Long time Nikon guy just got his first Leica... whee!
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OP
OP
On the west coast, Sambos was Dennys. They're still around but fading.
There is a Sambos in Santa Barbara. At least there was the last time I visited a few years ago.
we had both Sambo’s and Denny’s here in California. Sambo’s and Bob’s Big Boy disappeared many years (1990’s ?) ago. Denny’s is still around.
That one was the original Sambo’s. The owners succumbed to...eh, um, I’ll just say that they covered the sign last year and leave it at that.
There is an original Bob's Big Boy statue at a house on Las Flores Canyon in Malibu. Visible from the street.
been a long time since I’ve been to Malibu but I think I know the place you’re referring to.
OP
OP
My memory is faulty. I saw the architecture of the Sambo's in the picture it looked just like a Denny's which is where I made the mistake. We only had Bob's Big Boy in my neck of Garden Grove, CA while I was growing up
Congrats on the M6! Great camera there.
Speaking as someone who's owned/used both Leica and Nikon gear for several years now, I'd join the others above in saying *don't* get rid of all your Nikon gear, especially precipitately. Much of it will still be useful to you, even with the Leica.
I mean, I *love* the fact that I can stick a 35mm lens on my M6 and tuck it into a coat pocket, and roll around the city all day. (I can't *quite* fit my Nikon FE and an attached lens into a pocket, sadly.) And 90% of the time when I'm out shooting for fun, I'm carrying my Leica.
However, as you well know, there are times and situations where the Leica just can't do what an SLR can. Not only that, I find that occasionally moving away from the Leica, and using my FE, is really a highly enjoyable change of pace. Nikon's FM/FE series, and their manual focus lenses, are really fantastic, well-made, well thought out, precision gear--maybe the bodies aren't "pro" standard, but they're damn good; and the fact that they *aren't* armored like a "pro" camera keeps them small and light, and very much in line with the Leica feel and shooting aesthetic. To me, photography is all about joy and fun--and Nikon's old film gear has a very high quotient of both, as well as being capable of producing great images. (I've joked that my FE is my "riot camera"--there are occasions where I wouldn't risk using my Leica, for fear of something bad happening to it; so the FE gives me a small, unobtrusive, non-threatening--but still very good--camera to use in those situations, and if something *does* happen to it, it won't come with a huge emotional toll, or be so bloody expensive to replace.)
I wouldn't part with my FE--and in fact, when my first one got stolen a few years back at an MMA fight card, I bought another one straightaway to replace it. (I now have two, one in black and one in chrome.) They're lovely, and highly capable, little cameras.
You *do* have lots of stuff it sounds like you could part with. If you don't need the cash right away, get your M6, use the heck out of it, see what things you still need to dig out the Nikon gear for--and which pieces you choose to use most often when you do--and keep that, and *then* sell the superfluous stuff.
Speaking as someone who's owned/used both Leica and Nikon gear for several years now, I'd join the others above in saying *don't* get rid of all your Nikon gear, especially precipitately. Much of it will still be useful to you, even with the Leica.
I mean, I *love* the fact that I can stick a 35mm lens on my M6 and tuck it into a coat pocket, and roll around the city all day. (I can't *quite* fit my Nikon FE and an attached lens into a pocket, sadly.) And 90% of the time when I'm out shooting for fun, I'm carrying my Leica.
However, as you well know, there are times and situations where the Leica just can't do what an SLR can. Not only that, I find that occasionally moving away from the Leica, and using my FE, is really a highly enjoyable change of pace. Nikon's FM/FE series, and their manual focus lenses, are really fantastic, well-made, well thought out, precision gear--maybe the bodies aren't "pro" standard, but they're damn good; and the fact that they *aren't* armored like a "pro" camera keeps them small and light, and very much in line with the Leica feel and shooting aesthetic. To me, photography is all about joy and fun--and Nikon's old film gear has a very high quotient of both, as well as being capable of producing great images. (I've joked that my FE is my "riot camera"--there are occasions where I wouldn't risk using my Leica, for fear of something bad happening to it; so the FE gives me a small, unobtrusive, non-threatening--but still very good--camera to use in those situations, and if something *does* happen to it, it won't come with a huge emotional toll, or be so bloody expensive to replace.)
I wouldn't part with my FE--and in fact, when my first one got stolen a few years back at an MMA fight card, I bought another one straightaway to replace it. (I now have two, one in black and one in chrome.) They're lovely, and highly capable, little cameras.
You *do* have lots of stuff it sounds like you could part with. If you don't need the cash right away, get your M6, use the heck out of it, see what things you still need to dig out the Nikon gear for--and which pieces you choose to use most often when you do--and keep that, and *then* sell the superfluous stuff.
You are talking about swapping out an SLR system for a rangefinder system. It makes more sense to me to add the rangefinder system--perhaps thinning out the SLR system, but still keeping a core of SLR equipment around. Each system excels at different shooting situations. Closeups are so much easier with an SLR than RF (as is most shooting where critical focus is key).
Though I started with a rangefinder (Argus C3) and always have a degree of comfort with them, it is with a 35mm SLR that photography comes most naturally to me. I find then very intuitive to use.
