Anyone Leica M as their only camera today.

[otto.f]

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Only M since I traded in my R8 for an M8 in 2007. The only regret I have is that I sold my APO-Elmarit 180 R too, which is a very unique individual. Later on I added an M4 to my M9 and MM1.

I do not miss or long for the technological possibilities of other camera's, on the contrary, I get an acute attack of ADHD by the mere thought of it. The M is still the best small full format system for me, tried Sony A7's et al. but got a bit nervous too: a song popped in my head: 'how fragile we are'. I would have kept my M8.2 if it wasn't for the hussle with the filters.

The basis logistics of photography are pretty simple actually. However, as I see with my very intelligent daughter, young people nowadays never learn to understand them because the cameras today distract them from those basic principles. You have to first know how the camera 'thinks' before you can apply the principles for your own intentions with the photograph, which is a nuisance, time-consuming and the opposite of what computers should bring us. And this is going on since the digital revolution in 80's on a much broader scale than in camera's alone: they give us extra work by pretending to think for us.

[Lynx]

The SL is my allrounder nowadays. My M is still very fun to shoot and a great reminder of the fact that less is sometimes more .

 

//Johan

[Paulus]

 

As a newbie, I have query. 

Is anyone using Leica M as their only camera,with no other camera at all? If yes,what is their experience. Have they sometimes felt the need to avail of the various technological features available on the other cameras.

 

As for those who are using the Leica M in conjunction with other cameras, do they think that they can go by only Leica M in all circumstances today?

 

I know from reading on the Web that Leicas are generally good for a particular type of photography and are not for all eventualities. I curious to know the experiences of the photographers who are using only a Leica.

 

I noticed a similar query about M9 in the year 2011 on the forum,but now in 2016 technology has moved much further.

 

 

 

N.Shah

 

My only camera is my MP.  The rest of the " cameras" I use are just tools.

[Echo63]

I have other cameras, but my M is the only one i use regularly.

 

A week and a half ago i was made redundant from the newspaper i have worked at for 8 years, and had to hand back my 1DX bodies and Canon L lens kit.

 

I still have a 1Dmk1, 1Dmk2n, 350D, Olympus OM2 and a fuji X100, in addition to the M240. My wife and kids use the X100 more than i do (i only use it for the leaf shutter) and the rest are packed away, for a time when i have space for a display case to put them in.

 

I don't miss the weight of the 1D bodies, or carrying them all day.

I do miss the longer lenses and fast AF, especially today when i was shooting a Car rally - aside from that, i am perfectly happy with just the M.

[Robert M Poole]

I have a lot of cameras. 2 different generations of Olympus Trip, an Olympus 35SP Zenit, a Nikon fm2, a Nikon F80, Nikon D80 (I think), Fuji xe1, Fuji x100. I think that's it. What do I use? Pretty much only my m9. I dug out the xe1 thinking the af would help for family pics but went back to the m9.

 

www.robertpoolephotography.com

[lorri12]

Worked for years with Nikon D700, D3 and D800e and Leica M8 ... then i changed to Leica M240 and sold all other stuff. Architecture, People, Stills, Landscape etc. Works fine ... especally because the size of my equipment AND the easy menu controll.

 

I miss sometimes the use of a wireless system to ipad ( sds are not fast enough ) and I think the puffer of the M is to small.

 

But today I would buy the hasselblad xd-1 as only camera-equipment, I think. This camera seems to have everything i need and is medium format. I don't care about bigger files but much about the picture quality

 

best, lawrence

[Memorexx]

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I have a M240 and MP. Trying to sell my Fuji X100s right now. 

I can pretty much live with just Leica Ms One odd thing though...maybe the community can answer this..

 

Lets say you are out taking pics with your M. Now you want a picture of you. Usually I would just ask someone to take a picture of me with my camera. 

You know...autofocus and everything ... this thing does not work with a M What do you do? 

[Exodies]

I try really hard to remember what I look like instead.

[Tailwagger]

I try really hard to remember what I look like instead.

 

Lucky man.  I try really hard to forget what I look like. 

[Morry]

I use M-D exclusively as the camera is so unique.

 

M7 is sitting in dry-box.

 

Oh iPhone 7 Plus is also there for Instagram kind of stuff. 

[otto.f]

I have a M240 and MP. Trying to sell my Fuji X100s right now. 

I can pretty much live with just Leica Ms One odd thing though...maybe the community can answer this..

