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Will You Share Your Leica?


badpets

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OK, I'm in the minority, but I have shared, unsupervised, my M7, and had no ill effects. I've also gifted Leicas three times in the past.

 

I keep an M2 or an M3 in the stable specifically to share and use in rough environments without concern.

 

It's a matter of trust. If the friend can be trusted to care for the item, and repair or replace if the unfortunate occurs, then it's a done deal.

 

Have fun!

 

Eric

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If I'm standing there and someone wants to look at it, any M I have, and even take a shot with it I usually say OK.

If someone asked to borrow it for 1 hour or day I say NO.

 

That was not the case with my Nikon D200. I did lend to a couple of people but only for a short period of time.

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Many many years ago I was photographing an office farewell party for the house magazine. After the formal part of the event I put my IIIg and flash on a side table and settled down to enjoy myself. Next day when the film came back from the lab there were several photographs on it that I hadn't taken. Since then I've enjoyed letting people handle and use my cameras.

 

But that was so long ago that people knew what a manual camera was. A few weeks ago I was at a meeting and needed to get some group shots of the fifteen or so attendees. After banging off a few shots with a D700 and 24-85 zoom I sat down, made sure everything was set to automatic and handed the camera to the person on my right showing him the shutter button and saying "Take a picture and pass it on." The interesting and disappointing thing was that half the younger ones didn't know to look through the viewfinder.

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I bought a rather worn SL which I share with my daughter and once with my best friend. Occasionally the wife will take a shot with the M, but she doesn't really care for it anyway. Otherwise...no one touches the M's or the III's.

John W

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Guest darkstar2004
No.

 

I would not lend/share with someone who does not understand what is special about these elegant machines. Amongst people I know, anyone who would ask doesn't understand. Anyone who understands would not ask.

 

My thoughts exactly.

 

It is your camera - you do have the right to decline to loan it out. Just because someone asks does not mean that you are in any way obligated to go along with their request. Anyone who cannot understand or accept that is clearly self-centered, rude, inapproperiate and has no boundaries (which describes alot of people these days, unfortunately).

 

We are allowed to have boundaries and determine what is approperiate and what is not, what we are comfortable with and what we are not.

 

Having someone ask to "borrow" my MP & lenses is akin to asking if they can "borrow" $50,000 in cash with no strings attached or asking if they can "borrow" my wife with no strings attached.

 

I'll pass on all three counts, thanks.

 

IMHO, if you can't afford to lose it or live with having it damaged or abused - don't lend it out, no matter what it is.

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Guest wls.shanghai

"Will You Share Your Lecia?"

 

 

YES - why not :rolleyes:

 

I use my Leicas as TOOLS only :eek:

I'am not a "fetishist" :)

 

Regards

wls

 

btw. like bill wrote: ..I want to encourage others into the "World of Leica"

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M8-M7-R9 : Yes, for a short while, under my supervision ("Would you care to put that strap thing around before… not, around your ankle… no, not around your wrist either. That's it,

around your neck.":rolleyes:)

 

My wife uses my Digilux 2.

She hates taking photos almost as much being taken in photo. :D

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I have shared cameras and lenses with a member of this Forum who happens to live close by and I must say, considering his fanatical care, that I sometimes feel they come back better than when I use them:) . This said, I wouldn't let anybody touch them (airport security comes to mind...); though during the pre prandial meetings of The One Challenge group, there's been but one instance when one participant mistakenly asked one of us to handle his equipment with care. There was a sudden lull in the babbling, a humourous remark before we decided not to pounce on the unfortunate guy. During these meetings, we do handle (fondle) everybody's equipment with their agreement and with due care and respect.

I wouldn't mind too much helping an aspiring Leica lover to experience equipment they would like to obtain. It would be a good opportunity to tactfully let them acquire the basic precautions that we take for granted. IMHO

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Of course, happily do so many times. Then I get it back. All in all about thirty seconds absence. Most recently handed my M2 to my nine year old god-daughter to take a photo for me of a friend sitting next to me. I set the controls and handed it over. Interestingly she knew to look through the viewfinder even though had not used such a camera before. Unfortunately it didn't come out so well....

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Guest darkstar2004
Just a thought for the non-sharers... do you not want to encourage others into the world of Leica?

 

Regards,

 

Bill

 

There are a select few whom I would share my MP with - under my watchful eye, say for an afternoon of photographing.

 

I wouldn't loan it out to someone who wanted to use it for a weekend or for a week or two vacation, or photography workshop, though. Nikon gear, yes. Hasselblad XPAN, probably. MP? Uhhh, sorry no...

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