Rick Posted October 21, 2015 Share #1 Posted October 21, 2015 Advertisement (gone after registration) THE ZEN OF LEICA AND OTHER BS (You know, not many things are so simple and exceptional all at the same time as to become truly sublime. With the introduction of the SL today I've taken a step back to evaluate my camera... and, remember, this is the M sub-forum). The M is the place I can go as a photographer to experience simplicity, like manual focus... that actually works. I can pick it up, turn it on and just be in the moment like no other camera I've ever used. There is something organic about it. It is the distillation of many years of just making view cameras and RF camera. It is simple. But, in its simplicity it allows the user direct control of the complexities needed to control light and focus... without a clutter of buttons and ramifying layers of menus. It is supportive of creativity. When you pick up any M body you are instantly connected to the simplicity of making a photograph. There is no other camera that connects your brain to the camera in such an organic way. Holding the M in your hands, the camera becomes transparent. You are just existing in the creative process. No camera, no distractions. No EVF, no whizzing of AF, no thinking - just looking through a window. Sure, there exist plenty of cameras that connect the photographer with their ideas and creativity. And, some are better suited for creating a variety of different artwork. But, I feel the M is unique in how it connects so directly and transparently to the mind of the photographer. I'll keep my relationship with my M for now. Rick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 21, 2015 Posted October 21, 2015 Hi Rick, Take a look here I'll keep my relationship with my M for now.. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
algrove Posted October 21, 2015 Share #2 Posted October 21, 2015 Well said Rick and I bet there are many with similar thoughts today. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted October 21, 2015 Share #3 Posted October 21, 2015 Absolutely. Well said. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbuckley Posted October 21, 2015 Share #4 Posted October 21, 2015 I completely agree. And you know something, mine works so well, and I appreciate it so much, I'm just fine that there isn't a new one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BerndReini Posted October 21, 2015 Share #5 Posted October 21, 2015 Yup. Long live the M-system. The greatest combination of form and function ever designed in a camera system IMHO. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcdano Posted October 21, 2015 Share #6 Posted October 21, 2015 I'm with you on that as well. Simple, direct, uncluttered. Balanced Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwardkaraa Posted October 21, 2015 Share #7 Posted October 21, 2015 Advertisement (gone after registration) Fully agreed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkP Posted October 21, 2015 Share #8 Posted October 21, 2015 Agreed. It all reinforces how good the M system is. I started with a rangefinder (Canonet) when 12 years old, and now I'm back for good with rangefinders as my main system. I would now never replace my M system, film and digital, for all the reasons you mention as well as those amazing lenses. However, the SL is interesting and I can see where I might use one (especially in more wet and hostile conditions where I do like shooting, or where AF is necessary) but I've not placed my order. I'd like to see what technology filters through into the next M which can't be that far away. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryB Posted October 21, 2015 Share #9 Posted October 21, 2015 Absolutely agree, the SL looks interesting but it will not replace the M for me, I want the simplicity and involvement of the M. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarav Posted October 21, 2015 Share #10 Posted October 21, 2015 Yup. Long live the M-system. The greatest combination of form and function ever designed in a camera system IMHO. Completely agree with it. Form and function = M System Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithlaban.co.uk Posted October 21, 2015 Share #11 Posted October 21, 2015 The introduction of the SL gives me cause to feel all warm and smug about my M series cameras. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted October 21, 2015 Share #12 Posted October 21, 2015 I'm glad we have options. More tools for the tool box. I need both of these options and will use them when it suits. The fact they work interchangeably, across photography and motion, even with their medium format lenses is what counts. The motion community has been trying to get their hands on S lenses for years and now they have access to them. You can even put Leica motion primes on their 35mm cameras too! I've been frustrated with leica for a couple of years now, seemingly dragging their heels. Now I know why and I'm so glad I made the move to Leica years ago. I'm excited to see how it will grow and develop. I'm now in a total eco system across every platform, in one brand, and I can maintain consistency and visual characteristics and aesthetic in multiple platforms and disciplines. