I HAVE a Leica!

OptiKen · Jun 16, 2015

Earlier I had posted a thread called "I want a Leica" to which I received a lot of advice and suggestions for which I am very grateful.
My pursuit and desire led me to 'renting' some cameras for comparison and to decide what I really wanted. Ultimately I will end up with one camera (I hope - I really can't afford all of these toys).
1 - Zorki (1) - this I already owned and love and is what led me on the search for 'the ultimate Barnack'
2 - Canon IIF - beautiful camera with excellent build but viewfinder is too difficult for me
3 - Canon IVSB2 - gorgeous Barnack. I can't find anything to not like about this camera
4 - Leica IIIF - It's a Leica. Beautiful, easy to use, fast in use, love the way the rangefinder and viewfinder are close together-my eye shifts easily from one to the other and being seperate, they are both bright.

Yes, I could probably sell them all and pick up a nice M3 but that isn't where I am going right now. Maybe someday.
For now, I'm just enjoying shooting with some excellent cameras. It is going to be very hard to decide between the IVSB2 and the Leica.

Sirius Glass · Jun 16, 2015

Enjoy!!

Shoot film.

Four cameras, all the lenses next comes buying. For GAS, screwed your are. Yoda, Starwars LXXXVIII The Enveloping of GAS Force

Ko.Fe. · Jun 16, 2015

Now it just a matter of time before you'll get one M.

frank · Jun 16, 2015

There's no better way of choosing a camera than to try out several and keep the one that works the best for you.

Nathan King · Jun 16, 2015

Congratulations! They are excellent. I'm seeing an M in your future.

Sirius Glass · Jun 16, 2015

Yep, can you spell 'M'?

mehguy · Jun 16, 2015

Congrats! I wish i could have a leica haha.

Fotoguy20d · Jun 16, 2015

Enjoy. The F is a nice camera. Bet you never use the Zorki again. What lens are you using with it? One of the classic collapsible 50s, I hope.

My first 35mm was a 1946 IIIc (which I still own). They're a joy to shoot with. Did you try a Bessa? I have an R - it doesnt feel like an M3 - its too light and plasticy - but, the RF is bright and beautiful, and the internal metering makes it too easy to use. But, I stick with my M3 and an MR meter on top. Don't try an M if you don't plan on buying one. You'll never go back to the Barnacks.

Terry Christian · Jun 17, 2015

I started my rangefinder addiction with a few fixed-lens rangefinders (the best was the Ricoh 500) before getting a FED-2 (a Soviet Barnack) and ultimately graduating to a Leica M3. As much as I enjoyed the FED and thought it couldn't be improved upon, the M3 is ever so much more so. So now I primarily use that and the poor man's M6: a Voigtländer Bessa R2.
Fotoguy, you should upgrade to at least the R2. Those and the R3s are magnesium alloy, not plasticky, and are as durable as any other cameras out there. Truly a joy to use.

benjiboy · Jun 17, 2015

There must be something wrong with me I never desired a Leica.

sagai · Jun 17, 2015

benjiboy said:
There must be something wrong with me I never desired a Leica.

You can buy infinite number of films to shoot with on return [emoji2]

Congratulations for the OP anyway !!
... I miss the images of it and the ones have been shoot with it!

I would not state that I have never had a desire though rather I always had alternative to spend on.

Hobby is actually the thing we spent unrealistic amount of money on for emotional reasons and as such does not really differ from women though [emoji2]

benjiboy · Jun 17, 2015

sagai said:
You can buy infinite number of films to shoot with on return [emoji2]

Congratulations for the OP anyway !!
... I miss the images of it and the ones have been shoot with it!

I would not state that I have never had a desire though rather I always had alternative to spend on.

Hobby is actually the thing we spent unrealistic amount of money on for emotional reasons and as such does not really differ from women though [emoji2]

My wife for a fiftieth wedding anniversary present offered to buy me a new Leica I told her I didn't want one I'm perfectly happy with my New Canon F1's.

baachitraka · Jun 17, 2015

I do not know what I have but I need money+time+peace right now and for ever.

flavio81 · Jun 17, 2015

benjiboy said:
There must be something wrong with me I never desired a Leica.

Me neither. I wanted a Leicaflex for a long time but with the Canon F-1N i think my search for the perfect 35mm SLR has ended.

As for rangefinders, i'd really love to have a Nikon SP.

Sirius Glass · Jun 17, 2015

benjiboy said:
There must be something wrong with me I never desired a Leica.

I like the feel and handling of a Leica but I much prefer reflex cameras.

Nathan King · Jun 17, 2015

benjiboy said:
There must be something wrong with me I never desired a Leica.

A Leica can be an outstanding camera or a completely useless camera; it depends on how/what you photograph. There's probably nothing wrong with you.

Ko.Fe. · Jun 17, 2015

Nathan King said:
A Leica can be an outstanding camera or a completely useless camera; it depends on how/what you photograph. There's probably nothing wrong with you.

Great explanation!

