Mute-on Posted July 8, 2016 Share #1 Posted July 8, 2016 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi All I'm contemplating the purchase of a (second) M2 as a future gift to our 2yo twins. This means I would keep (and carefully use) it for the next 16 to 18 years before handing both cameras to our twins on their 18th or 20th birthdays. I also have two 35 2.8 Summarons to go with the M2s. I have the opportunity to purchase a mint in box M2 for around AUD $2k (USD $1,500, EUR €1,350) for this purpose. Am I mad? Good idea? Too expensive? Will M2s be relevant in 18 yrs? Keen to hear your thoughts! Kind regards J Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 8, 2016 Posted July 8, 2016 Hi Mute-on, Take a look here Purchase M2 for future gift. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
jaapv Posted July 8, 2016 Share #2 Posted July 8, 2016 Be advised that the forum will not do valuations. The most you can expect are general remarks on pricing. I think your scheme is a nice idea which should be appreciated by your children. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted July 8, 2016 Share #3 Posted July 8, 2016 (edited) Hello Mute-on, Welcome to the Forum. I would ask other questions of a different nature:What will be the availability of film in years to come? Will film just be a memory or will it still be available? Or perhaps those nifty little film replacing digital inserts that were theorized in the early 1980's will finally be here. Even if there is no film, or if film still exists but is financially unrealistic: Just having 2 matching, spiffy, nicely working, opto/mechanical devices (matching cameras with matching lenses) from the age of their grandparents might something a lot of people would like. Don't forget that by the time you give them to the 2 of them they (your kids) will be "people" themselves. A bit of advice: Try to use them both more than occasionally, even without film in them, to keep the mechanisms working properly & also try to use the 1 in better condition more so that both cameras & both lenses end up with about the same degree of wear. Enjoy. Best Regards, Michael P. S. Don't forget 2 matching light meters. Edited July 8, 2016 by Michael Geschlecht 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrism Posted July 8, 2016 Share #4 Posted July 8, 2016 (edited) It's a lovely thought, but possibly one that says more about projecting your love onto your twins in your own way than it will about their desires when they are 18. They may not want to take photos, and may think that anyone doing it with anything other than their phone (or whatever replaces that) is crazy. My other obsession for many years was straight razors. My son now has a huge beard. It's called reaction formation by Freudians. But if you would appreciate curating a second M2 for the next few years......GO FOR IT! Chris Edited July 8, 2016 by chrism 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mute-on Posted July 8, 2016 Author Share #5 Posted July 8, 2016 Thanks for the comments so far. @jaapv, I wasn't asking for valuations, but general remarks on pricing are welcome . I also think it is a nice idea which I sincerely hope would be appreciated! @Michael Very thoughtful questions and suggestions. I particularly like the suggestion to use the better condition M2 more to equalise condition. It would be nice to equally imbue both cameras with the history of use Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mute-on Posted July 8, 2016 Author Share #6 Posted July 8, 2016 @Chris You are correct about the projection of love. That they may have no practical interest in the Leicas is a risk of a different type. Perhaps the memory and sentimental attachment is what I am most hopeful for. J Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbealnz Posted July 8, 2016 Share #7 Posted July 8, 2016 Advertisement (gone after registration) And even if they have no use, nor any sentimental ( "I mean what was the silly old fart thinking, giving us these two paperweight"??? ) possibly they will have some monetary value. Not what you are trying to achieve but nevertheless a possible outcome. Gary 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted July 8, 2016 Share #8 Posted July 8, 2016 (edited) My mate is 65 years young and received two gifts from her father before he passed away about thirty years ago - a Leica he brought home from WWII, and his duck hunting Belgian Browning over/under shotgun. She makes pictures all the time - with her cell phone, and she buys duck from the mart. Both items sit in the dark store room unvisited. The same is true of my first .22 rifle from my father when I was eight years-old, and the camera mother got for me the same year. Just another reality bit. . Edited July 8, 2016 by pico Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mahakalaka Posted July 8, 2016 Share #9 Posted July 8, 2016 (edited) If they have grown up seeing you with these cameras around your neck, they might just find it weird you are giving them your old cameras on their 18/20th birthday, instead of something they themselves are interested in. Sounds like a nice gift they can recieve when you pass away though. I think you will be able to buy an M2 in 16/18 years as well, probably for a lot less money, if they seem interested in it and you still think it's a good idea by then. Chances are you yourself might not even be interested in M2's at that time! But if you are really just looking for an excuse to buy another camera for yourself, I don't think anyone here will talk you out of it! A mint M2 in box sounds nice. personally, I would not use it just to put wear on it, so it looks like your current M2. If you end up buying it for the reason you are thinking about, I would just keep it in the box until you give it away. The chance of your kids being interested in old Leica'a is very small. The chance of BOTH of your kids being interested in them is twice as small! Edited July 8, 2016 by mahakalaka 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpitt Posted July 8, 2016 Share #10 Posted July 8, 2016 One other thought... Does it really make sense to buy a 50 year old camera in mint condition for this purpose? If you use it there is always a chance that it will be damaged in some way and is not longer mint. If they start using it, there is even more danger for damage since they will be young and probably inexperinenced with Leica. OTH a mint one will be even more rare in 20 years and will be a collectors item for sure (probably). If your goal is to give them something to remember their father, buying a user M2 and use it to take some pictures of them growing up sounds like a better plan to me. It would certainly appeal to me having an album full of memories together with the camera that was used. