case, with a "portable", "studio", two stand flash set with umbrella light diffusers to go shoot objects at museums all over the country. I think that job made my spine shorter and my arms longer than they should be.
Then I got promoted, I still played around with a nikon fm, but my hassle stayed on a shelf. Then I got sacked, and being disgusted with advertising, I didn't want to think about images anymore.
First I learned milling, drilling, working a lathe, welding, only to discover that honest artisanal jobs are few and far between, so I got to work as a train conductor.
For all that time, I had never thought about a leica. Except once, near the end of my advertising 'carreer'. About when the berlin wall had just fallen. In a fit of gas, I found a few feds and zorkis on a flea market, and I had the stupendous idea (with hindsight) to go and fit them out with some old leica glass : a summitar f2, an elmar f4 90mm. But I never really used them. Pokey viewfinders, the nicest one, a zorki 6, kept flapping open it's back door at the slightest provocation...
Three years ago, I got me a point and shoot digital rollei, and shot a few tens of images, but it left me unsatisfied. Too much time between the pressing of the button and the taking of the shot. Too much like television, depth of field all over the place all the time.
And then I found out about the M9. The price told me to forget about it.
I decided to get a fed2, because it is beautiful, and picasso had one.
It is a very nice camera, with a industar 61. It got me shooting again, and it got me lurking on the soviet rangefinder part of the forum, and then I took a look at the leica digital part, dreaming drunkenly about winning the lottery.
I discovered, that by some miracle of poetic justice, the best leica's are the cheapest : M3's and M2's can be had in the €600 to 1000 range.
I found an M3 bidding below 300 on the 'bay, from germany (that is nice and close), I put in a bid for 360, and I tried to convince myself that surely somebody would bid higher than me before soon, until about five minutes before the end, when I thought I had it nailed. I didn't. Lost the bid in the last 30 seconds. But the seller had an M2 that was coming to fruition 5 minutes later, and I got that one, for a bit less than my 360 bid.
I fell in love with this camera the second I glanced through the viewfinder. This is Leica, the firm that invented the ergonomics of photography. speed on the ring on top. diaphragm at the front of the lens, focus at the back. shutter button on the right, viewfinder on the left, 24X36, it seems self-evident today, but Leica made it so. In three months time, I have made three different skins for it, the fist one, I stitched a leather finger loop on the side, nice for the dedicated street shooter...
But I still wanted an M3. Because it was said that it's viewfinder is even better than the M2. So I took a contax 139 with a planar and a sonar to a second hand shop to trade (in part) for an M3 he had in his window, but he said he didn't even want them for free.
That was a depressing moment.
But then I found a battered but perfectly functional M3 from 1962 in a real leica shop. (living in a capital has advantages). I spent two months scratching the money together, and I got it and I gave it a snakeskin covering. The viewfinder is the best. I still like using the M2 with a 50, because of the field of view around the frame, but the M3 focuses easier, the patch seems bigger.
The M2 is in for repair, the shutter was ok at a 30th to a 125th, but anything slower or faster was out of whack.
I love my two sisters. In french, camera is feminine. so there!
This is of course exactly the kind of story one does not tell at a party, except if you really want to bore them out of their pants, but I hope that among photographers, this has some resonance.
someonenameddavid
Well-known
My Leica story is this: my first camera was a Praktica Nova IB meterless with a mediocre Meyer domiplan 50/2.8. It was stolen along with my brother's Nikkormat FTn. The FTn was recovered after the insurance paid for most of an FT2 so I bought it...it was wonderful and I thought Rangefinders were obsolete. I worked in a camera store in Pennsylvania and came into contact with an M3 with a DR Summicron. I also found Alpa -same quality but quirky... Then I lost my mind and went to medical school and residency. One thing about being desperately poor, you appreciate garage sales. Shortly into my new practice, signing bonus in my account I found a nice condition M3 DS with a mint collapsible Summicron for $450 oh oh oh oh, the best pictures I have ever taken. Subsequent yard sales have provided two visoflexes, a I just for fun and a III with a 65 Elmar. I have a Contax IIIa with a 1.5 Sonnar because I could not pass it up at the price. Ditto a mint black Nikon F all from yard sales. In most respects the Leica M3 has a better feel and result than any other camera. I am addicted to camera hunting at yard sales. It's cheaper than cocaine
David
David
JayM
Well-known
i thought it would be a perfect addition to my hobo millionaire costume.
