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We already have a very extensive 'Mandler Magic' topic, but as much I am keen on Mandler's signature look and his contribution to the "Leica glow", there is another very distinguished gentleman in the 'House of Leica' that as a leader of Leica's optical design team since 2002 gave us a bunch of new high performance M-Lenses and pushed the terms FLE, ASPH and APO towards modern Leica perfection. He was the guy that had the balls to say Dr. Mandler's 75mm Summilux 1.4 was his *least* favorite design and went on to "Make Summilux great again" - all the way down to 21mm. Show us some of the "clinical look" of the Peter Karbe magic and do tell what lens he designed is your favorite...

About 100 yers ago, Leitz company issued a set of theatre binoculars in gold (BINAR and BITUR, according to Laney). It was a thing of class and the luxury edition adorned their catalogue until the WWII. The logical choice was to try and implement the gold mystique to the Leitz cameras as well - and thus in 1929 the "Luxus" Leica (LELUX, LESSALUX) was born. Although never a huge commercial success, the cameras (less than 100 made according to Rogliatti et al.) remains a collector favorite. Fast forward to the M era. There were several attempts to revive the glitter with custom golden M3's, but the biggest golden boom was created after the M "revival" with the special edition M4-2 in 1979, commemorating the 100 years anniversary of Oskar Barnack (1879-1979). There were 500+500 cameras made in 1979 and 1980 in Canada for the occasion (1527201-1527700 and 1528151-1528650 respectively) with 24-karat gold plating. After that, there were several more editions in gold - for the Sultan of Brunei (I know of two variants, first was the 25th Anniversary of accession to the throne of Sultan of Brunei on 1st October 1992), for the commemoration of the Golden Jubilee celebration of the access to the throne of HM The King Bhumiphol Adulyadej of Thailand (1996) and the Leica MP Gold "60 years PRC" (2009). Several very nice golden M2, M3 and M4s surface on eBay now and then, but they are all custom repaints. No golden M was made in digital era, only brass - M10P for Thailand S.C. ASSET comes to mind. Please feel free to add any additional information! And do write how you feel about golden Leicas. You know what they say - anything useful to you is pure gold, regardless of the material used... (Pictured here: my personal M4-2 with Leica catalogue production number 10420 from 1980 with the Summilux dating from 1977.)

I happened to discover this online essay today - the author offers some interesting insights into the M246 Monochrom and why it is still a viable choice: Why I bought a Leica M246 Monochrom https://mwwphotography.co.uk/blog/leicam246monochrom

Brauchbare Videos mit der Leica M 240 durch Videostabilisierung? Vor einem Jahr habe ich mir eine Leica M, Typ 240 zugelegt. Es sollte genau diese (!) Kamera sein: Sie hat einen Vollformatsensor, war mittlerweile erschwinglich, hat eine legendäre Akkulaufzeit und last but not least - sie hat einem Video-Modus! Da im Vergleich zu den neueren Kameras, auch zu den M-Modellen, die Sensorempfindlichkeit nicht mehr zeitgemäß sei, war die 240 unter Nerds allerdings umstritten. Da ich bei einer meiner Lieblingskameras, einer Olympus E-M1.1, einer 16 mPixel-Kamera als maximalen ISO-Wert 3200 ISO eingestellt habe und damit recht gut zurecht komme, traute ich der Leica M, deren Sensor mit einer Auflösung von 24 mPixel daher kam, durchaus auch zu, meinen Ansprüchen zu genügen. Ich habe Zeiten aktiv erlebt, als man ohne Scheu Filme mit maximal 400 ISO eingesetzt hat. Die wurden bei Selbstentwicklung um 2 bis 3 Blenden gepuscht - und gut war‘s! Was das anbelangt, habe ich heute mit der Leica M wenig Probleme: Eine von der zahlreichen Aufnahmen, die ich ungeniert mit der Leica M mit ISO 6400 aufgenommen habe: . . .

Did Leica do à la carte programme for lenses as well? I have seen several M10 cameras with matchy matchy lenses (lettering color etc.), I guess Wetzlar did many things if persuaded (although they do not want to sell me silver parts from Safari for my black parts Reporter)...

