Intentionality, Passion or the technique when using Leica M9, and M11-P.

[pgh]

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1 hour ago, DadDadDaddyo said:

Yeah, I hear what you're saying...

But I'm hopeless; to me saying the puddle jumper is defined by its context is like saying Bach is defined by his context, that anyone can write a fugue today.

Heck, I'm sure an AI can probably do it.

But that fact doesn't take away from the accomplishment achieved by Johann Sebastian...

I don’t mean to take anything away from HCB, nor to say anyone can do it. There were, however, equally gifted photographers (even at that time, and now). It’s rare talent, for sure.  

I’m less knowledgeable about the classical music canon so i won’t go there - but in general I think most myths of individual genius are overblown but that’s not to take away from the transcendence of works that have been made, only to say I think there is always more that is forgotten for reasons not having to do with the work itself.

And yes to @charlesphoto99 point I think that with photography, it is always the body of work. It’s an accessible enough medium (especially today) where I think everyone who tries for long enough has a few very nice pictures in them. The best get a few very nice ones every year or more to make something that goes beyond any one single image. 

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[charlesphoto99]

My 'jumper.'  

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[Kiwimac]

I’ve spaffed more money on cameras than almost anything else other than property in my almost 60 years on the planet. 
 

I have concluded

 

1) When I shot Nikon D3S I got a lot of more action-oriented photos even when doing assignments that weren’t especially action activities: I do not take as many of that kind of shot with the M11

 2) I grabbed a lot of moments because the cameras and lenses were blisteringly responsive - and whatever version of then is today’s equivalent will be even faster I’m sure and whilst Leica glass is probably better (especially given the small size of most of the lenses) top notch Nikon and Canon lenses are superb optically; I’ve never looked at an image taken with one that I thought “that would be so much better if it had been a Leica lens!”

3) In my photography journey I’ve shot Kodak, Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm, Sigma, Hasselblad and Olympus in addition to Leica. Each time after my first Leica (M6 I think) that I was frustrated by something and changed systems, I ended up returning to Leica

 4) This time (famous last words!) I’m intending to stay with the M11-P Safari unless it dies or I win Lotto because (a) the M12 is likely to be over NZ$20,000 per body and (b) the M11-P now seems stable and offers a well rounded package with most of what I need and very little of what I don’t need

 5) I might buy a Q3 at some point because there are times when AF is very useful but this probably won’t happen until the Q4 is released leading to an uptick in secondhand Q3s

6) I might buy a secondhand M11-M at some point

 7) All bets are off if the M12 turns out to be a work of genius!

 

Leica M is just my happy place I guess. The combination of size, compactness and image quality speaks to me, as does the lack of excess electronics and video. I am now and always have been a stills photographer. Paying for video capability that I will literally never use is irritating. 

Edited Monday at 10:40 PM by Kiwimac

[jaapv]

I can clearly follow your drift. Just one thing. Video is not necessarily expensive. Leica has the technology in the SL3 and Panasonic as market leader can supply the rest. It is more a matter of heat management and market placement. 

[charlesphoto99]

15 hours ago, jaapv said:

I can clearly follow your drift. Just one thing. Video is not necessarily expensive. Leica has the technology in the SL3 and Panasonic as market leader can supply the rest. It is more a matter of heat management and market placement. 

Heat management is the real deal. When I was shooting a rodeo in ninety degree (F) weather recently with the M10M, it became almost uncomfortably hot at times, and the battery wore down much quicker than usual (only using the rangefinder). 

[jaapv]

The M240 had serious problems with the EVF in such circumstances and video was impossible until Leica raised the cutoff temperature with an update and that improved the situation somewhat, but never resolved it completely. 

[Kiwimac]

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The M system is a tool for a specific purpose. 
 

I don’t think turning it into a Swiss Army knife would really help. 
 

No need to try and turn it into a smaller SL!

[Ne314satel]

When I look back at my Canon and Nikon old film photos, I like them better than I do today with my digital M11. When I look at my digital M9P photos, I like them better too. Then I realized I'm simply looking back at my youth, and I like it more than my old age😀

[LocalHero1953]

10 hours ago, Kiwimac said:

The M system is a tool for a specific purpose. 
 

I don’t think turning it into a Swiss Army knife would really help. 
 

No need to try and turn it into a smaller SL!

Which specific purpose do you mean?

For all my film years with the M2 I did think of it as a Swiss Army Knife. I used the original Visoflex, the BOOWU and various other gadgets. It was the equivalent of todays video box camera, like the BM Pyxis, which you could rig up with many different kinds of devices to let it do anything.

It's lost some of that in the digital era mainly because of the advance in autofocus, which has become vital for photos that were difficult for any camera back then. It can still do all that the film Ms could do, and more.

In the end, how you think about it is partly an attitude of mind (yes, you can use a digital M for distant action sports and BIF if you choose to, though there are much better tools) and partly what you want to shoot with it.

My photography centred on the digital M for everything I wanted to shoot, until my kit bifurcated: I got the CL, later the Q, for social/travel/casual stuff, and the SL for portraits/stage performance. The M could have done both (and did), but the CL/Q and SL were better for their particular applications. The M got squeezed out, and I sold it.

[pgk]

Hmmmmm. If I look through my photos I see that the 'best' shots were taken on the most appropriate equipment. Appropriate meaning either the equipment I used because it best suited the job in hand, or, the equipment I actually had with me. The make of equipment is not that important except that I tend to have a Leica M with me most of the time. Which means that it is the most appropriate when I see a shot for which it is usable. And consequently I have a lot of my 'better' photos taken on an M camera.

[Tmx]

Am 16.9.2025 um 09:58 schrieb LocalHero1953:

In the film era I mainly used a M2 side by side with a Pentax MX and occasionally a Rolleiflex. Now I cannot tell which photos I took with which camera.

Are you talking about Rolleiflex TLR? I can’t hardly imagine to see no difference between 135 and 6x6 format

[LocalHero1953]

2 hours ago, Tmx said:

Are you talking about Rolleiflex TLR? I can’t hardly imagine to see no difference between 135 and 6x6 format

Yes, a Rolleiflex T. I would have to enlarge them quite a bit to notice the difference, though in many cases I can just remember when and how I took the shot.

[Tmx]

vor 6 Stunden schrieb LocalHero1953:

Yes, a Rolleiflex T. I would have to enlarge them quite a bit to notice the difference, though in many cases I can just remember when and how I took the shot.

My point was that a different format - rectangle vs. square - is easy to determine 

[LocalHero1953]

8 minutes ago, Tmx said:

My point was that a different format - rectangle vs. square - is easy to determine 

Ok, understood.

Though I rarely left my Rolleiflex images square - they were always cropped to a rectangle.