leicatwins Posted March 20, 2008 Share #1 Posted March 20, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) Well. after a lot of thinking, I have decided to buy my first film RF body. I lean more towards a Leica M body. My future lense line up will consist of 15 CV, 24 Elmarit, 28 Cron, 35 UC Hexanon, 50 M Hexanon and 90 C Elmar F4. Therefore I eliminate Canon P out of my selection since I can only use two lenses. I also rule out the HExar RF considering its compatibility issue. Zeiss Ikon? Well, this is my first my film body so it must be a Leica:p Considering my budget, I will also rule out the M7 and if possible I can save more. Here are my preference, ranked from the most important needs for me : 1. Brightness of viewfinder for better focusing 2. Compactness for street shooting 3. Image Quality especially for BW 4. Silent shutter noise 5. Built in metering 6. Easiness of partial (mid-roll) loading and unloading/change the film 7. Reliability Again, I don't want to spend much on a film body, better to allocate to my future lenses. Can somebody give me some direction which M film body will be my first camera referring to above preference? Thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 20, 2008 Posted March 20, 2008 Hi leicatwins, Take a look here Which M film body will be my first film camera?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
cbretteville Posted March 20, 2008 Share #2 Posted March 20, 2008 Sounds like a Voigtländer Bessa is the best way to go. An R2A or R3A will cover most of you bases at a lower price (~$540 new) than most Leica M bodies. If you want to spend more and get a Leica M, I'd say get an M6 classic. - Carl Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
-kk- Posted March 20, 2008 Share #3 Posted March 20, 2008 ditto what carl said, i would also add to be a bit more flexible with your lens selection. choose one or two that are definitely in your preferred range eg 35 + 50, then go wide/longer form there. You may find you style/preferences may be different on an rf compared to eg a SLR (i know mine is). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted March 20, 2008 Share #4 Posted March 20, 2008 1. Brightness of viewfinder for better focusing - I don't think that there is a huge variance in brightness. Magnification is more an issue if you want better focussing with tele lenses. 2. Compactness for street shooting - apart from the M5 they are all the same size. OK the M6 TTL and M7 are ever so slightly taller, a couple of mm. 3. Image Quality especially for BW - err? the body doesn't make any difference, its just a light tight box to hold the film and a shutter after all! 4. Silent shutter noise - all much the same. Leica's are quiet, but certainly not silent in the way that a leaf shutter is (or totally silent digicam!) 5. Built in metering - narrowing down your choices to an M5, M6, M6TTL, M7 or MP 6. Easiness of partial (mid-roll) loading and unloading/change the film - no difference, the crank rewind might be quicker however than the M2/3/P stlye knob. 7. Reliability - not an issue, they are all 'reliable' Given the above, and taking into account your 28mm lens, the obvious choice would be an M6 or M6 TTL. Confusingly, both have built in TTL metering but the 'TTL' model supports dedicated flash. Finder supports 28 - 135mm lenses so you'll need external finders for the wider lenses only. I won't suggest a Leica CL because of your lens range. The next best alternative is as suggested a Voigtlander but you said it must be an M. Good luck in your search! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
el.nino Posted March 20, 2008 Share #5 Posted March 20, 2008 how do i partial-load a film and how does it get back where it has been before? shooting with a covered lens? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob_x2004 Posted March 20, 2008 Share #6 Posted March 20, 2008 Six classic with a thirty five till you work things out? You may not ever need a second lens. ps...The only thing you have is the film counter and probably the body cap up under your jumper or some place dark. You should be able to load the thing the same way every time so you will be within a frame space so count one extra. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent10D Posted March 21, 2008 Share #7 Posted March 21, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) I agree with the M6 (Classic) plus 35-mm lens recommendation. Relatively inexpensive, has metering when you need it, and IMHO it just doesn't get much better than that for all-around RF 35-mm film shooting. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
roguewave Posted March 21, 2008 Share #8 Posted March 21, 2008 Buy an M3. Any M3, DD or SS. It 's simply the best camera Leica ever made. It is a teacher of fundamentals & elegance. No need for TTL, just a digisix in your pocket. I always carry mine and it has worked wonders in training me to observe and forecast EV. It has the best & most accurate finder & focus. It forces you to be a better artist. You will love this camera till the day you can't use it anymore. Ask anyone that has the privilege, it is very special. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arif Posted March 24, 2008 Share #9 Posted March 24, 2008 Another vote for the M6. With prices low enough now, you can always upgrade and keep it later as a back-up camera and not lose any money. Arif Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
j. white Posted March 24, 2008 Share #10 Posted March 24, 2008 Yet another vote for the M6. I would add that if you intend to use flash at all, the flash circuit in the TTL model gives exceptional results. And used SF-20 flash units are very reasonably priced these days. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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