So back in 2010 Cameraquest published this comprehensive compilation of Leica M analog special editions and some ratings on how well they would do as an investment. https://www.cameraquest.com/minvest.htm While I do agree with some ratings, I on the other hand completely disagree with others. How well in your opinion did this list age?

Hi problem could have existed since long but I have just discovered it. Please test yours and let me know if such a problem is common. problem can be regenerated (not always) if you do the following: 1- make sure the camera is off first. Switch it on and directly go to menu. 2- scroll over items slowly downward (allow 2sec between each scroll) 3- camera will probably hang on last item i have noticed if you scroll quick the problem will not arrise. check it out here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ds1p1u7zbp37wso/IMG_2404.TRIM.MOV?dl=0 woukd appreciate your feedback. thanks

Guten Morgen, und zwar habe ich folgendes Anliegen: Ich fotografiere seit vielen Jahren mit Fujifilm, verwende dort die Xpro1, Xpro2 und die XT2 mit fast allen lichtstarken Festbrennweiten. Nun überlege ich meine gesamtes (oder auch nur Teile) Fuji equipment zu verkaufen und mir eine schon lang ersehnte Leica zuzulegen. Ich bin kein Bildqualitätsjunkie und habe in den letzten Jahren nur manuel fotografiert, niemals im Auto Modus, ich vermisse ein wenig das richtige Gefühl zu fotografieren und etwas mehr für ein gutes Bild zu "arbeiten". Meine Frage ist jetzt welche Leica M Kamera sich als Leica Einsteiger aber Fotografie Fortgeschrittener am meisten lohnt. Bis jetzt habe ich die M9 und die M240 in Betracht gezogen, allerdings bin ich eher unschlüssig welche es werden soll und auch welches Objektiv dazu angeschafft werden soll (hatte mal an ein Voigtländer 35mm 1,4 gedacht) Vielen Dank vorab für eure Tipps

Ich reise viel und komme dabei mit vielen Menschen in Kontakt. Interessant dabei ist, dass ich fast ausnahmslos auf meine Leica M angesprochen werde. Entweder, weil sich einige vom Look der Kamera angesprochen fühlen, oder weil sie erkennen, dass es eine Leica ist. Bei vielen ist es sicher auch eine Mischung von beidem. Sehr schnell geht es dann um die Kamera und die Marke. Mir werden Fragen dazu gestellt und ich komme so sehr schnell in die Situation, mich gefühlt erklären zu müssen, warum ich ausgerechnet diese Kamera benutze. Das interessante ist, dass mir dies mit meiner Leica M deutlich öfter passiert als mit anderen Systemen, die ich nutze oder genutzt habe. ich habe meine Gedanken mal dazu in einem Video festgehalten. Hoffe ich bekomme jetzt hier keine Klassenkeile weil ich "Werbung" für unseren Kanal damit hier mache. 😊 Ansonsten einfach dem Admin melden mit bitte um Löschung. 😉 Mich würde mal interessieren was hier so für Beweggründe bestehen.

Hi, Anyone know where can I buy a Wotancraft Ryker Small Brown in Europe? I have been able to find an online shop in Netherlands but they do not have stock. And, I am trying to avoid to import due to the taxes and customs. Many Thanks AR

Hey Guys, I wanted to buy a used leica since months now. But I am still unsure if I should go with the M6 or the M4? The only big difference is that the M6 has a lightmeter and the M4 not. But since I work in the film industry. I wanted to buy a separate light meter anyway at some point. So is it better to go with the cheaper M4 and get also a good lens instead of spending a lot on the M6? Looking forward to your replies Best Thomas

2403520ZM, Imperia (IT)

M240 Zeiss ZM 35 2.0 Syrakus (IT)

Agregento, M240, Cron 50

Taken only in candle light with no tripod. No crop, no editing... Camera: Leica M-P (typ 240) Lens: Noctilux-M 50mm 1:0.95/50 ASPH.

