pgk Posted January 28, 2011 Share #1 Posted January 28, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) A serious question. I'm writing a piece on 'iconic' underwater cameras and lenses and am including those which really progressed the effectiveness of underwater photography. So my list goes Calypsophot, Nikonos 15mm and then Nikon F (with its actionfinder it provided the first clear reflex reviewing system). Which got me to thinking; which Leica M would be regarded as the most iconic? I can make suggestions for M2, 3 and 4 models, but what do others think? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 28, 2011 Posted January 28, 2011 Hi pgk, Take a look here Which is your most iconic M and why?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
wizard Posted January 28, 2011 Share #2 Posted January 28, 2011 Well, if iconic is concerned, it must imho be the M3, as it was the first M ever and at the time did introduce a number of features that could be called revolutionary (repeat, at the time). All other M's in my view were evolutionary steps, and until today are based on the very same concept as the original M3. Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest nafpie Posted January 28, 2011 Share #3 Posted January 28, 2011 The Leica M3, of course. It's not the most iconic Leica M camera only, but one of the most iconic of all cameras also. Stefan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted January 28, 2011 Share #4 Posted January 28, 2011 M3, definitely. Any subsequent model never betrayed the basic design concepts that drove M3 design: the only partial diversion (M5) was rather quickly abandoned. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattsy Posted January 28, 2011 Share #5 Posted January 28, 2011 Bog standard black chrome M6. The ultimate Leica as working tool. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wizard Posted January 28, 2011 Share #6 Posted January 28, 2011 Bog standard black chrome M6. The ultimate Leica as working tool. True. But iconic? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted January 28, 2011 Share #7 Posted January 28, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Given the parameters of the question I'd tend to agree with M3, although I would offer the alternative view as follows: M3 - first of its kind. Evolutionary dead end in terms of viewfinder (necessity for goggled lenses) M2 - learned from the errors made in the M3. The basis for Leica M evolution since. M8 - first of its kind. Evolutionary dead end in terms of crop-factor and necessity for UV/IR filters. M9 - learned from the errors made in the M8. The basis for digital Leica M evolution...? Thoughts? Regards, Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest nafpie Posted January 28, 2011 Share #8 Posted January 28, 2011 Thoughts? M2, M8, M9: None of them is more iconic than the M3. Can the last two be iconic already, since they are current? Stefan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasticman Posted January 28, 2011 Share #9 Posted January 28, 2011 M3 - first of its kind... Seems that there's general agreement this is the classic M. M2 - learned from the errors made in the M3. The basis for Leica M evolution since. I hope this is true, as I'm thinking about getting one... but it's hardly the first camera that people mention when they wax lyrical about the classic Ms(?) M9 - learned from the errors made in the M8. The basis for digital Leica M evolution...? I think that mark Norton was right when he described the M9 as a rushed stopgap to stem the bleeding in 2009. It's certainly been a success in those terms, but I'd be truly surprised if anything but the exterior form-factor is carried through to future models. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted January 28, 2011 Share #10 Posted January 28, 2011 The M3 was first, of course, but to my mind the M2 is the iconic model - the Leica M is most often associated with shooting with a 35mm lens, a design issue which the M2 addressed. Once could also argue that in fact it is the M design and profile which is iconic, rather than a particular model in the range. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc_braconi Posted January 28, 2011 Share #11 Posted January 28, 2011 Once could also argue that in fact it is the M design and profile which is iconic, rather than a particular model in the range. To remember that the M3 was designed by Ludwig Leitz who studied/gradued Physics but also Arts as a sculptor. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
aesop Posted January 28, 2011 Share #12 Posted January 28, 2011 ...I have never owned nor used one, but it has to be the M3. A truly seminal tool without which I would undoubtedly have looked elsewhere for a suitable coupled rangefinder camera. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted January 28, 2011 Share #13 Posted January 28, 2011 Once could also argue that in fact it is the M design and profile which is iconic, rather than a particular model in the range. Yes but M3 was the FIRST, and, btw, the gentle framing of front windows is an artist's touch (see JC observation) which, imho, helped to make it iconic... I suspect that should it have been made "flat front" from the start, it should have caught less attention on the stylish side... the "flattening" has been well accepted later, not only for evolutions in taste, but also because the M proved to be such a functional TOOL that one could easily renounce to some purely esthetic details... in Da Vinci's words... "forma segue sustanzia" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
