New Battery? New Camera?

[derleicaman]

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11 hours ago, Steven said:

and now the mp3 itself is unobtainable by the average user. 
if I remember correctly, you are the one who came up with the idea of the MP3, and the one who had to fight hard to push it to become a reality. Not. 
congratulations, you and your team have created the perfect camera. not even mentioning that gorgeous retro 50mm. A true masterpiece. 
Sometimes, before I go to sleep, I fantasize about selling every gear I own to fund an MP3, make it my only camera body and keep one lens only, and live happily ever after. 

It certainly has become unobtanium. I am amazed at the pricing on certain Leica things these days. Unfortunately, the price just keeps going higher.

Thank you for complementing my "team", which would be me, myself and I! 🙂 I work with the folks at Leica and dream these things up. Then I work with them to get it done and it becomes a reality. It is not an easy process. The Black paint camera took 4 years to happen, with Leica initially not being very cooperative. The Hammertone took about 2 years. The most difficult thing to get right was the Hammertone finish, of course. The MP3 was actually the easiest one of the bunch. By that time, Leica was in somewhat desperate straights and in need of a revenue generator. I took advantage of this and really pushed them on this one to get everything I wanted. This one only took about a year. As noted, the elephant ear lugs were the most difficult thing for them to do on it. We also looked at a meterless, more pure version, but I figured if people were going to use the camera they would appreciate the meter. I also got pushback on the lens. The 50/1.4 ASPH was fairly new at the time, and they didn't want to divert production for a special model. Somehow, I convinced them it would be in their best interest to do it. Now it is a "regular" limited edition model.

For the most recent special edition for the LHSA, initially it was going to be a Monochrom MD 262, but the advent of the M10 killed it off. Se we went ahead with the 50/2 APO Retro design which was intended to be in the kit. Ironically, I was told at the beginning of that project that we could not do the Retro 50/1.4 ASPH. I laughed and said that was very interesting. They asked why I was laughing. I said, because I was the one that came up with that lens and you're telling me we can't do it. Good thing they were willing to do the 50/2 APO, otherwise it would have killed off the whole project if we had just gone with the Monochrom.

So with all of these "specials", I pushed for something unique and different, not just engraving. Some of those things became "normal" for future Leica products, such as the black paint finish. When I requested it, it was a lost art, and in the end they hired it out to a firm in Austria. Also, the "Black Dot" was my requirement for this camera too. Retro version of the 35/2 Summicron ASPH done special for the Hammertone. As noted, the special features and lens for the MP3, and now the 50/2 APO Retro lens.

Edited June 8, 2021 by derleicaman

[Steven]

1 hour ago, derleicaman said:

It certainly has become unobtanium. I am amazed at the pricing on certain Leica things these days. Unfortunately, the price just keeps going higher.

Thank you for complementing my "team", which would be me, myself and I! 🙂 I work with the folks at Leica and dream these things up. Then I work with them to get it done and it becomes a reality. It is not an easy process. The Black paint camera took 4 years to happen, with Leica initially not being very cooperative. The Hammertone took about 2 years. The most difficult thing to get right was the Hammertone finish, of course. The MP3 was actually the easiest one of the bunch. By that time, Leica was in somewhat desperate straights and in need of a revenue generator. I took advantage of this and really pushed them on this one to get everything I wanted. This one only took about a year. As noted, the elephant ear lugs were the most difficult thing for them to do on it. We also looked at a meterless, more pure version, but I figured if people were going to use the camera they would appreciate the meter. I also got pushback on the lens. The 50/1.4 ASPH was fairly new at the time, and they didn't want to divert production for a special model. Somehow, I convinced them it would be in their best interest to do it. Now it is a "regular" limited edition model.

For the most recent special edition for the LHSA, initially it was going to be a Monochrom MD 262, but the advent of the M10 killed it off. Se we went ahead with the 50/2 APO Retro design which was intended to be in the kit. Ironically, I was told at the beginning of that project that we could not do the Retro 50/1.4 ASPH. I laughed and said that was very interesting. They asked why I was laughing. I said, because I was the one that came up with that lens and you're telling me we can't do it. Good thing they were willing to do the 50/2 APO, otherwise it would have killed off the whole project if we had just gone with the Monochrom.