I really love taking random street photography like this. Camera: Leica M-P (typ 240) Lens: Noctilux-M 50mm f/0.95 ASPH. Location: Dubai - Jumeirah Beach Residence Welcome 2016

Hello! We are offering a free 1 hour tutorial session on the Leica M-Monochrom (typ 246), here at our store in Bristol, on Baldwin Street. The session will be a great opportunity to get to know the Monochrom if you haven't had a chance to use it yet, and as long as the weather permits us, give you some time to use it around the harbour side with our resident Leica expert Tom Greetham. Those who attend our free tutorial session will get the chance to partake in some exclusive Leica offers as well! We are pretty flexible regarding dates and times for this session, so please let us know if you're interested and we can try to find a time that suits you. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask! If you wish to book a place on the course, please email bristol@lcegroup.co.uk or call 0117 9291935. We look forward to seeing you there. Lucan

Hello all A few months back I finally fulfilled my dream and got myself the M 240. The digital Leica M body I always have wanted. So far it's been stunning experience and I love shooting with it. M 240 and SEM 21 are particularly a special combo together. What the M has brought me for the first time I truly enjoy shooting street photography. However, I have always enjoyed landscape shooting the most. I was aware of the drawbacks of M 240 when I purchased it. If you don't know what I am talking about I mean the following problems: - One minute maximum exposure = It's a disgrace to even call it bulb mode - No way to turn off LENR (Long exposure noise reduction) = practical disadvantage: try shooting fireworks when the guy next to you is going to get twice as many shots as you are - Long exposure with high ISO is even more limited = astrophotography is impossible - Inability to move the focus point on live view when zoomed in I am aware there are plenty of discussion about the aforementioned issues on these forums. As we all know anyone who is serious about landscape shooting these issues render the M almost useless. Which is in so many ways so sad. We are talking about a 6000 € camera, we have the best ultra wide lens ever (SEM 21) - and yet it can't be used to it's full potential because of these limitations. This makes me just sad. For me this is frustrating beyond all ways to describe it. To have the digital M body you always wanted, yet you are limited by such limitations. Right now I have three options: 1) Pray and hope Leica would release a firmware update to fix the issues (or perhaps a firmware hack could enable this? 2) Forget all kind of long exposure shooting with the M. 3) Get a second body for landscape shooting. Right now for me the only option would be the Sony A7r. Which I already owned once. Sad news at the time the performance with certain M wides was not acceptable. The good news now is by modifying the camera it appears we can get good performance even with SEM 21 (source: Diglloyd.com). Now I most certainly would not want to choose option number 2). So what I want to know is there a way we can reach Leica directly and get answers about these issues? Has Leica ever explained the reasoning to disable long exposures on the CMOSIS sensor? I simply can't believe an overheating would be a problem. If yes, how come no other camera manufacturer doesn't have the same problem? My guess is they want landscape shooters to invest into S-system. Or perhaps Leica's vision is perfection: hot pixels are not tolared. I say this because even the Leica T has the same technical limitation. And we all know the T has a Sony sensor which is perfectly capable for long exposures without any issues, yes again Leica has not allowed it. What ever the real reason for this is I find it ridiculous. Every DSLR I ever had (since Canon EOS 300D) has had a bulb mode. Hot pixels have never been a problem. And if they are turning LENR on removes the problem. I realize the game is probably lost by now for the M 240 and Leica is already probably working on the next generation M body. But I just want Leica to be at least aware of these drawbacks. And that the next generation Leica M body would not have such disadvantages for those who enjoy landscaping with Leica glass the most. M9 is not an option for me, because I think live view is a mandatory property for a landscape shooter. And I don't think I would be satisfied even with the 240 seconds. Any comments? Thank you for reading this... P.S. I am aware some folks seem to be bit over defensive when it comes to criticizing Leica M bodies here, but I truly believe these issues are serious drawbacks for each and everyone of us. And only together we have a chance to get answers from Leica. I certainly am hoping that a future firmware update is possible to fix some of these issues.

