Popular Post platel Posted October 24, 2012 Popular Post Share #1 Posted October 24, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) Half a year ago I wrote a post "Sold my M9", where I said: - there are many new options out there, and for my way of shooting a Canon 5D mk III for portrait work and a Sony Nex or equivalent for street / travel shooting is just a cheaper option with comparable results (with the right lenses)- I love Leica, but I love picture taking more. I still believe this to be true. A 5D mark III is a great tool for portraiture, moving subjects and high iso shots, I would not think about trading this for another system for these applications. The fact is that the majority of serious camera's out there today is capable of creating good quality images. I bought a Fuji X100 to replace my Leica as a travel camera. The Fuji is a nice camera, the viewfinder is nice and modern. The picture quality is not bad at all (although not comparable to an M8 or M9 with a Leica lens at low ISO), the size is great and its looks are not bad (bought the limited black edition). The high ISO performance is great and the lens is pretty nice as well. On top of that of course the price is very reasonable. But I do miss something, the distinct look the pictures of a Leica rangefinder have, and the special feeling it gives me to take pictures with a Leica. This might sound esoteric, but after half a year, I believe that the last sentence of my "I sold my M9" post is where I made my mistake. I ended my quote above by saying: "I love Leica, but I love picture taking more." It turns out that what I love about the Leica is the whole process of picture taking. The way you frame the shot, the smooth manual focusing, the range finder window, the simplistic controls, the great look and feel of the hardware, and of course the phenomenal picture look and quality. None of the other camera's gives me the same satisfaction. So here we are, half a year later and I feel I made a mistake. I am not too sorry that I sold my M9 when I did, prices have fallen a lot since the introduction of the new M, and the specs of the new M look great. But I sold a set of incredibly good lenses (a 28mm ASPH summicron, a 35mm ASPH summicron, a 50mm summicron). Lately I started to look online for secondhand Leica camera's, the prices of the digital M's are dropping and I expect them to drop even more the coming months, so I couldn't justify buying one at the moment. However, last week I saw a great offer for a hardly used M7 that I could not resist. So here I am, with a beautiful M7, a bag of Tri-X film, waiting for my own b&w film developer kit to arrive to see my first results. I bought a secondhand Voigtländer 35mm 1.4 to start with and will patiently wait to see if any good offers for summicrons pass by. So there it is, my slightly embarrassing story. I'll be waiting for your "I told you so" messages. Meanwhile, it is good to be back, even though it will be in the analogue part of the forums mostly for now. 23 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 24, 2012 Posted October 24, 2012 Hi platel, Take a look here Apparently it takes me half a year to come to my senses. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
1JB Posted October 24, 2012 Share #2 Posted October 24, 2012 I know what you mean. I bought the M9 due to the small size in combination with the lense coupled to a full size sensor. I thought it would fill a gap where I didn't take my Canon MKIII and lenses very often due to the excessive size. I kept the Canon kit to keep using for high iso and and action work After 3 months with the M9 I never used the Canon kit so I sold it all. I just enjoy the entire photographic experience of shoothing with the M9 and found the issue of high iso and action shots of much less importance to me at this point. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raul Posted October 24, 2012 Share #3 Posted October 24, 2012 Hey, man, they say love is sweeter the second time around. The thing with Leica Ms, and I guess I can only speak based on my stint with my M9, is that you can't write it off based on a few complaints. You're buying into a philosophy that goes beyond just bagging that image. Conversely, one can't justify a Leica purchase based on a single feature. Focus on just one, like image quality, and you get all kinds of argument that blah blah blah you can't tell with a 16x20 or that a NEX7 can go head to head with a Leica sensor. But when one starts to talk about the totality of the experience, that's when it becomes almost unassailable, warts and all. I can't say I told you so because I don't recall reading that post. So this may have to do... "What were you thinking"? Welcome back Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyedward Posted October 24, 2012 Share #4 Posted October 24, 2012 (edited) Glad you are back, Platel ! I guess there are pros and cons with any system, and we have to learn to live with the subjective shortfalls of each. I ditched a d3x because I wasnt happy with the way 35 and 50mm F mount lenses rendered images, and began to