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Did you give up SLRs for Leica?


Pindy

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Battling some feelings at this moment and wondering if any of you were SLR/DSLR people who gave up the SLR for an M system. It's obvious that you cannot replace everything an SLR does with a RF, so don't think I'm asking about the relative merits—I'm not. I just was hoping a few of you had a story of no longer needing a reflex camera once you discovered the M did what you needed. I'm having a complete SLR backlash right now and trying to figure my way through it.

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I'm running with both at the minute. (M8 & M8.2 along with Nikon D200 &D300) Last weekend I shot a studio portrait job with the M8's followed by a pony club event with the Nikon's. I've also been 'hunting' all week with the M8's for location shots locally that I need for a calendar very soon, shooting mostly infra-red, which I can't do using the Nikons. If I hadn't bought into the M cameras I would probably have upgraded at least one DSLR to a D3 with glass but now I've no notion at all to upgrade the DSLR kit.

 

I would love to say I can do without the DSLR's but I would have had to turn down the pony club job, and that's just looking back over the past week. Having said that If I had had another portrait job...well you know what I mean, I'm trying to stay versatile.

 

I by far prefer the M8's, but you didn't want to get into the merits of either so I'll stop there! ;)

 

Hope this is of help.

All the best.

Mark

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...I just was hoping a few of you had a story of no longer needing a reflex camera once you discovered the M did what you needed...

To the point where i don't need macro or telephoto any more? No sorry this never happened to me. I've always used both reflex and rangefinders cameras since my first M (4) and Canon (ftb) and i still use dSLRs to shoot moving subjects when i can. Shot this one in burst mode between 2 (slowly :rolleyes:) moving cars. Could be better for sure but i was happy to catch her charming smile.

Canon 5D, Apo-Telyt 180/3.4.

 

703349531_vLyfp-L.jpg

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I use my Nikon so scarcely, that I'm now thinking of selling it (which I've never thought would be the case ...). As I've acquired a Panasonic G1, the telephoto and occasional macro is covered, and the G1 is an almost perfect fit for the M in terms of footprint.

 

Cheers

Ivo

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Yes I did. The only SLRs I now have is a Pentax ME Super I bought in the late 80s, and a Leica R8. Since I only have a 50mm lens for either of them I'll be using by M8 in preference. I haven't used an SLR for about two and a half years. Obviously that's a personal thing, but from the very first moment I picked up an M around eleven years ago I've had no real desire to use an SLR.

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No, I would never give up my SLR.

 

After reading so much praise on the Leica M on this forum I decided to get the M7 back in 2003.

Simply a Great camera for Static and Low light shots, but I prefer my Leica R's for everything else.

 

Would I buy another M, only if I am unable to buy SLR's, as I consider all my best photographic shots were taken with Reflex cameras.

 

So why do I still keep my M7, when I need to shoot hand held in low light and no time to set the tripod up.

 

Ken.

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I did have to sell all my DSLR gear to justify the purchase of M8. I just found that rangefinder photography suited me better and that in any case the quality of the Leica optics could not be bettered.

 

That said I tried using a cheap Nikon FE for a few weeks recently and I immediately noticed the difference between the gentle action of a rangefinder shutter and the thwump of a mirror box moving out of the way. Too much vibration for low light shots so I got a M7 instead.

 

LouisB

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Hi Ken, thanks. 1.0x magnification and 100% coverage, i would dream of the 7D finder in a small full frame camera. Would remind me of my R4s. The R10 could have done this easily i guess but Leica preferred looking for new clients among Arab cheikhs, Russian oligarks and pro studio photogs i'm afraid. So much the better for them.

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I have just sold my two Nikon F100s with 24, 50 and 85mm lenses. They did not do anything for me that a RF can't do; I am not into macro or telephoto. They were just clumsy and plasticy, but the (film) negatives were OK,even good. I did not find AF to be better than manual focus. Well sometimes it was faster, but other times it did not focus properly. Also I am trying to cut down on equipment and two M7s (one with TMX and one with TMXY) and 35mm, 50mm lenses will cover 90% of the tasks. My 90mm covers another 9%. The rest I do not worry about. BTW i have used SLRs for decades, since the OM1 came out.

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In the old days, a Leica was a Leitz rangefinder and a Leicaflex was the Leitz SLR. But until very recently, Leica was the name of the company that made both SLRs and rangefinders. So your question should be: Did you give up an SLR for a Leica M? Ms are great, but they don't do everything. There's a place for both.

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In the old days, a Leica was a Leitz rangefinder and a Leicaflex was the Leitz SLR. But until very recently, Leica was the name of the company that made both SLRs and rangefinders. So your question should be: Did you give up an SLR for a Leica M? Ms are great, but they don't do everything. There's a place for both.

 

Word.

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I use my Nikon so scarcely, that I'm now thinking of selling it (which I've never thought would be the case ...).
Ivo I did just this a couple of weeks ago. I bought my first Leica 6 years ago and didn't use my F3HP+MD-4+lenses since. So I sold them all and got surprisingly good prices. No regrets but I do have my Exakta IIa+Biotar and Fuji dSLR to compensate. ;)

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