So with all of these "specials", I pushed for something unique and different, not just engraving. Some of those things became "normal" for future Leica products, such as the black paint finish. When I requested it, it was a lost art, and in the end they hired it out to a firm in Austria. Also, the "Black Dot" was my requirement for this camera too. Retro version of the 35/2 Summicron ASPH done special for the Hammertone. As noted, the special features and lens for the MP3, and now the 50/2 APO Retro lens.

Wow, amazing! The retro Summicron 35 for the hammertoe is a brilliant creation. 

Now the 1 million dollar questions: are you involved in the next special edition ? In a couple of years, Leica will celebrate its 100th anniversary. I expect something big. 

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[derleicaman]

Always working on something, but my creations are for the LHSA. Now they are so backed up from Covid and new products, so nothing on the horizon.

[Jeff S]

On 6/8/2021 at 1:51 AM, Steven said:

Sometimes, before I go to sleep, I fantasize about selling every gear I own to fund an MP3, make it my only camera body and keep one lens only, and live happily ever after. 

Seems like the worst nightmare for the reigning forum GAS champion. At a minimum, you’d want five redundant copies... and then you’d have to exit LUF, stop searching the net and never again enter a camera store. 😳

Jeff

[Steven]

7 hours ago, Jeff S said:

Seems like the worst nightmare for the reigning forum GAS champion. At a minimum, you’d want five redundant copies... and then you’d have to exit LUF, stop searching the net and never again enter a camera store. 😳

Jeff

Correction: Expressive/outspoken GAS champion. There are some forum members/heroes whom I want to be like when I grow up, as far as GAS is concerned. They just dont speak outlaid. Different level. 

[Steven]

Hey, a champion tittle is still a title after all... . Even if it's a lightweight one. I'll take it proudly. Thanks Jeff. 

[Jeff S]

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23 minutes ago, Steven said:

Correction: Expressive/outspoken GAS champion. There are some forum members/heroes whom I want to be like when I grow up, as far as GAS is concerned. They just dont speak outlaid. Different level. 

I wrote reigning forum GAS champion.  Others  have far more Leica gear (as enumerated in some older threads), but this title goes to the person who entertains almost daily here with shifting lust for the holy grail gear of the moment, which can apparently arise based on a couple of gushing posts from other forum users. And, as typical of past champions, the contrarian self-description of minimalist gear tastes/goals fuels the entertainment.  Past forum champions also tend to be new to the Leica experience.

Jeff

[roma]

It’s the exact opposite of what Leica executives and experienced users have been preaching for generations now. Stick to one camera and one lens if you want to be any good with an M. 

[Steven]

16 minutes ago, roma said:

It’s the exact opposite of what Leica executives and experienced users have been preaching for generations now. Stick to one camera and one lens if you want to be any good with an M. 

I think both ways are valid. 

Stick to one camera and one lens: become the master of your gear to enable you to remove it from your creation process… you become one with your camera (been there, done that) 

Explore the infinity of tools at your disposal: open the opportunity of endless creative avenues for yourself (discovering Leica has enabled me to do this). 
 

i dont think there is one way that is right and one that is wrong. Both work, at different moments of ones life. It’s ok to be curious and experiment. Executives, experience users and dinausors don’t always know it all. Sometimes, being curious is necessary for progress. 
oh, and please don’t give me the speech of Van Gogh and Monet didn’t care about which brush they used bla bla bla. Not only they cared, nor they would have been able to accomplish their visions if they hadn’t chosen the right tools. They just didn’t have a forum to discuss it publicly. 
 

as far as I’m concerned, I mix both ways. I like to buy lenses and collect them. It’s fun. But I use all of them. And if I leave on a trip on a photo walk, I’ll always only take ONE lens. The one I master the most (at the moment). I’m not slowed down by gear, but I still like to explore new stuf. 
 

at the end of the month I’m leaving on a trip for 6 weeks. I’m going with one body + one lens. That’s it. 

Edited June 10, 2021 by Steven

[M11 for me]

I wonder what body and what lens that would be. 

