Leica Madness

Well... some of you may remember that I was selling off my Leica gear

to finance my move to large format photography. I've been using LF

for a while now and enjoy it immensely (and will continue to use it

for a very long time to come), but the Leica Madness is once again

taking over. ;) I'm once again in to Leica and anticipating my

new/old camera to come in shortly. I really don't know what it is

about these cameras; the craftsmanship, the easy ergonomics, the

lenses, or just some strange voodoo magic that's cast on each camera

before it leaves the factory. :D

 

Anybody else experience the Leica Madness?

 

Cheers,

 

Rafal

About 20 years ago I sold my SL bodies to buy auto-exposure equipment - dumb move. Bought the SL bodies back. Never sell a Leica.

Yep. Some years ago I put my M2 down to shoot with Nikon SLR gear. After 5 years of that, I put the Nikon down, picked up the M2 again. Then I bought additional M's and added an R system.

Thirty years ago, sold all my Leica M gear to finance a Canon F1 system for money making photography. Canon was after pro shooters at the time, and was giving great deals to get people away from Nikon.

 

Never liked the Canon glass, so sold it to buy Nikon, the glass was closer to Leica and it's good solid gear...never had a failure.

 

Had the Nikon stuff for 20 years and really liked it, but I'm back with Leica again and couldn't be happier.

One thing that I found when I had my Leica gear is that I used it a lot more then anything else. It is just a fun system to use when out with friends or just working on a personal photography project. The only reason that I sold it is to finance my way to large format. I've used other other gear, and currently using 4x5 for almost all my studio work/fun (I'm not a professional, this is just a hobby for me), but outside it is the best system to use.

 

Cheers,

 

Rafal

Yes, and I do feel your pain/joy of the Leica Madness !

 

I started with Canon SLR, then added the M7........stupidly sold it !

 

Then thought I could get a cheaper substitute.......so got a Hexar RF, then Canonet, then Hexar AF, then M6, M3, and then fully digital !

 

Now I am back to an M7....and some dSLR gear........what was I thinking ? I could have save me much trouble and kept the first M7 the first time !

Friends don't forget the Pentex K1000.

Leica Madness...better described as Leica Appreciation!

 

Owner of Leica reflexes since 1967. Sold all "R" gear in 1996 to purchase Contax RTS III system. No regrets then or now. Sold all RTS gear to buy the Contax 645 system. This is a camera for life!! Untouchable IMO. Of course I never sold nor ever will, my M6 equipment. Leica M's are "magic" and as the saying goes..."good things come in small packages".

Sold all my Leica gear in 1997 and bought a Contax G2 system, thinking I might enjoy the automation. Great lenses, squinty viewfinder, no fun. Got rid of the G2 and relied on a Contax T2 for a few years while I figured out what I wanted to do next. Bought back into Leica in 2004 -- an MP and 5 lenses.

 

Photography is fun again. For me, it's not just about the pictures; it's also about the process.

I can relate completely. The only camera kit I ever regretted selling was my first M4. Could have saved a lot of money if I had held onto it. You're right, it's not rationale.

wanna buy my leicas?

 

m4p/m3/50 cron/35 summarons/50 elmars/35 elmars.

 

let me know.

Yes - and the madness extends. My first Leica was a III - then IIIb, IIIc IIIf - and then a Leica I from 1930. The last is the one I now use almost exclusively; and the old elmar works beautifully for me. I was amazed at the quality of the first pics taken with the Leica I - contra jour. I love holding and using the old camera: and my guessed exposures usually work out pretty well. Have to say Peter Grisaffi in Luton did a wonderful job on it for me; anyone wanting work done in the UK should have a word with him.

 

I don't usually leave my photos as is - I work them pretty heavily in the darkroom or computer - but these two were from the first roll - as is...

 

The Leica I would be the last camera I'd part with..<div></div>

Second from the roll<div></div>

This from a roll taken in Malta last week - Jessops 200ASA film - Leica I 1930.<div></div>

Madness? Passion! I love 'em!<div></div>

Rob, these Malta pics look like paintings! What did you do to achieve it?

Rob: Very nice stuff! Fine art.

Travis, you break my heart!

What may seem to others like madness has actually proven for me to boil down to

practical economics. I've owned close to 30 Leica M's since my first M-2 which I

purchased as a 16 year old. Always (until recently) bought used, and always (well, almost!)

"bought low and sold high" so I never really lost a penny!

 

But every time I had to re sell one of these cameras a piece of my heart went with it - lots

of great memories associated with each example - so recently I've treated myself to two

LHSA versions: the BP TTL and the Hammertone MP. I figured that at 51 I'd earned the

right to finally keep my Leicas forever - but alas, it looks like I might have to sell again,

and I'm afraid that the Hammertone may need to go soon!

 

But Rafal, you can help me! My finances are right now tied up in the first production run

of the Layton L-45A - which you can see by going to Laytoncamera.com. You can buy one

of these and help me keep my beloved Hammer! Shameless self-commerce? Nope, just

another case of Leica madness!

Nice looking view camera! I sold all my 4x5 stuff a few years ago when I decided to just shoot Leica M, and the Bessa L with my 15 along with one old Rollei T. That Graphic View II made me a lot of money over the years, and like Leicas sold for many times what I'd paid for the stuff used. Nobody ever asked why I wasn't using the latest Sinar or Cambo, but more than one art director said "OOH! Kodak Ektars! Too bad it's uneconomical to still make lenses in the U.S."

welcome back!!

Thanks - Bert and John - for your compliments; glad you like the images. I was fortunate with the light - had been watching for it for a couple of days - and very nearly got caught out. I wanted the warmth of light from low in the sky where I could shoot 'almost' into the angle. Also used a hood and shaded the lens with my left hand when close to the direction and angle of the sun. Used the same method with the beach pics: held and operated the camera with my right hand - shaded the lens with my left. Handy to have a cop of hat, and if you see the shadow on the side of the lens - through the viewfinder - you've got the shade right.

 

Am attaching one more image from that shoot, - where the contrasts of light were just about perfect. The image itself cried out for cropping - top and bottom. I always expect I might have to crop pics from the 50mm lens, and a long landscape view - like this one - has to be cropped to create this effect.

 

I have two black 90mm elmars to get in closer, but use them with my other SF cameras. Great lenses! Love the way they gather light.

 

I used a UV filter with the Leica I for these Malta images. Guys - a Leica I is a dream to use for everday out-and-about shooting. Just have to get used to guessing depth of field - but easy to set the point of focus - if that's critical for the image.

 

All these shot with Jessops 200ASA film - a brand film sold by the Jessops photographic group in the UK.

 

Rob

Travis, what do you want for the M3?

eric, my friend, don't go there...

right, i forgot. i stopped that habbit. thanks man.