Did you give up SLRs for Leica?

[frank_dernie]

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No. I still use SLR cameras as well. My M9 gets most use but I have a Nikon D3x, DMR and a Panasonic Lumix GH-1 which may get used where appropriate. I have a few others also but they do not get much use, should sell...

Frank

[Doug A]

I started photography with a Kodak Brownie, graduated to my father's IIIf, bought a meterless Nikon F, used the IIIf and Nikon alongside each other for a number of years, put them both on the shelf in favor of a series of point-and-shoot 35mm and then digital cameras for another ten years, sent the IIIf to my sister and bought an M2 which I am enjoying immensely. I still have the Nikon with 35mm, 50mm and 105mm lenses but one roll of film was enough to convince me to put it back on the shelf. The clatter of the mirror was too much. With 35mm, 50mm and 90mm lenses for the M2 I will be able to do everything I could ever do with the Nikon. (I am very tempted to buy another IIIf too.)

 

--Doug

[Bo_Lorentzen]

Interesting thread, but I still don't see "giving up a SLR" for a M, its two completely different tools, hammers for hammering and screw-drivers for ... well you get the idea.

 

Unless a photographer specializes in a niche which fit specifically to the M style photography, I kind of would expect the photographer to use whatever tool is best suited for the job.

 

.

[Charlie Johnson]

No. Not yet. Looking at it though.

 

I picked up an M6 and an old 50mm summicron earlier in the year, as a curiosity TBH. Since then I have only picked my 5D2s for wedding jobs and have added a Contax 645 for portrait stuff. As most of my wedding work is shot between 20 and 50 with only a few at 135 I am seriously contemplating going over to film Ms completely. Having dropped £9000 on digital bodies in the last 5 years now valued at £3800 on good day the Leicas are starting to look like a better value business asset.

 

The Canons produce good images. There is just no love there with the digital. But that is a different thread.

 

Charlie Johnson

http://www.charliejohnsonphotography.com

[newtoleica]

Interesting thread, but I still don't see "giving up a SLR" for a M, its two completely different tools, hammers for hammering and screw-drivers for ... well you get the idea.

 

Unless a photographer specializes in a niche which fit specifically to the M style photography, I kind of would expect the photographer to use whatever tool is best suited for the job.

 

.

 

Probably describes me - street and travel. Was using the 'wrong tool for the job' A D3.... sold it and got an M9 with 24 Elmarit, 35 and 50 Lux and 75 Cron, all APSH. Heaven.......

[mgreernz]

Yes, I'm one that made the trade. I simply got beyond wanting to haul an SLR (or in more recent years, DSLR) kit around - and I suppose, I'd never quite quenched my thirst for the rangefinder camera equipment that I'd begun my journey with 50+ years ago anyway.

 

I also found myself becoming increasingly irritable about the endless unnecessary bells and whistles being incorporated into today's DSLRs. - invariably aiding and abetting obsolescence and one's irrational impulse to be constantly upgrading. But is it really "upgrading"? Because for the life of me, I was never able to get my head around why video needed to be a feature of my last DSLR, a 5D MkII.

 

But I'd also noticed that when I analysed much of my photo library, the vast majority of my "keepers" had been taken with primes between 24 and 135, or could have been primes. I was less and less using those long (and heavy) fast telephotos and zooms. So it seemed time to make the leap. "Back to the future" I told myself. One more ticked off the Bucket List.

 

I haven't regretted it one bit. In fact I've been away on a shoot this week - with an entire kit of M9, MP, 4 lenses, and a CircPol all of which fitted more than comfortably in a Lowepro Stealth D200AW. Try doing that with an equivalent SLR kit!

 

Sure, I realise it means the opportunity for fast paced action photography is pretty much lost. But it was never my "thing" anyway. Much like macro. I've dabbled in it at times, but that's about all. And I have to accept that with 90 now being my longest lens, there's not going to be much to be had In wildlife photography. But I can live with that. Anyway, I'm still to see a bear in Yosemite despite 3 photo shoots there over the past 8 years!

 

So yes, i'm one of the SLR to M brigade. Best decision I've made in years.

[jsrockit]

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Yes, I don't own a SLR. I love the M system and the new VF-less digital compacts with large sensors.

[aymoon]

(Nikon being the only player still using at least aperture rings)

 

AFAIK, Nikon are getting rid of aperture rings across their whole range of lenses. All new lenses have the G designation, and that means no aperture ring.

[Nikkor AIS]

Im one of those that is running both Nikon and Leica M system. Having two bags balance me out:). It's been my experience that being able to shoot Nikon and Leica M is the best of both worlds. The great thing about Nikon is the ability to use Nikkor AIS lens from 8mm to 800mm on film (F3T) and digital (D3) I never really liked the AF although the 28 1.4 AF-D is almost always glued to one of my D3. I just use it on manual focus. And Im lucky to have the Nikkor 300 2.0 IF ED AIS which balances the fact I still havent got a M9:rolleyes:. Untill than, Im more than happy to use the Lecia film M and scan the negs/slides.

