Leica regret?

Shootar401 · Jun 19, 2014

I picked up a Leica M2 recently with a 50mm Summicron DR. I took it out and shot a few rolls around PA and NYC. Great handling camera, small, typical German overenginering and sharp lens. The only problem is that it just doesn't feel right in my hands like my Rolleiflex does. I can't explain why, but I bought the Leica as an eveyday camera to carry to and from work and take in my bag when I leave the house. But I just miss the Rollei so much that I'm thinking of selling it already and getting a 2nd one.

Anybody else feel the same after picking up a rangefinder after years of using a TLR?

Slixtiesix · Jun 19, 2014

Same here. I´ve been using 6x6 exclusively since 2005 and sold my entire 35mm equipment back then (which was not more than one Canon rebel, three lenses and some filters anyway). Two years ago I picked up a Leica at Photokina but I did not get along with the rangefinder. I think you can get accustomed to it, but after years of looking on a waist level finder it was just not for me...

Vilk · Jun 19, 2014

i wouldn't call it regret, was a cute little affair while it lasted... talk of the town, too... five years and three different bodies... hmmm, is there such thing as a "different leica body?" anyway, was pulling a roll through the leica for every fifty rolls through the F2... moved on, no regrets

ps. as my friend once described the pipe, "it's not as much smoking as @#$%ing about smoking"

Jeff Kubach · Jun 19, 2014

I do like my Rolleiflex. I'm still used to my 35mm. This may sound strange, I like my RB67.

Jeff

Ian Grant · Jun 19, 2014

I'm happy working with a Leica or TLRs, you just need to get used to the M2 then it becomes intuitive.

Ian

Nuff · Jun 19, 2014

I have never used one, except in a shop and I do want one. But you took it out once and don't like it? How about taking it more than once?
For me, I like 35mm cameras, since they can be used at f1.4 or even f1.2. In dark places. Something that I can't use my MF gear for without a tripod. But then your lens is f2...
They are for different type of photos...

darkosaric · Jun 19, 2014

Shootar401 said:
picking up a rangefinder after years of using a TLR?

picking up a rangefinder after years of using a SLR - this is more the case.

It just takes time to get used to it.

I had other way around: I had a rolleiflex, it was too weird to me: square format, left is right - right is left... I sold it for the same money I paid. And after couple of years - I saw that it was a mistake - so I got a rolleiflex again . Mistake was not too expensive for me - automat X was 150 and it is in nice working condition.

If you have nice working Leica - sell it only if you really really need the money. Later you will regret - and maybe next one you buy will have issues (with 50+ year old cameras you never know), and then you will regret even more.

Ghostman · Jun 19, 2014

The only camera I regret buying is a Leica M9. I have an M7 which I don't use often, but it's perfect for certain things.

markbarendt · Jun 19, 2014

I've played with a rangefinder a few times, and I'm a sucker for well built machines, but I still don't have a strong itch to get one. The only "advantage" I see in the field over say an FM2, is that they are quiet and honestly I'm ok with noisy.

For 35mm I even gave up on the FM2 though. I want the automation my F100 & F5 provide. Small manual cameras just don't fit how I want to shoot with them.

In medium format it's a different story. I have had a fair itch to get a TLR but the RB has held that at bay for now, mostly because I tend to like longer focal lengths for most shots and still fully appreciate my need to switch.

The only place I've found myself being pretty comfy with one focal length so far has been in 4x5.

jjphoto · Jun 19, 2014

It's not unusual to dislike range finders, regardless of the make.

dorff · Jun 19, 2014

Nothing in the world prevents you from forming your own opinion about whether you like something and want to acquire or keep it, vs not acquiring or selling it. We have all had regrets over something, if not over a Leica. Just use what works for you.

frank · Jun 19, 2014

That lens, while great optically, is heavy and long (for a 50).

Try the f2.5 50mm from CV, a collapsing 50mm lens, or any 28, 35, or 40mm lens.
The Leica then becomes portable.

Jim Jones · Jun 19, 2014

I preferred Leica rangefinders for 50 years, despite having SLR, TLR, and LF equipment most of that time. Any camera system demands experience for comfortable results. Don't give up too soon on any new system.

