When do you buy a Leica M.

[Graham (G4FUJ)]

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There is no need or reason for anything - most the times !

 

Cars for example. On some of the roads you are just allowed to drive 70.

So no need to by a Porsche right ? But maybe its more fun to drive with ?

 

Same with cameras.....

Having owned a Boxster S for nearly a year I'm not so sure.  The car was so competent that the only way to get real fun was to drive on a racing circuit. In the end I stayed with Morgan, much simpler car but which is great fun on ordinary roads at sensible (and legal) road speeds, with the added advantage that they bring a smile to people's faces and other let you out of junctions (that doesn't happen with Porsche)

Would I give up my Leicas - NO!

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[Mr Fjeld]

It's a pity most modern cameras have hidden away the controls for learning manual photography. As such the Leica M really is perfect for learning the basics in photography but to a great expense - especially if manual photography and range finder turns out to be less than ideal. For oldies like myself who learned to take photos with a Nikkormat FTN and then used it for years it's no problem. But how will this be for those who basically use a large DSLR for taking automatic snapshots - using programs and autofocus in all situations?

 

Oh, and steel is real. I still have may Kona Kilauea with a Columbus steel frame.

[SilentShutter]

Years ago when digital started to get interresting for professional work I had to sell all my Leica gear.

M and R and belive me it was a lot ! After a while I realized that something was missing in my privat photo projects.

I missed film and the handling and the cameras.......so I went back with Nikon first and at the end (of course) Leica !

[Steve Ricoh]

In answer to the original question: When you become dissatisfied with AF and auto everything else, mainly found in Japanese cameras, then it's time.

[CranberryFotografie]

As a new cyclist myself (first full saeson), I love the analogy! 
I researched and test-rode a lot before I bought my first road bike... 

On the contrary, my first Leica was set. I wanted a Leica, because I used one for 2 weeks. It didn't matter to me wether film or digital - I wanted the experience and everything that goes with it.

The monetary expence was enormous for me! A used Leica M4-2 checked and cleaned? 600€ for a mere student is a lot! I paired it with a Voigtländer Ultron 35mm lens and was the happiest person imaginable..! learned so much about the light too. Now, after having accquired an M8.2 (digital) and a summarit 2.5 35mm I still grab the M4-2 preferrably (for personal use)... but with the small and just lovely summarit

Also I agree with the statement many made above: If you screw up with a leica - there is not one to blame but you yourself.. And I like that!

 

so many emotions tied to a photographic tool - many opinions, too!

I'd say, the time is right when it feels right to you!

 

Sincerely,

Cranberry

[Lux Optima]

Have bought my first Leica, a 246, just a few month ago (and loving it very much), very soon I was attracted to the simplicity of a Leica M and wanted to follow a further reduced way of taking photos. So, two days ago I received a carefully overhauled M3 from 1956. One of the very early (double-stroke, glass in the back).

 

And frankly, the sound of the shutter, the feeling of the weight and the haptic of this M is incredible. Instantly it became my favourite. I have some other digital and film cameras, but the M3 beats them all... 

[Rodin Clark]

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When a two-stroke M3 with telescoping 50 Summicron shows up in the local advertising sheet for $330. You can tell this was pre C/L; making adjustments for inflation, that would be about $550-575 today. Much less likely to happen now, when anybody can read the markets, so don't wait for that if you are motivated and able. The first roll of Kodachrome (sigh) collected several angles of a red '56 Ford F-100 parked at a little league game. The slides jumped off the light table as have many since. I've gradually added an M2 and two M6's, 21 3.4 Super Angulon, 28 2.8 Asph v.1, 35 2.0 six element, 50 1.4 v.1, 50 2.0 dual range, 90 2.0 v.1, 135 4.0. Not sure about the transition to digital, since being able to afford the Lamborghini class "digital ready" glass seems problematic in retirement, but I've added an M240 and macro and zoom capability with the R-M adapter, 60 macro and the Leica/Kyocera 35-70 4.0 and 80-200 4.0. The lowliest bit of this gear is beyond competent and much of it remarkably masterful.