 

For the life of me I wouldnt want to have to choose one or the other. I really believe being good at one, makes me better at the other.

 

The mechanical feel and results of the Leica M's and Nikkor AIS are both outstanding. I do wish I could get a M9 in the near future, but Im patient.

 

As long as my eye's are good, Im down with both.

 

 

Gregory

[lct]

Interesting thread, but I still don't see "giving up a SLR" for a M, its two completely different tools, hammers for hammering and screw-drivers for ... well you get the idea.

Unless a photographer specializes in a niche which fit specifically to the M style photography, I kind of would expect the photographer to use whatever tool is best suited for the job...

+1 i could not do my job w/o SLRs. And how to do macro or telephoto with a rangefinder? Using a Visoflex? Some of us would change their mind if we had a nice R10 to buy i guess.

[biglouis]

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

 

It is strange to come back to this thread and see my response of last year. Especially as I did move to a M7 for about 6 months, then got to the point where I was unwilling to invest in a really good scanner to move forward, so I sold my M7 and now have my M8 and a GF-1, which is expanding in terms of lenses.

 

Now my view has entirely changed.

 

I am considering, very seriously, selling ALL my Leica gear and going back to Nikon. My main concern is that for me I cannot see investing nearly £5,000 (as it will become next January 1st) in a body - in other words, I cannot see an upgrade path from the M8 I currently own.

 

I am also particularly concerned about the reliability issues of the M9. My M8 has been solid (it has had its moments but generally recovered) but the litany of sensor, rf, shutter, focus and other issues reported about the M9 really is making me very worried about spending five grand. I only have one camera system and I need to be able to rely on it. You'd have thought five grand would buy you that peace of mind - I certainly don't see the kind of issues in the Nikon or Canon forums for cameras which cost a third or even a tenth of a M9. Hell, my GF-1 came with a 3-year guarantee!

 

I like the M8 a lot but I have never been impressed with its performance above iso640 and it was a real stretch for me to complete my last project - School Work - which was shot entirely indoors and as the name suggests in a school. I was working all the time at f2-f4 and 1/60th and frankly it was a pain.

 

What I want is the versatility of a sensor that can go up to 1600 or even 3200 without much noise issues. And I wouldn't mind full frame. And I am afraid although the M9 can fit half the equation, it cannot provide the sensitivity of most prosumer DSLRs and even if you can argue that it does, it certainly can't provide it at a reasonable price.

 

The other day I wandered around the Leica store in Mayfair. Over and over again was the sticker-shock of various lenses. It struck me for the first time, even though I am a serious photographer and create much admired work, I really cannot afford to be a Leica owner.

 

So, in some ways, well done Leica! You've priced me out of the market and as demand curves go, I'm sure you have many other customers to replace me with. But when my M8 goes south, or sooner, I'll probably have to make that hard decision where the heart will say Leica and my head (and wallet) will say Nikon.

 

Of course - my M8 (touch wood) may continue for the next 5 years!

 

LouisB

[newtoleica]

TBH Louis, I think you would be better off with a D3 for this kind of work. A used D3 and a 24-70 zoom will cost you a lot less than an M9.....

[myshkine]

Many many years ago, I had a Minolta SrT101 that I lost. I recently purchased one, just because it had been my first camera, and I still remember the magic I felt with it in my hands. After the 101 I had an XG-2. Then came the digital age. I think I bought in 1994 one of the very first consumer digicams. Then a Nikon 880, then recently an Olympus e410. Then for some unkown reasons, I thought I needed a Leica M, and returned to film. Now I have a M6TTL and an Olympus OM-1 with some great lenses. But I don't care much if it is a SLR or a RF. I just love (amateur) photography...

[biglouis]

TBH Louis, I think you would be better off with a D3 for this kind of work. A used D3 and a 24-70 zoom will cost you a lot less than an M9.....

 

Brendan, interesting thought. Your web site and blog are most informative!

 

LouisB

[SJP]

<snip> I am considering, very seriously, selling ALL my Leica gear and going back to Nikon. <snip>

LouisB

Doesn't changing to and fro always cost more than sticking to a system?

 

While this was not my (primary or otherwise) aim, I find that my Leica gear has got worth more over the past 2½ years, or at least even depending on what a reasonable price is for a used M8. The lenses have got worth more so that is not a cause for major concern unless Leica folds as a company altogether which I don't expect anytime soon.

 

If you want a high iso cmos then surely you can get something in 2-3 k ballpark (or less than 1k) in addition to keeping the M8 & lenses? I guess the M8 will last at least another 5 years without becoming decrepit, in fact it probably never will.