Leica M2 and Summicron 35mm f:2

I am new to Leica photography and am just beginning to use this

camera (I have shot and reviewed one roll). I am accustomed to

Pentax 35mm SLRs and Mamiya and Hasselblad MF, all of 60s-70s

vintage, but have never used any other Leica, any other rangefinder,

or any other camera this old.

 

Could you experts on the forum advise me, how good is this lens

believed to be, and what performance do you think I can expect

compared to the cameras 10-20 years newer that I have used

extensively.

 

So far, I find it hard to focus on anything that moves, and the lens

is quite small so my fingers feel awkward. But a wonderful camera.

 

Regards, Steve

It's a really great camera and lens; you need to get used to using a manual-focus rangefinder instead of an SLR, but when you do you'll find you can get really outstanding photos with it.

 

Outdoors in sunshine you can zone-focus using the DOF scale; anywhere in any light you can pre-focus and wait for the action to come to your chosen point. And you can, of course, practice....

 

The lens should be better than anything you've used on your Pentaxes; needless to say the larger negative of your MF gear gives it an insurmountable advantage over any 35mm lens.

Stephen, support the left side of the camera in your left palm, at the base of your thumb. Extend your left index finger to control the focus tab on the lens. It's an ideal system!

Thank you very much for the good advice - especially on how to use that focus tab! That feature is completely new to me.

Oh, and there's another way to do it. The heel of the camera rests at the base of the left index finger, and the thumb is used on the focus tab. I actually find that more comfortable, though it is not the "official" way.