Leica? (Page 3): Thanks very much. I am going straight to Steve Huff’s site!

Haden123

Thanks very much. I am going straight to Steve Huff’s site!

Gourmand Loc: Dallas

Cameras to me are like hammers in a carpenter's tool box. You wouldn't use a sledge hammer to hang a painting and you wouldn't use a tack hammer to bust up a driveway. Most of the time a claw hammer is the right tool for me. The Leica is a tack hammer, my Nikon is my claw hammer and the Hasselblad is a sledge hammer. Which will best suit your needs is up to you.

MrPhotog

Gourmand wrote:

. . .The Leica is a tack hammer, my Nikon is my claw hammer and the Hasselblad is a sledge hammer. . .

I love the analogy, but I’d swap the order. The Leica has a cast steel body and once, in a pinch, I’ve used an M4 to drive nails in a broken shoe.

The bride’s shoe lost it’s heel and she wasn’t gonna go down the aisle in just one shoe, so I bashed the high heel back back on the sole with the heaviest tool I had. The Nikon would never have taken the abuse.

The Leica (and Nikon) are still working fine 30+ years later and are both fine brands.

Iabrams3985

Overpriced is in the eye of the beholder. Leica hand-builds the M10-R in Germany; that’s an expensive proposition. It could probably move assembly to another nation, but that would be counterproductive. Being built by hand in Germany is one of the allures of the M10-R.

Of course your Leica rangefinder lenses will work on the M-10R. If they’re screwmounts, they’ll work with an adapter. If bayonet mounts, no adapter will be necessary.

Camera choices should be personal. The selection of tools to practice a craft, art, or hobby is highly individualistic. Most of us who inhabit these forums aren’t really able to advise you what fits your style of photography nor what price you’re willing to pay for the tools or instruments of your art.

But as someone who’s admired, on rare occasions used, and learned about Leicas, I can suggest to you that you’ll likely be very pleased with an M10-R and a set of Leitz lenses.

Iabrams3985

Funny, likely not true.

ORpilot Loc: Prineville, Or

As a college educator of photography, I get to see all brands via my students. Leica makes arguebly the best 35mm lenses. They make the worlds best 35mm film cameras. As for digital, They make the only B&W digital camera, (wish I had one). A fellow college buddy that also got his BFA in Photography and shot archecture professionally just purchased the Leica R2. He has used Contax, Nikon, and Sony. He says that from the moment he picked up the camera he loved it. He says that it doesn't have all the bells and whisles the other cameras have but it is a superior piece of equipment. The menu is easy to navigate. The camera is like comparing a Timex to a Rolex. If you can afford it, you will love it. Someday, I'll own a Leica.

reverand

Haden123 wrote:

I have a Leica M6 film camera which I love. It tak... (show quote)

This is a question that has been around a long time, going back to the old days of film. Leica cameras were always precision instruments, excellently crafted, and they were always much, much more expensive than comparable Japanese camera. Was the extra expense worth it? Leica fans seem to think so, and that keeps Leica going. But Leica has long been well behind Nikon, Canon, and Sony in terms of technology. If a Leica lasted twice as long as a comparable Nikon, I'd go with a Leica, but I don't the difference, if any, is significant. To that I would add that I have a Nikon F from about 1968, and a Nikon F2 from the 70s that are still in perfect working order.

rkaminer Loc: New York, NY

I still have my Leica 3F my father bought in 1952. Still works well, but it is mostly on display now. Love the precision of how it is made, like a Swiss watch but it does more than telling time.

If money is no object go for it, I would, but money is an object for me. therefore I have to stick with the commoners and get a me-too camera.

DeanS Loc: Capital City area of North Carolina

Peterfiore wrote:

They are priced far less than many Swiss watches...so they are truly a bargain!

Yeah, and Swiss watches don't yet take photos!

hrblaine

>I have my Dads old Argus rangefinder that he bought in 1955. What you said about rangefinders, that it “forces you to slow down and think” is right on the money.<

Fooled around with an Argus in the '50s, also with Nikon. I was PX Officer in a field artillery battery in Korea so I had first pick. :-) When I went digital I got a Canon 5Dc which I still use. With a drawer full of Canon lens, more that I'll ever need/use. I learned to drve on a stick shift but never owned one. I 'spose that I could still shift gears (isn't shifting like swimming - once you learn it's there forever?}. Harry PS If I ever start printing more than 8x10, I'spose that I'll have to buy a later model Canon but so far, so good! The only big print that I have displayed ( a 13x19 of a Sonoma beach) was taken with a 35mm Nikon, probably 25 or more years ago.

Haden123

These are all great posts! Many thanks for your insights! ORpilot, I am sure you will have a Leica one day. A great place to start is with a film camera such as the M6TTI which is wonderful. Reverend, I still have my Nikon F2 from the early 70s along with some beautiful Nikon glass. I still use that camera and I have recently been spending time in a friend’s dark room printing images of my wife as a very young lady that I took with that camera!!

ORpilot Loc: Prineville, Or

Haden123 wrote:

These are all great posts! Many thanks for your insights! ORpilot, I am sure you will have a Leica one day. A great place to start is with a film camera such as the M6TTI which is wonderful. Reverend, I still have my Nikon F2 from the early 70s along with some beautiful Nikon glass. I still use that camera and I have recently been spending time in a friend’s dark room printing images of my wife as a very young lady that I took with that camera!!

Thanks, I have a Rollie as my favorite 35 film camera. But, the Leica I want is one of the B&W - monochrome cameras. I might actually give up my old 4x5 equipment for one....maybe.

Haden123

I have heard that the Leica M 10 M is a remarkable camera. It has a 42MP sensor and, apparently, since the sensor has no color “filters,“ the camera takes better black-and-white photos than any other digital camera out there. Since you are a professor of photography, you may be entitled to certain tax benefits relating to equipment purchases. That brings down the cost of the equipment. I think you should go for it!

NRB

I have a Leica Q and it is a stellar performer: true color and 400 tri-X black and white quality; the 28mm lens alone is worth the price of admission.

Haden123

Thanks very much. I have heard great things about the Q. The 28 mm lens is a little too wide for me. I prefer 55 mm up to 135 mm. That’s just a personal preference.