dislike digital, so the only camera I now use is an M6 with a 35 lux. The difference is obviously like night and day. With the M6 I have re-learned how to photograph, and now my shots are far better and more meaningful than those with the d3x I can live with the drawbacks, and although I may buy a secondary (perhaps non-leica) camera one day, I shall always own a film M and leica lenses Edited October 24, 2012 by andyedward Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colonel Posted October 24, 2012 Share #5 Posted October 24, 2012 been there, done it, back! I have an M9 and proud new owner of a M6 Don't wait too long to get a M9, the prices won't change much now over the next few years and you have to calculate lost shots per week as a cost to you Film is great fun, very relaxing, and still capable of good results, but IMHO it can't substitute in most situations for digital. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomasis7 Posted October 24, 2012 Share #6 Posted October 24, 2012 i told you! what is good about leica that things doesnt change much for handling wise. it helps us to concentrate on taking pictures. It is what Leica is about. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted October 24, 2012 Share #7 Posted October 24, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) I agree with your OP and would add that there is nothing perfect about the M system but, it sure is nice. Also, I don't think you made a mistake. You got a good price for your M9 and lenses and you experienced first hand another system. Now you can appreciate and understand both systems. Welcome back. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonki-M Posted October 24, 2012 Share #8 Posted October 24, 2012 i dont believe i have participated in the last discussion, but if i had, i would be saying, 'i told you so' Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
willemr Posted October 24, 2012 Share #9 Posted October 24, 2012 I know what you mean. I bought the M9 due to the small size in combination with the lense coupled to a full size sensor. I thought it would fill a gap where I didn't take my Canon MKIII and lenses very often due to the excessive size. I kept the Canon kit to keep using for high iso and and action work After 3 months with the M9 I never used the Canon kit so I sold it all. I just enjoy the entire photographic experience of shoothing with the M9 and found the issue of high iso and action shots of much less importance to me at this point. Know what you mean. I have my M9 for over a year. My Nikon gear (D300, Nikkor 17-55 and Nikkor 70-200) hasn't seen much light during these months. Only in (a very few) special cases I had to fall back to the Nikon. Hell, I make more photos with my iPhone Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
akiralx Posted October 24, 2012 Share #10 Posted October 24, 2012 Know what you mean. I have my M9 for over a year. My Nikon gear (D300, Nikkor 17-55 and Nikkor 70-200) hasn't seen much light during these months. Only in (a very few) special cases I had to fall back to the Nikon. Hell, I make more photos with my iPhone I too neglected my Nikon gear for a couple of years with my M9, but about a year ago I bought a slightly battered 200mm f/2 VR (first version) at a good price and recently the newer 2x Nikon teleconverter. We also moved house in June. So I dug out my monopod and have enjoyed taking shots at 400mm around our new large garden of wildlife and flowers with the D700. This kit is fun to use but a tad heavier than the M9 though... When we go to Noosa (Queensland Sunshine Coast) over Christmas I will just take the M9, WATE, 35 Summarit, 50 Summilux pre-ASPH and 90 Macro-Elmar. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hausen17 Posted October 24, 2012 Share #11 Posted October 24, 2012 I totally agree with the OP's sentiments. It is the picture taking with a Leica as much as the results for me. Can't wait for new M now. Advice though never be without 28 Summicron again:) 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoppyman Posted October 28, 2012 Share #12 Posted October 28, 2012 (edited) welcome back and enjoy! I told you so Here is a (meant to be light-hearted) summary of the discussion so far. Threads that feature the phrase "I love Leica but...." will always come back to bite you The M9 (and every other M) still has the same strengths and weaknesses and so do dSLRs and the compacts etc too. I would add that I again took the opportunity to look at your work on your website and admired and enjoyed the studio work especially. Your Canon dSLR remains an excellent choice and very suitable tool. I hope the money side worked out OK when you sold your M9 and lenses but you now have to buy back in of course. Leica M lens prices and availability didn't improve while you were away Edited October 28, 2012 by hoppyman Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted October 28, 2012 Share #13 Posted October 28, 2012 (edited) You know what, you nailed it on the head and confirmed something for me. I've really never been fussed about cameras. It's just the