I never bothered with Leica thing until I get into "street" photography. I have tried DLSRs, SLRs, P&S, TLRs. Tried different RFs from Oly XA to Graflex Anniversary. It appears what Leica M and Leitz lens on it with focus tab are somehow easy to fiddle with. I would really love to deal with SLRs at little cost for them and lenses, but I tried multiple times and it is not for me.

benjiboy · Jul 22, 2015

Leicas don't have any magical powers and as long as you bear in mind owning a Stradivarius makes one a Stradivarius owner, not a concert violinist.

Dan Fromm · Jul 22, 2015

benjiboy said:
Leicas don't have any magical powers and as long as you bear in mind owning a Stradivarius makes one a Stradivarius owner, not a concert violinist.

Ben, do you play a string instrument?

I ask because I do and can't quite bring myself to agree with you. A string player who's learned how to make an instrument speak can get a decent sound out of the cigar boxes beginners start on. Beginners, however, can't get anything out of their cigar boxes until they've learned how. The problem of making a cigar box speak strongly discourages them from learning how. When I was a very young beginner I had the opportunity to play a good instrument. OH MY! My struggles were ended. And then I went back to my cigar box ...

benjiboy · Jul 22, 2015

Dan Fromm said:
Ben, do you play a string instrument?

I ask because I do and can't quite bring myself to agree with you. A string player who's learned how to make an instrument speak can get a decent sound out of the cigar boxes beginners start on. Beginners, however, can't get anything out of their cigar boxes until they've learned how. The problem of making a cigar box speak strongly discourages them from learning how. When I was a very young beginner I had the opportunity to play a good instrument. OH MY! My struggles were ended. And then I went back to my cigar box ...

I play the piano Dan but the same thing applies if you own a Ferrari it doesn't make you a racing driver, great instruments only are great in the hands of accomplished practitioners.

flavio81 · Jul 22, 2015

Dan Fromm said:
Ben, do you play a string instrument?

I ask because I do and can't quite bring myself to agree with you. A string player who's learned how to make an instrument speak can get a decent sound out of the cigar boxes beginners start on.

I play electric guitar and drums.

The comparison you make is not entirely correct, since Ben and I were not comparing a Leica to an entry-level camera, but comparing it to the Canon New F-1 which is was a top-of-the-line pro camera.

A proper comparison would perhaps be to compare a (very expensive) Gibson Les Paul Supreme ($5300) model to a Parker Fly guitar ($3500). The former is more "prestigious" than the other but the latter is as good as a guitar, or maybe even better, having much more modern material and technology. But in both cases, the quality of the sound will be limited by the player, not by the guitar.

georg16nik · Jul 22, 2015

flavio81 said:
..

The comparison you make is not entirely correct, since Ben and I were not comparing a Leica to an entry-level camera, but comparing it to the Canon New F-1 which is was a top-of-the-line pro camera.

Canon started as Leica copy, then they moved to SLR land and they fed the mass market - a race to the bottom, which they lost these days to smart phones, so comparison is impossible. Leica was never a mass market product and they still manufacture film cameras, lenses etc. for them.
You get what you pay.

flavio81 said:
..

A proper comparison would perhaps be to compare a (very expensive) Gibson Les Paul Supreme ($5300) model to a Parker Fly guitar ($3500). The former is more "prestigious" than the other but the latter is as good as a guitar, or maybe even better, having much more modern material and technology. But in both cases, the quality of the sound will be limited by the player, not by the guitar.

Hit a high end tube Class A amp with the Paul and then plug the Parker and you will be ready to vomit in about 30 seconds.
The current Gibsons, Fenders are inferior when compared to the ones made up until the 1960 but still carry some of the original tonal charm and quality.
Same for PRS, after 1990 they race to the bottom.

Leica still make them in 2015 like in the old days - no other camera brand carried the torch for so long.

flavio81 · Jul 22, 2015

georg16nik said:
Canon started as Leica copy, then they moved to SLR land and they fed the mass market - a race to the bottom, which they lost these days to smart phones, so comparison is impossible.

I am comparing Leicaflex SL, a professional SLR, with a Canon F-1 professional SLR. Comparison is direct, period.

And by the way, Leitz Wetzlar, in the past, was an actual professional camera manufacturer, with widespread use among the pros. Now, they are just a niche player catering for the collectors, and rich amateurs (amateur in the sense of "person has a love of photography and thus cultivates it"). Canon and Nikon, on the other hand, were and still are professional camera manufacturers. They still manufacture pro cameras and pro lenses, which are still selling pretty well. The low-end is another business altogether.

But of course, you can keep your Leica pride and insist on everything else being trashed together in the "low end" category. But remember that exactly this attitude was what caused the fall of the Zeiss Ikon-Voigtlander-Rollei empire...

cliveh · Jul 22, 2015

benjiboy said:
There must be something wrong with me I never desired a Leica.

Have you ever used one?

flavio81 · Jul 22, 2015

cliveh said:
Have you ever used one?

LOL! Why is this so hard to believe?

I HAVE a Leica!

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