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobey bilek Posted July 8, 2016 Share #11 Posted July 8, 2016 Wonderful idea if you or I could predict the future. Will film be totally dead. Will they care about photography. One needs a darkroom to exploit film fully so start gathering that. No way to preserve paper bought today. Will competent repair people be around for film cameras. M need maintenance even if not used and parts deteriorate from age as much as from use. In reality this is like buying a car today as a future gift. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mute-on Posted July 8, 2016 Author Share #12 Posted July 8, 2016 Dear All, I'm very grateful for all of your input. It has made me realise I'm more attracted to the idea of a mint in box M2 for myself than for our twins. This is because I already have an MP as well as an M2, so whilst they don't match (like our identical twins), they are entirely adequate for current use, and with luck, use in a decade or two. On the other hand, Leica M lenses might be less likely to become technologically redundant ... Perhaps I will be better to put the $$ into lenses now, and see what technology exists in 10-15 years to make use of them. It's actually quite difficult to find worthwhile, practical, and potentially valuable items to purchase now for future generations, such is the pace of change in the times in which we live. Again, your comments are all valid and have been very useful. A nice reality check for my hopelessly romantic sentimentality. Cheers J 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
a.noctilux Posted July 8, 2016 Share #13 Posted July 8, 2016 Nice idea If it were me, I would buy twin M-A out of the factory in their year of birth. Then I would use them in 16 years to come . If by then, if they would not want those old film cameras, you would have enjoy those years . Regards, Arnaud 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
M9reno Posted July 8, 2016 Share #14 Posted July 8, 2016 And by buying two M-A's you do a bit towards keeping film alive. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted July 8, 2016 Share #15 Posted July 8, 2016 Hello Al, Film will be kept equally alive whether someone buys two 50 year old Leitz M2's or 2 current Leica film cameras. Buying 2 film cameras fresh from the factory helps to keep Leica, as a business entity, alive. Best Regards, Michael Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted July 8, 2016 Share #16 Posted July 8, 2016 If your goal is to give them something to remember their father, buying a user M2 and use it to take some pictures of them growing up sounds like a better plan to me. That is a heartwarming idea. Excellent! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest )-( Posted July 9, 2016 Share #17 Posted July 9, 2016 It's a sweet idea and 2yo twins, wow, I'm surprised you have any time to post!! But my 2c is to take them to Disneyland or something instead when they are old enough to remember. Make a beautiful memory, capture it on your M2, then print it big, it might mean more than a tool you used when they were little. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spydrxx Posted July 9, 2016 Share #18 Posted July 9, 2016 Been down this road with my family. I discovered my daughter and grandkids had zero interest in my M4 which I bought when it came out, or any of my other cameras....in spite of teaching them darkroom skills, slide shows, and taking them on photography "expeditions". Likewise they have had no interest in the many clocks I've constructed, some for them specifically. Last week when in my daughter's home I noticed for the umteenth time that the pendulum in the closk I designed for her wasn' moving. She said..."too much trouble to wind the clocks, chimes & gongs interrupt her train of thought....etc". No, I don't regret building or collecting for them, but their interests have flourished in other ways. Get the camera for yourself and be prepared to give it to them at the right time, if they are interested...in the meantime capture their precious moments growing up and bond with them in any ways possible. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mute-on Posted July 9, 2016 Author Share #19 Posted July 9, 2016 Dear All Thank you for your comments. You have provided me wth a clarity that my hopelessly sentimental adoration for both my Leicas and my children would likely never allow. The two are quite separate, however, and my attempt to combine them, however sincere and well meaning, was, I fear, futile. i have resolved to capture as many memories as possible with whatever I have, or acquire, and offer to them that which I have learned is of mutual value, not just of value to me. Meanwhile, in a case of cruel irony (or is it coincidence?), I was exercising my empty M2 tonight, and it inexplicably jammed. Shutter curtain is stuck and no advance is possible. Anyone know a good Leica tech in Melbourne, Australia? Regards J Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
a.noctilux Posted July 9, 2016 Share #20 Posted July 9, 2016 Sorry to hear that your M2 needs repair . Hope that the bill would not be too high. One reason that I'm happy that Leica offer one all mecanical in 2014, M-A. ... For very long time that I used some M2/M4/M6, and the CLA/repair bills were quite high to keep them working. So now I replaced them with M-A hoping that the new mechanism would last. Quite expensive at start but if they don't need CLA for 5/10 years to come, that's best for me. But that's just me not transferable to someone else. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.