Seems worthy of a caption... Leica M + Voigtlander Ultron 35mm f1.7

Hello I have recently bought a small fujifilm flash EF-X20 for M9 (its my first flash ever) and maybe it will be a stupid question but I have no idea how to check if its properly mounted because nothing happens when I try to fire it (x mode, m mode, p mode, ttl/manual). I press push button to take it strongly to the end in the hot shoe but cant hear the final click, maybe the contacts dont cover everything and there is no signal? it looks strange from the side as if it couldnt go further or maybe its sth else? The flash fires when I only press a test button.

Hi guys, Was wondering if any of you could advise me on how the black ZM lenses look on the black paint M bodies (i.e. MP, M6 Millennium, M9 etc). How close is the finish of the two? Pictures welcome! Thanks

Liebe Community, ich bin Jugendbuchautorin und sitze gerade an meinem dritten Buch. Eine der Figuren trägt eine Leica M4 mit sich herum, die sie im Keller gefunden hat und für ein Erinnerungsstück an ihren Vater hält. Nun habe ich, um die Fakten richtig zu kriegen, einige Fragen. Diese betreffen - das Einlegen des Films - das Geräusch, das beim Drücken des Auslösers zu hören ist - den weiteren Transport des Films - sowie das Zurückspulen Falls hier ein Leica-Profi Lust darauf hat, sich meinen Fragen zu stellen und mir weiterzuhelfen, würde ich mich sehr über eine Nachricht freuen. Beste Grüße Lena

So a couple months ago I got my first ever Leica! Its an M6 classic, 1992 build, in nearly mint condition, and I got it for a good price I've now gone through about 6 or 7 rolls in it, and its been a whole lot of fun for me. Completely different from what I'm used to, which sort of brings me to my question, sort of. I've been shooting with a Canon EOS 50D for a few years and prior to that a Nikon consumer-level DSLR. I'm young, and really got seriously into photography as a hobby long after film had been replaced as the norm. I feel like spending time with film has begun to and will teach me a lot which can better me as a photographer. For example developing your eye so that you are really looking for what is important, learning more about the process for how photographs actually happen, etc. These sort of existential qualities that you get through using and developing film. My enormous Canon and I have been through a lot together, and I've done some pretty good things with it. The extreme "practical" aspects of using a digital SLR camera make it hard for me to take my M6 seriously as a professional tool. Before you gasp and stop reading hear me out here. My Canon is not all that valuable, and certainly not uncommon. To most people it looks like any old "nice camera" and I've never felt like it would be cause for someone to come up behind me at night with a knife. I don't have to load it, it doesn't "fog" at airport security, and when I get home, my pictures are ready for sorting and processing as soon as I am. These are all matters of convenience and as a camera I don't like it as much. It is big, clunky, heavy, loud, intrusive, laggy, etc. I once said I felt like I was walking around with a brick strapped to my neck and a mask over my face whilst clapping. Manual focusing it is difficult and inaccurate. I tend to spend lots of time "chimping", and I'm always frustrated by the sheer volume of "trash" photos I come back with at the end of a trip. I guess the point I'm trying to make is this. Later in the summer I'm planning a trip, maybe to Germany, but I'm not sure yet, my friend and I haven't fully decided yet. I'm trying to convince myself to leave the Canon, lenses, CF cards, etc. at home and take the Leica and some rolls of film. Sounds great, except I can't seem to shake this voice inside my head that says: "you're not actually going to take that as your only camera are you?" "you know its just going to get stolen." "your film is not going to stand up to 2014, USA-bound airport security and even if it does you're just going to screw it up in the darkroom when you get back." "something is going to go wrong and you'll be sorry." etc. I can't tell if these are stupid concerns or not. So what better place to ask for opinions than from a bunch of people who own exactly the same/similar camera right? Do you ever have these thoughts? What is your point of view/justification? discuss

Sometimes a photo gets a wrong capture time has anyone noticed this before? I have seen this 3 times already but cannot detect a pattern, the capture time is just a few hours wrong. (I have the latest firmware installed). Any help would be appreciated. If more people notice this we might get Leica's attention to fix this.

Here are some of the reviews I have wrote for Leica M lenses, including some exotic and unique ones such as the Zeiss 15mm ZM, Leica 75mm F1.4 Summilux, MS-Optical 50mm F1.1(Stay tuned for this one): Photography Reviews — JERRY BEI GALLERY