Which Pocket Camera for the Leica M Photographers?

I'm wondering what pocket cameras other Leica M photographers are using. I recently took a family vacation and brought along my wife's Olympus Stylus together with my Leica M gear. I ended up using the Olympus more than I expected and found that it came in really handy. My favorite photos (of my family at the beach) were actually taken with the Olypmus, although the quality doesn't even come close to that of my Leica M w/ 35 'cron.

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Now I'm thinking of getting another pocket camera, but with a better quality lens than we have on our Olympus Stylus. The Contax T3 is a viable choice, based on lens quality alone. The Yashica T4 is another option. I've also heard that the lens on the Olympus Stylus Epic has 2 aspherical elements, but don't know if its lens is any better than with the previous model Stylus we already have. I'm not anxious to have a zoom model, as I prefer the smaller size of non-zoom cameras.

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So, I'm looking forward to hearing comments from other Leica M photographers about which pocket cameras you are using and can recommend, as well cameras you don't recommend due to problems.

Thanks in advance.

Here's an excerpt from Erwins Put's Newsletter. I hope he doesn't

mind....

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"I bought myself a new Minilux 2.4/40mm. First results show incredible

performance even at full aperture."

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We also have a Minilux and like not only it's lens but it's

relatively powerful flash, pre-focus, control, accurate focusing and

exposure. The only thing wrong with this camera is that it's heavy

for a P&S.

Wow Ken, I can't help you here, because my M with the tri-elmar IS my

pocket camera ;-)

Wow Ken, I can't help you here because my M with the tri-elmar IS my

pocket camera ;-)

For me, same as Jack - I have the M4-2/35mm over my shoulder, a 90 TE

in one POCKET, and 2 rolls of film in the other POCKET. Pocket

camera!!

Or - the advertising slogan they never used in the '60's (and can't,

now)

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Leitz, camera, action!

My pocket camera (until the shutter jammed--CLA time) was a Kodak

Retina IIIc. With the 50/f2 Schneider Xenon, it folds into a small,

slim enough package to easily fit in a jacket pocket. Built-in meter,

great little lens, nicely constructed, good looking, fairly cheap to

replace--the only disadvantage is the weight.

KL Prager,

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My M6 fits in my winter pockets, but not my summer ones. I suppose a

CL with 40mm would be a good answer if a non-Leica is unthinkable.

But since you mentioned the Olympus Stylus, I'll tell you this much.

My fiancee has one. She brought it on a canoe ride we took last

summer. Neither one of us knew a wole lot about canoeing. Well, she

said she did. Needless to say, we capsized on a submerged tree. The

Olympus went into the drink, floating in a non-waterproof cloth bag.

When we got ashore, she took the film out (soaked) and pitched it. I

drained the camera, holding it at various angles. We dried it in the

sun a few minutes. When we got home, the next day, I did some more

draining. I noted the lens and viewfinder were filled with droplets

and mist. It didn't look pretty. The next day I took it to a camera

repair place. They said it would cost more to fix it than to buy a

new one. The flash arm was hanging out like the tongue of a dead

dog. So I took it home and sealed it in a ziplock bag along with

four of those little dessicant silica gel packs that say "do not eat

this" on them. Then I forgot about it. For a year.

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Tomorrow she is going on a business trip and wanted to take a

camera. I opened the ziplock bag and popped in a new battery. The

Stylus made a series of promising clicks and whirs. The flash arm

snapped back into closed position. I blew out the interior with

compressed air and loaded a film. It wound it. I shot a couple

pictures. It worked, flash, zoom lens drive, and all.

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So she's taking it along. I'll let you know how the pictures turn

out. So far, I'm impressed.

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Regards,

The T3 is an exceptionally compact high quality camera cabable of

images as good as the best 35mm cameras made. The only thing I can

fault mine about is that because of its fairly high cost ($699), you

want to be careful how you treat it. I would often toss the Yashica

T4 in the side pocket of the car, or inside a jacket pocket without

its case. With the T3, because it is such a precision made camera, I

am more careful how I handle it, and in one way that takes away from

part of the fun of shooting with a P&S. That said, I wouldn't trade

mine for any compact camera ever made. You can not believe how good

that lens is,even wide open, and the high shutter speeds, super close

focusing (13 inches) and easy user over-rides make the camera very

capable under many situaions that other P&S are useless. