Hello from Seattle, WA USA

[cnick6]

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Greetings all,

 

I'm a new member from the Seattle-area and as others have said, there is something oddly attractive about going "back to the basics" and learning how to take photographs from a purely manual method. 

 

A brief history:

 

I am old enough to have used film cameras in the past.  My father purchased a new Canon AE-1 35mm before he left the US Army in Bad Hersfeld, Germany.  He took my mother and I on a "European" vacation which was (IIRC) about 2 weeks long.  I remember stopping at all the different bed & breakfast locations.  I was only 5 years old at the time, but I still remember the people, especially those caretakers who brought me a huge cup of hot chocolate with massive amounts of whip cream!  

 

Sadly, my father was relatively new at taking pictures and didn't understand the exposure triangle.  Probably 33% of the pictures he took were underexposed.  We went to just about every famous church and castle in northern Europe with very dark, creepy interiors.  There wasn't much lighting back then I guess.  

 

Shortly after returning from this trip, I apparently knew where my father had kept his Canon.  My mother had stepped out of our apartment for a few minutes and I quickly grabbed the Canon and took a picture outside.  For a five year old, this wasn't a bad picture!  (I still have the slide copy too!) 

 

Over the next 15 years, I dabbled with those old 110 film cameras.  They were relatively simple to use.  I preferred them to 35mm film -- if only due to the easy loading.  Remember the Kodak disc format?  That was pretty cool.  Not sure why that didn't catch on but I liked it.  

 

In 2000, I dove head first into digital photography.  I remember getting the Kodak DC265.  It was quite expensive at the time.  

 

In late 2005, I came into some money and purchased the Canon 5D.  This was my first "real" digital camera.  Was rather tired of all the P&S cameras and their terrible IQ.  Over the next year or so, I probably purchased close to $10,000 worth of gear and accessories only to realize my heart just wasn't into photography.  Lugging all of the gear was OK since I had a really nice DSLR backpack but it was a factor in my selling everything a couple of years later.  

 

I got into the M43 early push but after a while was quite disappointed in the lack of any technology push.  The tech was **slow** to reach consumers compared to APS-C or FF.  Finally, I had enough of the FF.

 

I got back into APS-C with a Sony a6000 and then the a6300.  The Sony cameras reignited my passion once again.  I started learning far more than I ever have.  My pictures were better after each shoot and I kept pushing for more.  After comparing my APS-C pictures to the Sony A7R2 pictures... I sold all of my APS-C gear and went FF.  I love my Sony A7R2!  

 

Ironically, with all that I learned from the past couple of years, I was pushing myself to use more manual.  I was very good with aperture priority and it seemed to suit me well for my style of taking quick photos -- and not to think about anything.  It's about as close to P&S as you can get.  With the A7R2 I really got into manual photography.  Honestly, I think this was my "money" mind telling me you better justify the investment or else!  So the A7R2 in manual mode pushed me further.  

 

I've always had a love for Leica cameras but never could remotely afford them -- even the P&S models were hard to justify the extra cost.  I knew the technology and thus I knew I wouldn't be happy with a compact Leica.  

 

I spent hours looking at Flickr and other photo sites and came across a few random B&W photos.  They were film.  Hmm, what camera was this?!  It was a Leica M7. 

 

So this push brought me to Leica finally.  I picked up a (refurbished) Leica M7 and started learning photography again.  The only sad thing about film is it really tested my patience; however, my Sony A7R2 really was filling in nicely that digital void.  The Leica filled in the "Leica" void.  Alas, it wasn't enough!

 

As of a few weeks ago now, I finally purchased my first new Leica -- a M-P Typ 240.  Oddly, I really don't have any feelings about regret in terms of the investment -- which is somewhat rare for me.  I almost always have some regret or second thoughts about high-dollar items -- but not with the Leica.  I **know** what I'm buying.  I know I could have purchased a used camera but I really wanted the warranty.  Hopefully, I'll never need it but it brings that peace of mind.  

 

I picked up a like-new-in-box Summicron-M 75mm APO ASPH and it is incredible!  I also have a Summarit-M 35mm ASPH that is currently on the M7.  I haven't spent a lot of time with the M-P + Summarit as yet -- but my test shots were kind of average.  I'll need more time before I can judge it's overall performance.  I also have a Sony adapter so I can use the M-mount lenses on the Sony -- which is a nice side benefit.  

 

Anyway, apologies for the long post, but it's great to find a site where I can chat with other Leica enthusiasts.  

 

Hope to chat with you all soon!

 

 

Cheers,

-Nick

 

 

[blackandwhite]

Hello Nick, - I just came to the Forum tonight and presented myself in German.

A wonderful introduction You wrote ! And You're right concerning Leica material saying You know what You buy. I use a IIIf from 1955 equipped with a "simple" but perfect Elmar 3:5 lens from 1936.

Have a nice time here !

Jean-Marie

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[dritz]

Welcome to the forum (from another Seattle-ite). Those two lenses should serve your very well for quite a while.  The 35/75 are my default kit for knocking about.

Dean