telewatt Posted January 28, 2011 Share #14 Posted January 28, 2011 To remember that the M3 was designed by Ludwig Leitz who studied/gradued Physics but also Arts as a sculptor. wasn't it Heinrich Janke, a member of the Ludwig Leitz team ? or Willi Stein? ... regards, Jan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twotone Posted January 28, 2011 Share #15 Posted January 28, 2011 I've just bought an M3 and every single thing I read about it prior to owning one is a total understatment. Quite simply it's the best camera I've ever used. Focusing is unbelievably simple, it's either in focus or it's not and there are only two other things to think about aside from exposure, shutter speed and aperture. Nothing else to worry about no batteries, no needles inside of the viewfinder no LEDs nothing except the subject. When your finished with the camera you simply put it away, no switching it off or switching it on, not even a flash to think about if you use an f2 or lower lens. I don't think I've ever enjoyed taking photographs so much and I've been into photography since I was about 18 and I'm now 51. I can't understand now why SLRs are so popular and why they overtook RFs as the camera of choice. Why is that when clearly the RF system (M3 anyway) is miles better than SLRs? Tony Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
UliWer Posted January 28, 2011 Share #16 Posted January 28, 2011 wasn't it Heinrich Janke, a member of the Ludwig Leitz team ? or Willi Stein? ... regards, Jan The story is told in the book "50 years Leica M" by Günther Osterloh on p. 93ff. To sum it up: The design of the M had been established to a large extent with the early prototypes. Dr. Ludwig Leitz, who was a sculptor, believed, that it's final design should be determined by a stylist who can think "three-dimensionally". Dr. Leitz searched for a sculptor and found him in Hinrich Janke at a college in Hannover. After a good time of discussion he offered Janke to work for Leitz. He accepted at last and quickly submitted his first proposal. This was thought to be too "cheap" and Leitz wished that the look of the new camera should elicit a higher sense of value. Janke restyled the top of the camera adding the frames for the front windows and the elongated protrusion for the rangefinder. This design was used for the M3. Though it was very expensive in production as the special features required an additional thirty minutes of production time. So for the M2 as a less expensive alternative they went back to Janke's first proposal. Therefore you could say that the original iconic Leica M had the design of the M2 and the M3 was only a deviant which didn't prove to be lasting. I don't think so, as I like the window frames and the protrusion on the left side of the top. On the other hand Bill's idea of the M2 being the basis for the M evolution has a true historical background. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
telewatt Posted January 28, 2011 Share #17 Posted January 28, 2011 To remember that the M3 was designed by Ludwig Leitz who studied/gradued Physics but also Arts as a sculptor. JC, now I found the story in the Book "50 years Leica M".. Ludwig Leitz visited Professor for sculpting Scheuernstuhl at the college Hannover to help him in finding a qualified young man for this task. And that was Heinrich Janke. Heinrich Janke was the designer of the M3 and of the M2 (this was the first styling proposal for M3 !) his suggestion did not meet with undivided approval, so he changed it to the M3 version adding frames to all the front windows.. ..but for the later M2 they used the first M3 styling proposal! regards, Jan o.k too late!.... :-))) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest nafpie Posted January 28, 2011 Share #18 Posted January 28, 2011 On the other hand Bill's idea of the M2 being the basis for the M evolution has a true historical background. What is the basis of human evolution? A protozoan or an early hominids? Both answers are true, but evolution starts with the protozoan. Stefan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc_braconi Posted January 28, 2011 Share #19 Posted January 28, 2011 What is the basis of human evolution? Stefan Food .... (without entering in chemicals details) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
UliWer Posted January 28, 2011 Share #20 Posted January 28, 2011 ... but evolution starts with the protozoan. "protozoan" sounds to me like the codeword for a lenshood used by Nicéphore Nièpce. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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