Timmyjoe
Veteran
Back in 1994 when I was living in NYC, had been shooting SLR's for almost twenty years. Never had an interest in a Leica and knew little about them. Went to the Photo Expo at Javits that year and as I wandered past the Leica booth, I stepped in and picked up an M6. It just fit my hand so perfectly, and the tabbed lens was so natural to focus. Just fell in love with the weight, feel, smoothness, brilliant optics, the whole Leica M experience.
Didn't actually buy one until the year 2000, but can't see living without one ever again. Just such a natural fit.
Best,
-Tim
Didn't actually buy one until the year 2000, but can't see living without one ever again. Just such a natural fit.
Best,
-Tim
akitadog
Established
Well, OK, here we go.
I started in 1975 with a Rollei 35. Great little camera that was easy to carry while touring on my motorcycle.
Then some time later I bought an Olympus OM-1. Also a very nice little camera. When at the Grand Canyon, my camera strap let go and it quickly disappeared to the bottom of the canyon. lens and all. Needless to say, I now sew all my straps so they can't come loose or undone. Later when back home I bought a OM-2.
Kept that a few years until it froze solid in the Artic. Sold it and bought a Nikon F3HP. That is a really great camera. Solid, versatile and dependable. used it for many years with a bag full of lenses.
One day I decided I wanted to move up to Medium format and bought a Mamiya 6 and lenses. Absolutely liked that camera for landscapes. I really got to like the rangefinder concept using that camera. Sold it last year as it became too heavy a kit for me to carry back woods.
Now back to 1977. At that time I bought a pair of Leitz 8x42 binoculars. I still have them today. They get used every year when I am out camping and are still as crystal clear as the day I bought them. super quality. Any way, some time in the early 90's I bought a Leica M4-P and Summicron 35 and 50 and Elmarit M 90. What a great kit to travel with.
Kept them for many years. Still have the M4-P, but sold all the Leica glass. This allowed me to buy Zeiss ZM 35mm f2.8 and 50mm f1.5 and have money left over for a Nikon D-600. Wanted that as I was not able to photograph Birds and wildlife at a distance when camping. It is a heavy kit but stays in my truck when we are back roads and is used mainly on a tripod. the big f2.8 lenses are quite heavy.
Now my favorite camera system is the M4-P with my two Zeiss lenses. I miss the Leica glass, but not too much as the Zeiss lenses are also very good.
In between all those camera bodies, at one time or another I had an M6, M6ttl, in either black and chrome. Sold them all as I discovered that I liked my old M4-P best. Still have it after many years, and one CLA later. Hope to keep it forever and pass it on to my son.
So, over the years, it has been quite a bit of churning of camera gear. That I suppose is mostly due to GAS. I still have a Rollei 35S, Nikon F3HP. Bought them long after I sold my original ones. I remembered them fondly, and when the oppertunity came up to buy mint used ones I could not resist. Darn this GAS.
Well, I could write more but I guess this has gone on long enough. don't want to bore anyone.
Best Regards,
Akitadog
I started in 1975 with a Rollei 35. Great little camera that was easy to carry while touring on my motorcycle.
Then some time later I bought an Olympus OM-1. Also a very nice little camera. When at the Grand Canyon, my camera strap let go and it quickly disappeared to the bottom of the canyon. lens and all. Needless to say, I now sew all my straps so they can't come loose or undone. Later when back home I bought a OM-2.
Kept that a few years until it froze solid in the Artic. Sold it and bought a Nikon F3HP. That is a really great camera. Solid, versatile and dependable. used it for many years with a bag full of lenses.
One day I decided I wanted to move up to Medium format and bought a Mamiya 6 and lenses. Absolutely liked that camera for landscapes. I really got to like the rangefinder concept using that camera. Sold it last year as it became too heavy a kit for me to carry back woods.
Now back to 1977. At that time I bought a pair of Leitz 8x42 binoculars. I still have them today. They get used every year when I am out camping and are still as crystal clear as the day I bought them. super quality. Any way, some time in the early 90's I bought a Leica M4-P and Summicron 35 and 50 and Elmarit M 90. What a great kit to travel with.
