Leica Users

[Sean]

Leica R8 owner here (as of 1hr ago) Gotta love ebay! I have it paired with a 35-70 F4 Vario-Elmar-R. It's a BEAUTY! It's always good to be in touch with with other owners in case I need some info or tips. If the groups grows I'll create a dedicated group forum for it.

Sean

 

[Richard Wasserman]

Hi Sean, Thanks for setting up this group and enjoy the R8, it's a great camera. I'm an M user and have an M2R and an M6 with an assortment of lenses with my favorites being a 50mm Dual range Summicron and a 35mm UC-Hexanon. Of course then there's the 21mmf/4.5 Biogon and a 75mm Summicron... Is anyone else here a member of the Leica Historical Society of America? I've been a member for several years and have made a number of good friends, very interesting people.

 

[df cardwell]

WELL DONE, SEAN.

 

[Pinholemaster]

Can an M6 TTL user visit with the Leica R crowd?

I have an entire gallery on my web portfolio shot with only my two M6 cameras.

Dead Link Removed

I used a 24 mm, 35 mm, and a 75 mm lens on the project.

 

[Uncle Bill]

Hi, another Leica fan here. I love my M3 DS that belonged to my dad. My primary lenses with it are the 50/2 Summicron, 90/4 Elmar, a little used 135 Hektor and a much loved 35/2.5 Skopar lens from Voightlander.

 

[Sean]

Just been playing with the R8 mirror pre-release. Pretty cool feature.. so just to make sure I'm clear on this.. when enabled and the shutter is fully pressed the mirror flips up, then the shutter fires, then pressing again releases the mirror. The shutter is so quiet it makes me feel like it's not firing but I'm sure it is. I might pop out and burn a test roll.

 

[Uncle Bill]

Sweet Camera Sean, I have never played with the R8 but I have shot with borrowed R3 and R4 in the past. The R system is underrated with really nice optics.

 

[Tony Egan]

A recent first time M6 owner (late TTL version). Wanted to experience the Leica "mystique". It hasn't magically improved my photos yet and I have not been impressed with the Leitz 90mm f2 lens - very soft wide open. Nikon is much sharper so I will be sticking to the Nikon for my gig photography. Also the shutter noise was not as quiet as the reputation had me believe. Compared to say my Mamiya 7 it's loud! So I would say we are still dating and haven't fallen in love yet! Maybe it will be a slow affair.

 

[Sean]

Just got back from a brief outing down at the shore. By the 15th frame it was comfortable and fluid to use. Feels solid like a small tank in my hands. I took a variety of shots to test out the 35-70, a few macros as the lens has a macro capability (can't remember the last time I had a macro so that was fun). I have a feeling I am going to love this camera. I consider myself clumsy with manual focus slrs but this is by far the most effortless of any I have used you can actually see everything SNAP right into focus the viewfinder is so bright even with the F4. So far pretty happy, time to make a few prints..

 

[John McCallum]

Quietly checking in. <shhh> click <shhhhh>

 

[jnanian]

i have and use a m3 double stroke. i have a 35, 50 and 90 for it
and love using it. i love how solid it feels and how it works pefectly.
i was joking when i said it had an auto function

 

[Sean]

1st roll from the R8 is drying. They look gooooood, nice contrast and sharp as a tack. Will try to make a few prints tomorrow.

 

[Fintan]

Lovely camera Sean, good luck with it, I'm looking forward to hearing your experiences. I've an M7 in the classifieds at the moment. I don't think the rangefinder is for me. Perhaps I should have bought an R. So please keep us posted on your experiences with your R8

 

[Pinholemaster]

Sean, look forward to you posting your first images.

Tony, I have a Mamiya 7 II system. Yes it is quieter than a Leica M camera because of its electronic shutter. The Leica has a manual shutter, albeit louder than the Mamiya, but still pretty quiet compared to other manufacturer's manual shutters. Never used a 90 mm f/2.0 so can't compare, but my 75 mm at f/1.4 is amazingly sharp.

 

[clogz]

Hello Sean,
What lens(es) have you got for the R8?

 

[Sean]

I've got the Leica 35-70 F4 Vario-Elmar-R. My research showed this lens to have an edge over the F3.5 model. Most of them were going on ebay for 1200US but I found a Demo model that's absolute mint from Adorama for 650 (and it had a Leica UV filter on it which can be 120US -so very happy!).

 

[Tom Hoskinson]

Single Stroke M3, Double Stroke M3, a CL and a bunch of lenses. I Also have a Visoflex and a sweet 65mm Elmar. Oh - and a Focomat.

 

[Tony Egan]

Walter - yes, probably unfair to compare two different technologies and the shutter is quieter than my SLRs, especially throwing film advance and mirror into the comparison equation. I suppose I am approaching my experience with a bit of scepticism trying to sort the truth from the myths. I would say the "whisper quiet" shutter is in the myth category so far!

 

[Pinholemaster]

Tony - what I found with the Myth of the quiet Leica M shutter is that in a quiet room the shutter sounds loud to me. It is when you are shooting with a lot of ambient sound, such as people talking and distracted from the shooter, the Leica M shutter is very quiet to everyone in the room. The shooter still hears the shutter, but everyone else doesn't notice it compared to shooting with an SLR. So the myth is how others perceive the shutter noise, not so much for us who are using the camera. When push comes to shove, the Mamiya 7 shutter beats the Leica M any day of the week. You make a good point in your original observation.

 

[Sean]

Posted my first shot with the R8, testing out the macro capability of the 35-70 lens. I'm going to love this camera btw the scan is crud, might need to upgrade my scanner at some stage, good enough though. (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

 

[Tony Egan]

Anyone have experience with Voigtlander M lens? My M6 came with a tiny 35mm Voigtlander. Even brand new they are very cheap in comparison to the "real thing". Should I buy two new Voigtlanders for less than the price of one used Leica? Or is the real thing worth it in the long run? I'm sure the answer is it depends but appreciate your thoughts on the question.
Tony

 

[Richard Wasserman]

Tony, The Voigtlander lenses are top notch and compare very favorably to Leica. The build quality is not quite the same, but optically they are very, very good and a wonderful value.

Richard Waserman

 

[Eric Rose]

Hi guys. I have a M5, VC 35mm Skopar 3.5, Elmar 90mm and a Jupiter 50mm f4 Sonnar design lens. My poor LF gear is feeling left out these days as I am having way to much fun with this setup.

 

[PAUL SPERO]

CAN ANY PERSON ANSWER QUESTIONS REGARDING A FOCOMAT IIC REGARDS PAUL SPERO

 

[bowzart]

Tony,

I have a copy of the CV 40mm f/1.4 Nokton in the single coated version (it was intended for the Japanese market). It is great. Given that all Leica lenses are not the same, but show significant variation among the group, this lens seems to fit quite well within the range. I don't know about the others, but certainly would like to know others' experiences with them.