[pico]

And frankly, the sound of the shutter, the feeling of the weight and the haptic of this M is incredible. Instantly it became my favourite. I have some other digital and film cameras, but the M3 beats them all... 

 

You don't really know that yet, however enjoy. Sound, feeling, weight, haptics are not unique to the M3. Whatever works for your enjoyment, indeed fantasy, is okay.

Edited November 5, 2017 by pico

[Frase]

 

 

And frankly, the sound of the shutter, the feeling of the weight and the haptic of this M is incredible. Instantly it became my favourite. I have some other digital and film cameras, but the M3 beats them all... 

 

Had to google 'haptic'!

[Lux Optima]

Thanks, mates, for all your thoughts. Got a second M3 in the meantime. Single stroke this time. Third Leica M this year. I had to promise at home that I will only looking for lenses until next spring.

 

(So, when do I buy a Leica M? Shortly after the last one obviously... :-) )

Edited November 6, 2017 by Lux Optima

[michaelwj]

(So, when do I buy a Leica M? Shortly after the last one obviously... :-) )

spot on!

[Graham (G4FUJ)]

(So, when do I buy a Leica M? Shortly after the last one obviously... :-) )

Sounds perfectly reasonable to me

[Paulus]

A Leica M is one of the best 'training' cameras available. Assuming you don't go for an M7 (or if you do that you don't use it on aperture priority) then everything is manual and you will learn quickly quite simply because such a camera puts you firmly in control and is unforgiving in the way it will show up errors. Personally I now think that the learning curve is faster with a digital M (again use manual exposure control) because feedback is immediate, but the traditional film route will just be a bit slower. So the time is right whenever you are prepared to buy one.

 

This might be the one reason to get one...what I earned from the M3 I could have never learned with a SLR or digital

I learned from Minolta AF 7000 , Later I thought the Nikon FM2 and the F3 were the best training camera's. But then, I held the M5 of my father in law and I was sold. What a beautiful camera I thought. So maybe, you'll have to just take one in your hand and feel if you like it. 

[Narsuitus]

At what point one must consider to buy a film Leica...

 

For decades, I wanted a film Leica with a fast 35mm lens and a fast 90mm lens. However, not only could I not afford it, I also could not fiscally justify it. My Nikon SLR with 35mm f/2 and 85mm f/1.8 lenses were meeting my needs.

 

Eventually, I ran out of excuses and purchased a Leica M6 with 35mm f/1.4 and 90mm f/2 lenses. So, in answer to your question, "When do you buy a film Leica," my answer is, "When you realize that resistance is futile."

 

M6 Rangefinder by Narsuitus, on Flickr

[Archiver]

When desire, budget and availability align.  That's when you buy it.

 

Part of the question implies if it is ever too early to buy a Leica M.  I wouldn't get one unless I'd put in at least a couple of years into shooting with a film camera of another type, maybe an old SLR, maybe a decent compact.  A rangefinder isn't the easiest camera to start photography from scratch, and a year or so of experience with cameras of lesser build quality will help you appreciate the build of a M.

 

My M7 came after several years of shooting digital and film, including a Zeiss Ikon ZM and a Canon 5D Mark II, and then a M9.  The M9 seemed like the best combination of rangefinder handling with the versatility of digital, but I still hankered for a film M.  The slimmer body, the smoothness of film advance, the discreet snick of the shutter, it just seemed a different camera on a different level.

 

My only regret with the M7 is that I still don't shoot a lot of film.  An expensive purchase is more easily justified when you use it, and I don't feel like I use the M7 anywhere near enough.  But that's about the cost and inconvenience of film, more than anything else.  If you love to shoot film and are okay with the process, then the remaining factor becomes how much you will enjoy a film M.

 

On the other hand, don't buy a film M if your vision is poor and you will find it difficult to focus manually.  It seems obvious, but sometimes purchases can be made without thinking things through, especially emotional purchases like a film M.  Because really, a film M is never a necessity.  There are any number of cameras that will do/produce what a M can, but nothing handles and emotionally satisfies like a M.  It's as much about the shooting experience as it is about results.

[rramesh]

When you can align your credit card and the Leica store window with one eye.