I might take a Q2 for that reason. With the new "Super Resolution" function od Adobe I would not hesitate anymore to use the Q2 even with 75mm crop (equivalent angle of view). 

But on the other hand you mean of course ONE LENS. that is then NOT a Q2 I presume.

[Steven]

1 hour ago, M10 for me said:

I wonder what body and what lens that would be. 

I might take a Q2 for that reason. With the new "Super Resolution" function od Adobe I would not hesitate anymore to use the Q2 even with 75mm crop (equivalent angle of view). 

But on the other hand you mean of course ONE LENS. that is then NOT a Q2 I presume.

It depends on my trip. When I am travelling, I usually have a vision of what I want my photos to be..... I have a couple trips planned in the next months: 

- A romantic weekend with the wife only in Rome: Leica MP + 8 elements and a few rolls of Portra. It will be the perfect kit, to not be glued on the camera the whole time, and get some film photos that I know in advance my wife (and me) will love. 

- One month in Miami with my family this summer: I'll bring my M10R, it doesn't get in the way, I'll be out for long hours, day and night, and won't have to worry about which film to bring. For lens, I'll bring the one that can do it all: the pre asph 35 lux. Vintage look wide open, modern when stopped down, small, perfect FL, perfect for day and night... Easy.... 

- At the end of the year, I am travelling to Burma with the sole purpose of taking photos and discovering a new place: SL2-S + 28 Lux. Can do it all. Bright days with no filter, extreme low light, photos, videos, etc... Nothing I can't do with that kit. 

I reached a point where I enjoy having different things to play with, but I naturally know what to take with me when I leave the house, without ever regretting what I did not bring. By the way, in 15 years of photography, I have NEVER brought out more than one lens with me on a photo walk, and I will probably NEVER do it. 

[a.noctilux]

@Steven very nice description of owning is different than using.

Having choices (good/right choices) can be a long, very long learning process.

 

Since decades, that "searching for right tools" can take some times, and even some pleasures to do that.

In my view, it's a lonely quest and would never be duplicated anyway.

[mmradman]

3 hours ago, Steven said:

 

at the end of the month I’m leaving on a trip for 6 weeks. I’m going with one body + one lens. That’s it. 

Six weeks away and no camera gear backup???  Crazy!!!

What happens when child spills fruit juice or some other beverage over the lens/camera, happened before, or it falls on the floor and bends beyond use, use iPhone as backup camera?

[mmradman]

52 minutes ago, a.noctilux said:

@Steven very nice description of owning is different than using.

Having choices (good/right choices) can be a long, very long learning process.

 

Since decades, that "searching for right tools" can take some times, and even some pleasures to do that.

In my view, it's a lonely quest and would never be duplicated anyway.

As a more affordable option to choosing right tool, it is kind of GAS,  I have been doubling and trebling lately on my hammers and screwdrivers.  

I learned  that standard "Philps" cross-head screws are better unfastened with JIS [Japanese Industrial Standard] screwdrivers.

[a.noctilux]

GAS is good for industry and running economic 😇.

...

A joke of course.

[LBJ2]

1 hour ago, Steven said:

It depends on my trip. When I am travelling, I usually have a vision of what I want my photos to be..... I have a couple trips planned in the next months: 

- A romantic weekend with the wife only in Rome: Leica MP + 8 elements and a few rolls of Portra. It will be the perfect kit, to not be glued on the camera the whole time, and get some film photos that I know in advance my wife (and me) will love. 

- One month in Miami with my family this summer: I'll bring my M10R, it doesn't get in the way, I'll be out for long hours, day and night, and won't have to worry about which film to bring. For lens, I'll bring the one that can do it all: the pre asph 35 lux. Vintage look wide open, modern when stopped down, small, perfect FL, perfect for day and night... Easy.... 

- At the end of the year, I am travelling to Burma with the sole purpose of taking photos and discovering a new place: SL2-S + 28 Lux. Can do it all. Bright days with no filter, extreme low light, photos, videos, etc... Nothing I can't do with that kit. 

I reached a point where I enjoy having different things to play with, but I naturally know what to take with me when I leave the house, without ever regretting what I did not bring. By the way, in 15 years of photography, I have NEVER brought out more than one lens with me on a photo walk, and I will probably NEVER do it. 

