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After almost 10 years I made it in.


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Hello.

 

My name is Andrew, I'm from London, and yesterday I bought my first Leica M after wanting one since the M8. An as new grey M9, and I'm stoked. I've been wanting to won a digital Leica for some time, especially the M9 as I see it as the turning point for Leica in digital and wanted to collect one. Next I'll buy the MD, but that will have to wait a year or three. I have no lenses yet, I am hunting.

 

I've been shooting for a long time, I've tried every type of camera system, but something about Leica just calls to me so I decided life is too short to not jump in. My other cameras as the X100 range (all three of them) and some Nikon DSLR gear which never gets used but is worth keeping around for working in awful weather. The X100T is a fun little machine, but I want the reality of the Leica M.

 

I'm a designer by trade.

 

Cheers,

Andrew.

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Welcome!

 

You obviously need to get a lens asap, any lens!

 

Don't overlook less expensive options initially, particularly the large number of older screw fit lenses which fit with a simple adaptor, and the excellent Voigtlander Skopar's.

 

There are plenty of threads and examples on here if you use the search function.

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Congratulations on your new M9 Andrew. My take is different than @McLeica's. Leica M photography is all about seeing through the rangefinder. CCD, CMOS, film... doesn't matter. Only the content of final image matters. The pleasure of photographing with an M is the simplicity. The X100's give you a taste of RF viewing, but now YOU will be in control.

 

Figure out what you want first, the 35 or 50 and stick with just the one lens for a while. If you like the FOV from your X100's there is your answer. It can take a good 6 month or more to really get the hang of RF focusing. Be patient. 

 

If the Skopar falls though look into a Zeiss 35/2.8 C-Biogon. An awesome lens at twice its price. 

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Thanks everyone. I have a bid in for a Skopar 35, if that ends badly I'll be getting a 50. So either way not too long a wait. :)

 

I have the Skopar 35, it's a super little lens which I'm sure you'll be very pleased with. The Skopar 50 is also rated highly but I've not tried it myself.

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The lens has arrived, has been mounted, and oh wow!

 

For a 6 year old camera, and i know the lens is making a big impact, but for a 6 yer old camera. This blows away anything else I've used. Incredible, I cannot wait for the weekend to really start learning. Focus is easy, it'll just take time to build muscle memory. I'm in love. Amazing.

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OK, so I don't have much to post as they are all family images so far and I know they are dull to anyone but me. I have managed to learn to focus well enough to capture at f2 my kid running around which I'm very happy about. Seagulls however are harder, especially when attempting to land on your head.

 

The colour one is straight through Iridient, nothing done to it. The top one is me attempting to get my favourite film look which was T-Max 3200 processed using my Rodinal stand development technique which always resulted in me forgetting about it until the early hours and rushing to put the stop in. Then dumping fix in and going back to bed.

 

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I am excited for you all those lenses to try, experiment with and covet over time. Knowing what I know now and having owned and used many Leica lenses over the time I'd advise you to buy a Leica that is affordable, I have just been chatting to a friend talking about Voigtlander, both big fans from a performance value perspective but you do get what you pay for. His 50 Nocton has self dismantled after two years, his 28mm has gone tight. I am on my second copy of a new 15mm as the first was faulty. I had an unlucky time with my treasured Lecia Noctilux a few weeks back and managed to drop it, fortunately only on carpet. However the focus was now off so it went back to Leica, a painless and easy excercise, 5 weeks later it was back, perfect cleaned serviced with a cirtificate calibrated and good for another 20 years of service. Not sure what my friend will do to repair his Voigtlanders

 

Id look for a nice condition 35mm mkIV summicron as the performance, size, price combination is excellent and it's one of my favourite 35's. Great wide open apart from the corners and becomes magical IMO at f2.8-4 lives up to King of Bokeh at those apertures and provides that much sought after image dimensionality that draws you in to the image

 

have fun

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Leica M photography is all about seeing through the rangefinder. CCD, CMOS, film... doesn't matter. Only the content of final image matters. The pleasure of photographing with an M is the simplicity. 

 

 

Yes, the RF viewfinder is IMO the entire point of using an M camera. Everything else (lens quality, small size, etc.) can be obtained using other cameras and systems. 

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