Do I want the 2022 M6, M-A or MP?

[Homer Dulu]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I have film and digital Leicas (M4, M6 and an M240), and I'm also fortunate enough to have a Hasselblad 500C/M. All of these are for my personal usage, and I use each of them when the mood strikes, or if I have a specific goal I want to achieve. I also have a Canon R5 for my professional work. The difference is, for the Leica/Hasselblad cameras, it's more about the experience and joy of shooting rather than the technical aspects. I don't care much about trying to be perfect, in the end, my photos are about - as you mentioned - emotion and character. Since I use the R5 professionally, I get all that technical stuff and perfectionism out of my system so whenever I pick up the other cameras, it's just... fun.

If you had to ask me which of the Leicas and Hasselblad are my favorite, I would not be able to give you an answer. All of them I love. The sheer heft of the Leicas. The loud clunk of the Hassy shutters. The amazing lenses. I do love my R5 also - it also captures top quality photos and videos; the RF24-70L 2.8 is AMAZEBALLS and I rank it alongside my Leica/Hassy lenses. There is nothing that I can shoot with my Leica/Hassy that I can't with my R5, but for sure it doesn't give that same "experience" as the others.

Anyway, all of that is to say, if you are thinking of medium format, then go for it. I'll never sell my Hassy. A medium format camera won't replace your M9 but will definitely complement it. Maybe add a film Leica to the mix too (I'm biased and I'd say get the M6), and you've got all your bases (and hopefully all your itches) covered. I would also encourage you to keep giving your M9 a chance - it's definitely capable of amazing imagery, even if it's a bit frustrating learning these new skills with LR/PS. Even as a pro, I rarely use Photoshop and I don't use Lightroom anywhere to its full extent. I just use it like a darkroom - exposure/contrast adjustments, dodge/burn, cropping, white balance and denoise/sharpening. Since you were able to learn darkroom skills, I don't believe it's too much of a stretch to translate those skills to Lightroom, it's just that the tools have different names. Especially when I edit my M240 files, I don't spend more than a couple of minutes on each photo. Just simple adjustments really, as the image quality straight out of the camera is already fantastic. As I mentioned before, I don't really care to make these photos "perfect", even when I have the tools and options in software to do so. It's just refining what's already there.

One more thing - I shoot my M240 pretty much like my M6. Manual everything - shutter speed, aperture and ISO. I rely on the internal meter, and I turn my screen off so I rarely chimp. Compared to the R5, which is so advanced that getting a great photo is so easy, it's almost like cheating ha, it feels so good and more fun to shoot with manual settings. I'm not as rigid about my ISO like a film camera however - that's one perk of having digital. I admit it's annoying sometimes when you have a 100 ISO film loaded and then you want to shoot indoors...

Edited November 16, 2022 by Homer Dulu

[Anbaric]

On 11/15/2022 at 12:17 PM, lencap said:

My hobby has been hijacked by tekkies. 

To be fair, that happened in about 1839. A great deal of discussion by photographers throughout the history of photography, at camera clubs and in the pages of magazines and by learned societies and in adverts for the latest innovations and now on the internet, has focused on narrow technical issues that are very much secondary to what you point the camera at and when you press the shutter. Maybe it's because these things are easier to measure?

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[lmans]

1 hour ago, Anbaric said:

To be fair, that happened in about 1839. A great deal of discussion by photographers throughout the history of photography, at camera clubs and in the pages of magazines and by learned societies and in adverts for the latest innovations and now on the internet, has focused on narrow technical issues that are very much secondary to what you point the camera at and when you press the shutter. Maybe it's because these things are easier to measure?

You are right.... we focus too much on narrow technical issues and forget the photo itself, or what we are trying to capture. For instance, ....I was looking at this shot the other day I took. Dusty, noisy, dirty....   it is a reflection  from within looking out. It is not the noise or dirt we should be caught up in, but the aspect it is a reflection out the window looking at several people but having the inside of the building I was standing in reflected against the men. 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[01af]

Zitat

Do I want the 2022 M6, M-A or MP?

Yes.

[BradS]

20 hours ago, lencap said:

...Each was technically competent, but there was no “joy” in the experience.  The gear was a tool, not speaking to me creatively.  

Expecting/wanting material goods to bring joy and to spark creativity is a problem. Joy and creative spark come from within. No camera, film or digital will solve your problem.

Edited November 16, 2022 by BradS

[Huss]

1 hour ago, BradS said:

Expecting/wanting material goods to bring joy and to spark creativity is a problem. Joy and creative spark come from within. No camera, film or digital will solve your problem.

I dunno about you Brad, but I feel a lot of joy when I use my Leicas.  And I honestly don't get that from any of my other cameras.  And it is that feeling of joy which makes me use them more than any of my other cameras.

Edited November 16, 2022 by Huss

[BradS]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

2 hours ago, Huss said:

I dunno about you Brad, but I feel a lot of joy when I use my Leicas.  And I honestly don't get that from any of my other cameras.  And it is that feeling of joy which makes me use them more than any of my other cameras.