Though I started with a rangefinder (Argus C3) and always have a degree of comfort with them, it is with a 35mm SLR that photography comes most naturally to me. I find then very intuitive to use.
OP
OP
How funny. The Zeiss lens I ordered from Japan and the TTArtisan lens I ordered from B&H in NY were ordered on different days with very different shipping times quoted. I've been waiting on pins and needles for them for a couple of weeks anticipating that I would not see them until the last week of January at the earliest. Tracking info on the web has them both arriving via fedex and UPS tomorrow. Christmas all over again here in Washington. Now, how am I going to survive the next 18 hours while I wait?
Let us know if the lens' hard stop is at infinity, or if it focuses past infinity. Every 7A lens I have focuses past infinity, and they look to be very similar/related companies.
OP
OP
This one stops at infinity.
The bad news is that my "perfect" Leica M6 has a non-functional film counter. WTF? So much for the Leica mystique. The camera does not have any exterior damage and yet the previous owner managed to break it. Imagine my disappointment.
I haven't been there in a long time, but as far as I know the original Bob's Big Boy is in Burbank and still operating (well who knows about right now!). https://bobs.net
Is the frame counter not advancing? If so, that seems to be a common problem with the M6. If you search Google you'll find lots of threads on a variety of photography forums discussing M6 frame counter issues. The good news is that it usually seems to be a fairly simple fix.
OP
OP
This is an image from the first roll of film I exposed with my Leica/Zeiss 35mm 2.8.
Ilford Delta 400, HC 110 1:31 7'30" 30" agitation
Ilford Delta 400, HC 110 1:31 7'30" 30" agitation
Don't feel bad. The Leica MP aka Mechanical Perfection that I just bought had a broken frame counter too. These pieces are made of garbage plastic and fail. So much for Leica charging for a premium product...
Anyway, DAG just fixed mine for $140. The shop I bought the camera from re-imbursed the repair costs.
Want a well built Leica? M2, M3, M4, M5. The end. Leica cheapened out after that.
OP
OP
So I found the little rod/pin that engages with the bottom plate of the camera. I'm not sure what I did to make it work other than pushing on it with my thumbnail to push it in and release it. Suddenly frame counter reset. Not sure if I have to jimmy the pin every time I reload the film but for now at least, it's good.
Something else. There seems to be tiny bit more to loading the film than I thought. I am putting the leader through the slots just as the diagram shows. The first roll I exposed, I verified that the film is being taken up by the spool on wind. I thought I loaded my second roll with the same care but I guess not. 38+ frames and the camera was not at the end of the roll. Sure enough, it wasn't taking up the film although it seemed to be putting the right amount of tension on it. I re-loaded the film and now it is taking it up.
Something else. There seems to be tiny bit more to loading the film than I thought. I am putting the leader through the slots just as the diagram shows. The first roll I exposed, I verified that the film is being taken up by the spool on wind. I thought I loaded my second roll with the same care but I guess not. 38+ frames and the camera was not at the end of the roll. Sure enough, it wasn't taking up the film although it seemed to be putting the right amount of tension on it. I re-loaded the film and now it is taking it up.
After you load your film make sure that the rewind crank is turning as you crank the film advance. If it is, then the film is being advanced properly. If the rewind crank isn't turning then the film is not advancing properly.
MattKing
Moderator
Works just as well with Nikons too!
That's true!
OP
OP
I've developed 3 rolls of Delta 400 shot with the M6 + Zeiss or TTArtisan lens. I've seen that the center weighted light metering and view finder hints are extremely good. My negatives are exposed nearly perfectly. that's a big plus. BIG, and I compare that to my Nikon F5, Canon F1, Voigtlander Bessa, and Minolta spot meter directed LF negatives. So that's a big deal. And the Leica is just gorgeous. Ergonomically speaking, I like my M6. That whole bullshit controversy over the hint arrow direction in the view finder.... not matching the shutter speed dial... is just bullshit for whiney and stupid Leica owners who don't know their shit. Here's the fact. The Viewfinder hints are simply aperture priority hints. That is, the arrow direction tells you which direction to move the aperture ring on your lens. If you want to adjust exposure using your shutter speed dial, that's your problem. Suck it up, buttercup.
I love my Leica M6.
I love my Leica M6.
Hang around Leica crowd for a while and you soon discover that there are some who just wear it as jewelry, a whole bunch who just obsess about meaningless minutia (seemingly completely oblivious to anything related to actual photography) and there are a tiny few who actually use the Leica to make photos.
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Ya, I didn't find that at all. Something people like to put out there.
The Leica peeps I know love the cameras so much they want to use them any chance they can get, because they are so pleasurable to use.
Well, good for you. You're just lucky I guess. That there are a fair number of Leica people who obsess over all manner of inane minutia cannot be denied however...they obsess over all manner of stupid shit like which way the shutter speed selector turns, which way the lens focuses to infinity, zinc alloy or stamped brass top plate, brass gears or steel gears, blisters in the finish, black anodized vs black paint, on and on and on...sometimes, I wonder whether these fools ever even run a roll of film through their cameras.
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