resulting pictures I've cared about, always opting for greatest image quality. I stumbled onto the M9 in a round about way really. I wanted to buy my wife a compact with the greatest image quality so I bought her the X1. i was so bowled over by it's picture quality that I looked further into Leica and discovered the S2 and M9. I already have a P65 and Blad so I invested in an M9 outfit and my life really did change. I have never enjoyed using a camera more than I have using the Leica M9. The feeling it gives you when using it and the wonder when looking at the images is not something I've ever experienced before with any other camera system, except maybe for 10x8 Deardorff but that's another expensive and messy story altogether! I've just never cared about the cameras I was using before but this one makes me want to shoot for the sake of it. It really does inspire me to want to take pictures. The best part is that IQ is just so good that barely use my Medium Format anymore either. Edited October 28, 2012 by Paul J Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ib M Posted October 28, 2012 Share #14 Posted October 28, 2012 Leica M9 (and soon MM) to photograph, and EOS 5D III as imaging machine - that's my philosophy. The best of both worlds. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobey bilek Posted October 28, 2012 Share #15 Posted October 28, 2012 I keep my Nikons to do what Leica can not do, sports, quick action, close work on the fly, tele stuff without dragging my viso around, bad weather or wet weather, need a zoom lens to keep up with things. I am trying to rationalize a three lens kit because this is all a travel photographer should use or risk being a pack horse. 35 50 90 or 35 50 75 28 50 90 28 50 75. Probably is no magic bullet. But I think back to the years I had my very first camera, 35 Waltz Envoy with a 50 2.0 Nikkor permanently attached. I did some nice pics with it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
algrove Posted October 29, 2012 Share #16 Posted October 29, 2012 (edited) Great post OP. You know I was at a Photoshop class last week since I need all the help I can get with my digital darkroom. The instructor asked each student what camera they used and of course he zoomed in on my comment and asked what it cost, etc. Then he asked for examples to be shown around. Since I have only began printing in March/April of this year, I was reluctant. He liked my composition, but said my first attempts at printing were too red to his eyes. I had not calibrated much back then. I thought I was in for a bad review especially since I had an expensive $5k setup (I lied as he did not know the prices for M9+lenses). Well, he said that many other pros who had their work prominently displayed on the walls in the hallways of this Photo Center had flat, boring images and that each student should pay attention to the 3D color depth my images had and admitted he not seen such depth in any of his classes before period. He has been involved with Photoshop for about 20 years. Then his assistant said he went on a one day Leica photo shoot last winter when the Leica Akademie came to town and to this day he can tell which of his shots were made with the M9 and which made with his Nikon 800. And then he told the class he preferred the M9 images over his D800. I was about ready to get a D800 and some long lenses for wildlife shooting, but have decided I will wait and see if the new M with long R lenses can work for me. Why get a whole new system to lug around if I can use M and R lenses. Frankly, for the few long lens trips I might make in the next 5 years I can not at this time justify a Nikon system. I went so far as to buy the 24-70/2.8 and 70-200/2.8 latest and greatest lenses, but thank gosh the bodies have been hard to come by. . Edited October 30, 2012 by jaapv Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth3kpl Posted November 2, 2012 Share #17 Posted November 2, 2012 Be careful with that film camera. Before you know it you'll have another and will baulk at the idea of digital. Try some Portra 160 and Porta 400 in there. Pete Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pindy Posted November 8, 2012 Share #18 Posted November 8, 2012 Be careful with that film camera. Before you know it you'll have another and will baulk at the idea of digital. Try some Portra 160 and Porta 400 in there. Pete Film is what's making me question my own M9 ownership. The proceeds would buy me a 50 cron AND a Mamiya 6 + lens and loads of film. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth3kpl Posted November 8, 2012 Share #19 Posted November 8, 2012 I sold my MP and M6, bought 2 M2s and a Mamiya 6 Pete Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaiwing Posted November 9, 2012 Share #20 Posted November 9, 2012 Welcome back to Leica platel. I have no regret switching to Leica M9 last year from Canon (though I still own a 1D Mark III and some lens). I have been taking more images and enjoying more from photography. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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