Kept them for many years. Still have the M4-P, but sold all the Leica glass. This allowed me to buy Zeiss ZM 35mm f2.8 and 50mm f1.5 and have money left over for a Nikon D-600. Wanted that as I was not able to photograph Birds and wildlife at a distance when camping. It is a heavy kit but stays in my truck when we are back roads and is used mainly on a tripod. the big f2.8 lenses are quite heavy.
Now my favorite camera system is the M4-P with my two Zeiss lenses. I miss the Leica glass, but not too much as the Zeiss lenses are also very good.
In between all those camera bodies, at one time or another I had an M6, M6ttl, in either black and chrome. Sold them all as I discovered that I liked my old M4-P best. Still have it after many years, and one CLA later. Hope to keep it forever and pass it on to my son.
So, over the years, it has been quite a bit of churning of camera gear. That I suppose is mostly due to GAS. I still have a Rollei 35S, Nikon F3HP. Bought them long after I sold my original ones. I remembered them fondly, and when the oppertunity came up to buy mint used ones I could not resist. Darn this GAS.
Well, I could write more but I guess this has gone on long enough. don't want to bore anyone.
Best Regards,
Akitadog
Archiver
Veteran
As the M9 was my first Leica, I came into the fold much more recently than a lot of you. Mine came in the second batch that hit Australia in early 2010. When I ordered it, I felt like my guts had just fallen out of my a$$. So much money! I'd never spent that kind of money on anything before, as my previous big camera purchase was the 5D Mark II in early 2009.
5D II - Memories of Journeys Past by Archiver, on Flickr
I'd arrived there by way of the Kodak Disc camera, my Dad's Pentax ME, and much later a whole slew of digital compacts and a Canon 30D.
ME - Ghosts in the Light by Archiver, on Flickr
30D - Please Mind The Gap by Archiver, on Flickr
The quality and speed of the Canon DSLR's enthralled me, but I always wanted something smaller, and more compacts were acquired. I picked up a Zeiss Ikon in 2008 when I was in Hong Kong and was immediately taken by the size and handling. And the lenses! Oh baby, such joys of mechanical wonder!
CV 25/4P - Golden by Archiver, on Flickr
But shooting film was getting expensive, and when the M9 was announced, I thought that I could spend a bunch of money but get almost unlimited exposures. When the M9 came, I spent a frustrated month of learning how to meter correctly, but I got glimpses of this camera's brilliance almost from the beginning.
M9 + ZM 25/2.8 - Town Hall by Archiver, on Flickr
So it was with some excitement that I bought a near-mint chrome M7 not six months after getting my M9. And almost as an impulse buy, too. I walked into Camera Exchange when they were still in Melbourne CBD, and Ross took out the M7 that winked at me from inside the cabinet. I fell in love with the shutter, the feel of the advance lever, and the slim body that fit so nicely in my hand.
I have to admit that the M9 is my primary M, and the M7 is mostly a shelf queen that gets the occasional fondle, but I do love it.
5D II - Memories of Journeys Past by Archiver, on Flickr
I'd arrived there by way of the Kodak Disc camera, my Dad's Pentax ME, and much later a whole slew of digital compacts and a Canon 30D.
ME - Ghosts in the Light by Archiver, on Flickr
30D - Please Mind The Gap by Archiver, on Flickr
The quality and speed of the Canon DSLR's enthralled me, but I always wanted something smaller, and more compacts were acquired. I picked up a Zeiss Ikon in 2008 when I was in Hong Kong and was immediately taken by the size and handling. And the lenses! Oh baby, such joys of mechanical wonder!
CV 25/4P - Golden by Archiver, on Flickr
But shooting film was getting expensive, and when the M9 was announced, I thought that I could spend a bunch of money but get almost unlimited exposures. When the M9 came, I spent a frustrated month of learning how to meter correctly, but I got glimpses of this camera's brilliance almost from the beginning.
M9 + ZM 25/2.8 - Town Hall by Archiver, on Flickr
So it was with some excitement that I bought a near-mint chrome M7 not six months after getting my M9. And almost as an impulse buy, too. I walked into Camera Exchange when they were still in Melbourne CBD, and Ross took out the M7 that winked at me from inside the cabinet. I fell in love with the shutter, the feel of the advance lever, and the slim body that fit so nicely in my hand.
I have to admit that the M9 is my primary M, and the M7 is mostly a shelf queen that gets the occasional fondle, but I do love it.