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted October 21, 2015 Share #13 Posted October 21, 2015 Crickey, what an insecure bunch! Threads about how he SL is bigger than the M (shock horror), it's expensive (now there's a surprise), it doesn't have as many pixels, features and othe stuff as the A7 (well, doh!) and there's only one lens (go figure, really?). And now a love fest over the M. Hmmm. I think you'll buy one, Rick. Look, it isn't an M, it has nothing to do with the M. It's a different system (though it will take M lenses, which is very tempting). It's a new direction for Leica, and actually everyone else - an EVF camera set at the dSLR market. The only other camera in this sector is the A7, and this one looks like is just might be better. A lot better. I think this is very interesting for all the things the M cameras don't really do. I'm interested. Won't affect my M cameras - it's an AF zoom that's weather sealed, and I can take on my bike and travelling, I can use telephotos for sport and birds, and did I say it has AF. Perfect alternative to what I have. Sell my M cameras and lenses? Forget it. This is is something else. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewDD Posted October 21, 2015 Share #14 Posted October 21, 2015 I am one of those whose failing eyesight makes the M difficult at times, but the SL is a definite miss for me. It's HUGE! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photoskeptic Posted October 21, 2015 Share #15 Posted October 21, 2015 While I may be getting older and my eyesight isn't what it used to be - what Rick said. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithlaban.co.uk Posted October 21, 2015 Share #16 Posted October 21, 2015 I am one of those whose failing eyesight makes the M difficult at times... Unfortunately the passing of the years also finds me unwilling to use heavier cameras. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bocaburger Posted October 21, 2015 Share #17 Posted October 21, 2015 Agree completely Rick. I'm very happy the big new secret revealed was not an M body castrated of its only truly unique and compelling feature. I hope Leica does well with the SL but I'm not sure I'd put my money on them in a game of leapfrog with Sony. As for all the talk of "failing eyesight", I just don't get it. If you're talking about a serious eye disease which precludes correction with glasses or surgery then sure, maybe a rangefinder is problematic. But if you're talking merely the normal change in accomodation that comes with age then I'm sorry but it's just poppycock. I have been severely nearsighted and astigmatic all my life, and I'm over 60. With glasses I can thread a needle, read a phone book, see a road sign half a mile up the road. Focusing my M's is a piece of cake. This is the 21st century. Opthalmology is at least as evolved as autofocus. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanJW Posted October 21, 2015 Share #18 Posted October 21, 2015 I'm with those who will not be seduced by the SL because the M (and in my case a Q as well) fill my needs quite well. That plus the D800e that I also use from time to time. And I am not one who is permanently wed to a manual rangefinder (the Q took care of that). It is the size and weight of the SL as much as anything that is the tip point for me. The price is not exactly affordable either, but if Leica had managed to come out with an interchangeable lens Q with a Q-like form factor, a high price would have not deterred me. Or an M form factor with Q innards and M lens compatibility. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanJW Posted October 21, 2015 Share #19 Posted October 21, 2015 I think this is very interesting for all the things the M cameras don't really do. I'm interested. Won't affect my M cameras - it's an AF zoom that's weather sealed, and I can take on my bike and travelling, I can use telephotos for sport and birds, and did I say it has AF. Perfect alternative to what I have. Sell my M cameras and lenses? Forget it. This is is something else. I think I am going to win our little bet John. After you get your SL, you can come to New York with it and buy me that cup of coffee. Maybe come for the LHSA Spring Shoot in NY in April. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgk Posted October 21, 2015 Share #20 Posted October 21, 2015 When you pick up any M body you are instantly connected to the simplicity of making a photograph. And if I might add that anyone who used the original M3 back in the 1950s could pick up the latest digital incarnation and be taking photographs in the same way as on the M3 within a very short length of time. And not just pictures, but photographs of a similarly high standard too. FWIW the new SL really doesn't interest me - an exciting product no doubt, for those to whom it offers advantages - and this is not insecurity, its simply a personal choice. My M series cameras are now so familiar that their use is second nature. Sure I buy, learn and use new stuff, but its rather nice to have some equipment which is inherently so easy to use. Simplicity has a lot going for it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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