 

Lets say you are out taking pics with your M. Now you want a picture of you. Usually I would just ask someone to take a picture of me with my camera. 

You know...autofocus and everything ... this thing does not work with a M What do you do?

 

iPhone for the media for family and friends. Would you like that picture printed at A2 then?

[Paulus]

I have a M240 and MP. Trying to sell my Fuji X100s right now. 

I can pretty much live with just Leica Ms One odd thing though...maybe the community can answer this..

 

Lets say you are out taking pics with your M. Now you want a picture of you. Usually I would just ask someone to take a picture of me with my camera. 

You know...autofocus and everything ... this thing does not work with a M What do you do? 

 

Take a 35mm or a 21mm lens. Focus on your one stretched hand. This will be about 70-75cm. Put the camera in your stretched hand and look into the lens. Make a picture. Repeat if not well focussed.

[asiafish]

 

As a newbie, I have query. 

Is anyone using Leica M as their only camera,with no other camera at all? If yes,what is their experience. Have they sometimes felt the need to avail of the various technological features available on the other cameras.

 

As for those who are using the Leica M in conjunction with other cameras, do they think that they can go by only Leica M in all circumstances today?

 

I know from reading on the Web that Leicas are generally good for a particular type of photography and are not for all eventualities. I curious to know the experiences of the photographers who are using only a Leica.

 

I noticed a similar query about M9 in the year 2011 on the forum,but now in 2016 technology has moved much further.

 

 

 

N.Shah

 

 

 

I shoot both Leica M and Canon full-frame.   I probably could get by with just the Leica, but there are times when I prefer the convenience of autofocus.  I also do some occasional macro work, which would require a Leica upgrade for me as I am still exclusively in the M9 generation.

[ECohen]

Phone cameras are ideal for shooting "for the record"

 

Cell phones are great for remembering exactly what part you need at the Hardware store or which Dog Food your currently using when you go to the  pet store,

 

Other than that, I'm always disappointed with the result. I am amused when my daughter sends  me a cell phone photo that looks black with a little detail in a blurry face, and asks "Can you fix this in Photoshop" ....Please.

 

Sadly I have no love affair with my cell phone or its camera .......If I were still in Art School I could see a spending semester making a portfolio with just cell phone.....like I spent a semester only using a toy Diana 2.25"

....but that was in 1974

[Bill Livingston]

I don't really know why people complain about their cell phone cameras... I use my iPhone 7 (and previous iPhone 6) as a 'record' camera and get excellent results... 

 

Yes, I use it to remember what lightbulb to buy...

 

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And I also use it for a quick social media update for a show display I did last weekend for our company...

 

 

Even little detail photos in very difficult light sort of work...

 

 

And when a magazine wanted a close up of one of our drivers for an illustration, with a deadline of literally five minutes, I shot this, cropped it very heavily indeed, directly on the phone, did a little PP, again, directly on the phone then sent it direct from the iPhone via text... It was published!

 

 

Remember, in order to fit all these photos on this one post I have had to reduce the files sizes massively, the actual quality is MUCH better than you see here... so I think an iPhone 7 gives excellent results. 

 

OK... nowhere near as good as my Leica M-P... but I have the phone anyway... and its fast and easy to use... and often, far more convenient. I seriously think you should re-evaluate an iPhone as a supplementary camera for quick rough and ready shots... 

 

Seems my file sizes and pictures were so tiny I have room for one more... a quick panorama shot...

 

 

OK... so these may break the rules as these are non-Leica photos, but I think they illustrate the point last made in this thread. And if anyone wants to see a full size photo from an iPhone 7, please feel free to ask...

 

And to directly answer the OP's question, I use a Leica M-P only... supplemented, on occasions, with my iPhone!

[ECohen]

"I don't really know why people complain about their cell phone cameras."

 

Because I'm old and Grumpy and there is too much Tech in my life that keeps changing......that said. You are 100% correct, Bill and I always love your posts!

Sincerely

[Bill Livingston]

Thank you. Very much appreciated!

 

My wife says I'm old and grumpy too... but I quite like tech... probably why I am in the field I am in... (I just made the pictures 500 wide rather than 400 wide so they look a bit better).

 

Surprising aren't they..? I often wonder why I love my Leica so much... then I compare them on my iMac 27" at full resolution and there is no comparison... But for a 'cell phone' I think these are pretty good...

[ECohen]

I love my Leica because it s a "modern" Digital camera from 1970. Other cameras are far more versatile but require too much thinking

...I use them but I hate everything about using them but the IQ.
 