I can honestly say, no. None of the cameras that I use bring joy...but some occasionally cause aggravation.

No, I think the best that a camera can do is get out of the way.

Speaking of joy...there's nothing like exploring a river canyon in the Sierra Nevada.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Leica M2, 5cm Summicron Collapsible, FujiSuperia XTra 400

[lmans]

How do most of you view images you see....? Postcard like, or do people slow down and take images of substance? I find most images are very 'postcard like'. Now I mention this for the focus of this posting is very valid with M6, MA , MP....all camera's of producing film, which to me are pure images. But how many people take images with film and just take images that are not worth it? ..... Right or wrong? .... 

Of the M6, MA or MP....none are better than the other in actually taking a shot, for essentially they are the same camera with slightly different features.... but do features make a camera? Why does Leica have three different camera's when one might due? jim

[raizans]

I don’t think you should buy a 35mm rangefinder, but rather a 6x6 SLR or TLR that has a built-in meter, such as the Rolleiflex 3.5F or Pentacon Six TL with TTL prism. 

Edited November 17, 2022 by raizans

[Stevejack]

2 hours ago, lmans said:

How do most of you view images you see....? Postcard like, or do people slow down and take images of substance? I find most images are very 'postcard like'. Now I mention this for the focus of this posting is very valid with M6, MA , MP....all camera's of producing film, which to me are pure images. But how many people take images with film and just take images that are not worth it? ..... Right or wrong? .... 

Of the M6, MA or MP....none are better than the other in actually taking a shot, for essentially they are the same camera with slightly different features.... but do features make a camera? Why does Leica have three different camera's when one might due? jim

Yeah I get what you're saying - and I definitely do this. I frame a lot of images up in my viewfinder and never click the shutter, it's often just not worth the film. It's worth the practice though and if I have the digital with me, I usually click the shutter anyway.  

The vast majority of the time I take an image, it's because I'm making the best frame that I can out of that scene. There is a skill to that, and like any skill it needs to be constantly practiced. I don't believe a photographer is as good after a 3 week break from the camera as he/she is at the end of a session of shooting. And whether the end result is something anyone will want to look at is irrelevant. Getting all the elements into a pleasing composition, with hopefully some nice lighting, is usually all there is to a scene. The postcard shot, right?        That one in a hundred shot where something interesting actually elevates the scene to a worthy photograph, well that's what I'm hoping for... But most of the time that doesn't eventuate, so I either click the shutter or I don't but just being there, and going through those motions, keeps me ready for when something interesting does happen.

Plus it's always better to be framed up and poised over that shutter button, wishing the scene was more worthy than it is and sometimes being rewarded, than to be watching passively from the car with the camera in still in the bag, I think.

Edited November 17, 2022 by Stevejack

[Danner]

10 hours ago, raizans said:

I don’t think you should buy a 35mm rangefinder, but rather a 6x6 SLR or TLR that has a built-in meter, such as the Rolleiflex 3.5F or Pentacon Six TL with TTL prism. 

I first bought a Leica M because I was dissatisfied with my Mamiya 7 kit (50, 80 & 150mm lenses).  The Mamiya never worked well as a hand-held camera, it really needed to be on a tripod to get sharp and clear images, mostly because of the slower lenses.  With the Leica, the fast lenses enable hand-held shooting better than any medium format camera.

[Huss]

17 hours ago, BradS said:

I can honestly say, no. None of the cameras that I use bring joy...but some occasionally cause aggravation.

No, I think the best that a camera can do is get out of the way.

Speaking of joy...there's nothing like exploring a river canyon in the Sierra Nevada.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Leica M2, 5cm Summicron Collapsible, FujiSuperia XTra 400

I see your M2, and raise you an MdA!  Here taken with the incredible Wtulens 17mm f16 (which seems more to be an F22 lens..) and Kentmere 400.

Taken last weekend on a climb up to the summit of Mt Baldy.  I chose the MdA as it is the toughest M camera made.

[Danner]

2 hours ago, Huss said:

I see your M2, and raise you an MdA!  Here taken with the incredible Wtulens 17mm f16 (which seems more to be an F22 lens..) and Kentmere 400.

Taken last weekend on a climb up to the summit of Mt Baldy.  I chose the MdA as it is the toughest M camera made.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Great vintage-looking shot right there.  Sharp in the field, soft in the corners, vignetting, and best of all, Ansel Adams sky tones.

[Huss]

1 hour ago, Danner said:

Great vintage-looking shot right there.  Sharp in the field, soft in the corners, vignetting, and best of all, Ansel Adams sky tones.

Thanks!  That smeary cornering and vignette is because the lens is made from two Fuji Quicksnap disposable camera lenses, sandwiched together!  Really interesting results but you need a lot of light!  They claim it is an F16 lens, but from my results it seems to be an F22 lens at best.

They also make one that uses just one lens from the Quicksnap, and that one is I think a 35mm lens w f8.  Not radical enough for me!