Richard S. (rich815) · Jun 19, 2014

I'd give it a few months before you decide you don't like it. Obviously you're not used to it. But if you truly hate it then go back to the TLR but you really have not given much of a chance.

snapguy · Jun 19, 2014

new Rollei

I just bought a "new" 60-year-old Rolleiflex after not having one for 40 years. (I had a Yashicamat in between.) It is a fabulous camera but I have several rangefinders which are better for some kinds of work. I got rid of my Leica M2r in the 1970s, and regret it. I suggest you keep the Leica as it is a fabulous camera. You might decide one day you now have the perfect photo situation for a rangefinder.

Sirius Glass · Jun 19, 2014

I have mostly moved away from 35mm to medium format, however my camera of choice is a Hasselblad. Use a Hasselblad and you will never go back.

frank · Jun 19, 2014

A carpenter, even a hobbyist woodworker, would have more than one type of saw or hammer. Some cameras are better for some tasks than others, and the nature of the tasks can differ.

BrianShaw · Jun 19, 2014

I have 6 or 7 hammers. They all bend nails about the same, except some will bend them faster.

BetterSense · Jun 19, 2014

There are many reasons that SLRs overtook rangefinders in popularity, and they are just as valid today as they were in the '60s.

BradleyK · Jun 19, 2014

Ian Grant said:
I'm happy working with a Leica or TLRs, you just need to get used to the M2 then it becomes intuitive.

Ian

Sound advice. In my case it was some 25 years of working with Nikons and Hasselblads before I picked up my first rangefinder (an M4P that I no longer own). For the first year or so, I fought constantly with the camera; using it just wasn't intuitive in the way my Nikons are. But after a year or so of (infrequent) use, the thing gradually became more comfortable to use. That said, to this day, I remain anything but proficient with changing film (I often find my self cussing like a sailor when loading fresh film); possibly one roll in five is loaded on the first attempt. Still, the Leicas are a pleasure to shoot with; I wouldn't part with them for anything.

Xmas · Jun 19, 2014

BetterSense said:
There are many reasons that SLRs overtook rangefinders in popularity, and they are just as valid today as they were in the '60s.

True the herd stampeded.

I use a M2, or Canon P or Nikon F2 interchangeably.

The little CV 5cm /2.5 is very compact in gbag.

Hate the bottom loading of the M2. Hate the Canons lever wind - it is slower.

Use the P about 80% of time.

cliveh · Jun 19, 2014

The trick is to make the Leica control you. You don't control it.

Too old to care · Jun 20, 2014

I have been a TLR shooter for 45+ years, but I also use a Leica M6 from time to time. The reason is sometimes a 35 makes more sense, such as taking it along on a bike trip. A couple of years ago I bought a 501C just because I always wanted a Hasselblad. To be honest, it does nothing that my C330 cannot do, and my C330 can make wonderful enlargements the Leica can't. So, guess which camera sees the most use.

Sirius Glass · Jun 20, 2014

I inherited at my father's C330. I found it "fiddlily", in that the 250mm had to be hand cocked while the other lenses were cocked with the film advancement. Also I found that I had to tip the camera from side to side for some of the settings. It in for a Hasselblad 503 CX and and Hasselblad 903 SWC. I never looked back.

pen s · Jun 21, 2014

Always thought I wanted a Leica M and as a retirement present to myself I finally sprang for a M4-2 and a couple of CV lenses. It was the CV lenses that even made it feaseable to even consider a Leica. However, like many other comments to this thread I'm finding the Leica just a fancy version of my Olympus RC! Sure, long base RF and interchangeable lenses but at what price? My Leica with 21 f4 and 35 f2.5 CV lenses and a 90 f4 Elmar has set me back about $1750 (that includes $200 to Youxin Ye to set right a cosmetically nice camera that had been serviced by a tractor mechanic). My Oly RC was $35, is in near mint condition, and only needed foam replacement.

And........

I'm finding out I really am a SLR type guy. I like the TTL viewing and focusing, close focus ability and, to some extent seeing DOF when I preview it on my plain matte screen. (A 1-10 matte w/grid screen on my OM-1)

I got to admit. The CV lenses are really good and the M4-2 feels great in the hand but, in the applications I use it in I usually scale focus and let DOF cover my behind. That is kind of a waste of that precision RF mechanism.

Leica regret?

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