New to Leica, advices on first setup?

[alessandroavenali]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Hi there.

I've been recently being fascinated by the lightness of the M system and I'm planning to get a camera and some lenses for travel/trekking/hiking professional photography. Any advices on how to begin without losing a world of money would be helpful.

I'm interested in a good dynamic range camera and the best printable resolution. Wide aperture lenses are not necessary, but they have to be crisp! : )

Can I buy a camera and 3 lenses below 5-6K €?

 

Thank you.

[Steve Ash]

Start with one lens, e.g. 35

 

Regards, Steve

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[wda]

Welcome to the forum. My advice would be to visit a good Leica specialist dealer and look at his guaranteed used stock. For your budget, new is out of the question, I fear. The advantage of consulting a good dealer, even if you have to travel some way, is that you can see and handle examples which might suit you. Also you are building a relationship which can beneficial in the long term.

 

A good used M9 with a Summicron in your chosen focal length could be a solution for you. If anything does go wrong, that dealer should solve the problems for you. That is often impossible if you go the public auction route.

Edited August 24, 2014 by wda
added final sentence

[k-hawinkler]

Alessandro,

 

Welcome to the forum.

I see you are located in Italy.

There are some excellent Leica dealers there, also for used equipment.

If I were in your shoes and budget I would get a used M and one lens as Steve and David suggested.

Good luck.

[alessandroavenali]

Thank you guys! Very precious.

Yeah I guess handling some samples would be the best choice. I have to find a good patient dealer

[jdsheepdog]

And again, welcome. Were I in your position, I would stay with one or at the most, two lenses.

 

The clarity of Leica lenses is remarkable, meaning the ability to crop is greater than anything you may have used before. For that reason, I would stay with the shorter focal length, 35 mm.

 

Since you are hiking, and there a many times when you simply cannot move closer to the subject, I might add the 90mm Canadian built Elmarit. It is cheap (relatively) ad slips into a pocket with hardly any bulk.

[Peter H]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Welcome, and just in case it helps at all, I agree with every word JD says in the immediately preceding message.

[k-hawinkler]

Newoldcamera

[XVarior]

I'm in your same boat looking for a good deal on a used M. Just found one M9 with a 50mm Summarit f2,5 in very good shape a couple of days ago, it's still with me, testing and enjoying the magic of rangefinder photography... I'm 99.99% hocked to this thing.

[XVarior]

Hi there.

I've been recently being fascinated by the lightness of the M system and I'm planning to get a camera and some lenses for travel/trekking/hiking professional photography. Any advices on how to begin without losing a world of money would be helpful.

I'm interested in a good dynamic range camera and the best printable resolution. Wide aperture lenses are not necessary, but they have to be crisp! : )

Can I buy a camera and 3 lenses below 5-6K €?

 

Thank you.

 

 

I'm a pro photographer, with bunch of DSLRs that I use for specific type of photography and products shoots. Also for shooting video, I got the XVario for when I'm on the go..

When I first saw the images produced by this lens "Leicas cheapest series" I was blown away by the IQ it produces, and asked myself, if the Summarit is that good how the Summicron or the Summilux can be? My local dealer and friend was kind enough to borrow me hose lenses in 50mm and 35mm and the truce is, beside being faster and a bit more sturdy, those lenses are no visibly better than the Summarit. The Summarit would even produce smoother BOOKEH!

So,if your budget is limited, think of a used M and a Summarit lens, start by your preferred format first, then get the second lens down the road. With the M9 I would use one focal lens only, the 35mm, but my camera was sold with a 50mm so now I'll start shopping for a 35 :-)

 

Here's a review I wrote about my experience in the new-to-me rangefinder world that I hope it could be of some help to you!

 

Rodrigue Zahr: Rangefinder System. Rediscovering photography!

[HeinzX]

My advise is the same of many regarding camera - buy a good used M 9. Concerning the lenses I would consider 2 options for the beginning, depending what you would mainly like to photograph. Either a 35 mm Summarit or the excellent and very small Leica Elmarit-M 1:2.8/28mm ASPH, which is not too much expensive. This in case, if there will be many occasions i.e. buildings - where the 35 mm will be too long. To go nearer is often possible - but if the focal length is too long that could be a problem. If you buy only one lens for the begin a 50 mm Summarit will leave you many options for later extension of your range of lenses.

[Herr Barnack]

If you are not adverse to shooting film, take a hard look at the M4-P. It is a very sturdy and reliable camera and is nice and light. You will need a hand held light meter, which is not hard to learn to use effectively. If you want/need digital, a clean used M9 is probably the way to go given your price range.

 

As far as lenses, look at the 50mm f/2.8 Elmar ( LEICA 50mm f/2.8 ELMAR-M (1994-2007) ) and a used 28mm f/2.8 Elmarit (LEICA 28mm f/2.8 ELMARIT-M ASPH ). These two lenses are very affordable (by Leica standards) and will cover the majority of photographic situations and subjects (in my experience, anyway).

Edited November 8, 2014 by Carlos Danger

[bocaburger]

Hi there.

I've been recently being fascinated by the lightness of the M system and I'm planning to get a camera and some lenses for travel/trekking/hiking

 

That's what drew me to the M system originally many years ago. Since then however the lightest lenses, which I use for travel/trekking/hiking (35/2 V4, 50/2 "tabbed", 90/2.8 "thin" T-E) have all been long discontinued although they can still be bought used. Today the Summarits and the 90/4 Macro are probably the closest substitutes if you want new lenses. Also, with the advent of digital, the weight of the bodies has climbed too. And today there are a multitude of lighter, very competent interchangeable lens cameras, if you can tolerate EVF's. Back when I started with the M the nearest high-quality (mechanics and optics) interchangeable lens system was the Olympus OM series SLR's, which were roughly equivalent in weight to the M system but significantly bulkier thus necessitating a larger camera bag, and the Leica was hand-holdable at least 2 shutter speeds slower thanks to no flapping mirror, which allowed me to do without a tripod most of the time.

 

I definitely suggest packing whatever equipment you contemplate buying into a bag and weighing it. Then go home, put something of equal weight in the bag and carry it around for a few hours (just walking around the camera store isn't really sufficient). You may be surprised at how weighty an M system can be despite it's compact dimensions.

 

I love the M system and you probably will also, but since you mentioned weight up front, it's something you should be aware of before making such a hefty purchase.