You wrote, "I'll bring my M10R, it doesn't get in the way, "  Did you buy the M10-R again? Sorry I haven't been keeping up. If so why? Last I remember you didn't seem very happy with the M10-R and 40MPs. 

[Steven]

1 hour ago, mmradman said:

Six weeks away and no camera gear backup???  Crazy!!!

What happens when child spills fruit juice or some other beverage over the lens/camera, happened before, or it falls on the floor and bends beyond use, use iPhone as backup camera?

I have never brought a back up camera anywhere, neither have I ever needed one. Last month in Geneva, there was wine spills on my 35AA and it blocked at F11. So I used it for the rest of the week at F11. A few prints came out of this.. I never even bring a second battery with me. Too cumbersome. Also, I use my camera with no case, no screen protectors, and no straps! I just like the naked object. 

And yes, if I run out of battery, I'll use my phone, which by the way I use with no case, or if it's possible I'll buy another camera on location, even a disposable one. 

[Steven]

1 hour ago, LBJ2 said:

You wrote, "I'll bring my M10R, it doesn't get in the way, "  Did you buy the M10-R again? Sorry I haven't been keeping up. If so why? Last I remember you didn't seem very happy with the M10-R and 40MPs. 

Yes, I bought it again, for the second time this year, and not the last time this year, if you know what I mean 🤪🤔?!!

I bought it again because I fell in love with a lens, the Summilux 35 Pre Asph V1. It's a 41mm filter thread and I did not find, for a long time, any ND filters for it. I like to shoot this lens wide open in bright day light, which is not possible with the M10P. It is possible on the M10R, as the base ISO is at 100 instead of 200, and there is a 2/3 stop of latitude with highlight recovery. This is the only reason why I re upgraded, not for the pixels. 

The first time I bought it, I was upset at the motion blur. It was a new camera and I kept zooming in to see the new level of resolution ! To fix this, I just stopped zooming in. The motion blur is here, I just don't look at it. 

I am now very happy with the M10R. 

[LBJ2]

30 minutes ago, Steven said:

Yes, I bought it again, for the second time this year, and not the last time this year, if you know what I mean 🤪🤔?!!

I bought it again because I fell in love with a lens, the Summilux 35 Pre Asph V1. It's a 41mm filter thread and I did not find, for a long time, any ND filters for it. I like to shoot this lens wide open in bright day light, which is not possible with the M10P. It is possible on the M10R, as the base ISO is at 100 instead of 200, and there is a 2/3 stop of latitude with highlight recovery. This is the only reason why I re upgraded, not for the pixels. 

The first time I bought it, I was upset at the motion blur. It was a new camera and I kept zooming in to see the new level of resolution ! To fix this, I just stopped zooming in. The motion blur is here, I just don't look at it. 

I am now very happy with the M10R. 

Okay ! Happy ending then. Life is indeed wonderful when we look at the whole picture. 

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[derleicaman]

Putting together a kit for a particular trip is always part of the fun. When we used to travel with the kids when they were little, I had a very different kit than I do nowadays. Sometimes, this is dictated by if I am reviewing a lens for a Viewfinder article for instance. Then that lens has to be taken into account.

My most useful and versatile kit always includes the WATE, don't leave home without it! I have the MATE as well, but don't always take it. For years, my 35/1.4 ASPH was my go to, lately I am enamoured of my 35/1.4 pre-ASPH or 35/2v4. I always take my 28/2.8 ASPH. Then for a 50, I will have either the CV 50/1.2 Nokton or my 50/1.4 Summilux ASPH BC. Some times I will have the 75 Summarit, but usually a 50 is more than enough. For me, this kit covers pretty much anything I would encounter for a weekend or a once in a lifetime trip like our Med Cruise a few years ago. I know a lot of you will say, too much gear! Well, that's why I love the Leica system, small and relatively light with very high performance. It all fits into a mid-size FOGG bag or a Brady Small Ariel Trout.

As I said, half the fun is decinding on what kit to take. As a life-long user/collector I sometimes take along a wild card from the collection, such as an original Thambar or Summarex! That's pretty rare and does weigh me down, but sometimes you can't resist! YMMV