I do love using PS , LR.

 

I don't think I have ever taken the time to learn or care about my cell phone......too many layers too many features that are not intuitive.......I'm well aware, its me.
 

I'll go to an Art Museum and over think every thing I'm seeing.......What a JOY! ......same with a nature walk

 

I just don't have the level of interest with the today's fast changing tech.

Back in the 80's I had a Carver Amp, the remote control that had 75 buttons all the same size ....that was the beginning of being disillusioned with poorly designed Tech.
 

I guess I'm a snob...Bad design in general pisses me off

 

Thanks to all for letting me vent

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[Bill Livingston]

I agree with your observations regarding badly designed 'tech'.

 

That remote control is a generic one... we used an identical one when I was at Linn for our hifi systems. In reality, the only controls ever used were the volume and very occasionally, to change inputs. I loathed it.

 

Thankfully, there are far better, more intuitive designs nowadays. 

 

In days past, products were very simple... I remember an old TV set we had when I was a child in the sixties. It had a 'volume' a 'tone' and four push buttons to change channels (this was pre-remote control days). On the back there were a few controls for things such as 'horizontal stabilisation' and 'vertical hold' and a few other things that I of course fiddled with... 

 

The point being, controls most used were accessible and pretty much anyone could use the products. As time went on and more features were added, for some bizarre reason, each feature seemed to have equal value to any other. Your example of the remote control above is a case in point.

 

Of course, that particular remote would control an amplifier, a CD player, a radio and one or two other products, so it was a single remote control for several products... so you could argue that it was simpler than having three or four different remote controls, and, in its day, that was actually a selling point!

 

However, today life is far more simple. A control interface should only show you the functions you use all the time... most are editable, so each user can configure a control to suit his or her particular requirements... the point being, to simplify and declutter. That, with good ergonomic design, should then mean intuitive use. 

 

My feeling is that if you pick something up, you should be able to use it immediately without having to have any instruction... it should be apparent what it is and, with the minimum of thought, understand how to use it.

 

I think overcomplicating comes from a need, that we in the older generation seem to have, to understand everything and to make sure every possible use and variation is known to us. The younger generation have no need... they understand that it is not possible to understand even single potential combination of control and interface. They think what they need and configure it accordingly. 

 

Same with Leica cameras. The basic functions such as aperture, shutter speed, ISO, focus etc are very easy to find/understand, because three of the four I mentioned are pretty much where they have always been... ISO is on the menu system (hence the discussion elsewhere) but all other (secondary) functionality, is in the menu system and can be configured to your own preferences. My Leica M-P works pretty much like any analogue camera I have used from the sixties onwards. Of course, I can do a lot more... and if I ever have the need, I can reconfigure it quickly by changing the menu presets... but in reality, I hardly ever do.

 

Today we have more flexibility, more choices, but they are actually no more complicated... it just depends whether you accept that it is neither necessary nor even advantageous to understand everything... and even less to make full use of it.

 

The interesting thing is, the younger generation, particularly those who like to understand that little bit more, are now finding they can explore earlier products, understand in an analogue way that particular product in its entirety and who then get a better 'fix' on what is going on... In other words, its less 'magical', which is actually compelling... you feel more at one with whatever you are using.

 

Its why analogue cameras, particularly older, more simple, functional ones, or old record players, or even older cars are attracting so much attention today.

 

The problem is, its very much a generational thing, most, particularly the older and the younger amongst us, who are reacting against things like your Carver remote control or ever more complex and menu festooned products, when in reality, most people just want simplicity and something that works and is understandable. My son would see your remote control and think its something his father would have had. I look at it and groan at just what a poor choice of design it actually was!

 

Everyone seems to want a more organic, understandable world, and we are seeing it ever more clearly both in new design and the joy of using older, simpler stuff.

 

Todays product design is moving towards that... which is why I think a lot of this need for nostalgia is short lived.

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[Paulus]

My feeling is that if you pick something up, you should be able to use it immediately without having to have any instruction... it should be apparent what it is and, with the minimum of thought, understand how to use it.

 

I think overcomplicating comes from a need, that we in the older generation seem to have, to understand everything and to make sure every possible use and variation is known to us. The younger generation have no need... they understand that it is not possible to understand even single potential combination of control and interface. They think what they need and configure it accordingly.

Did me think of a cartoon of Jim Unger...

 

http://www.bluecorncomics.com/pics/herman1.jpg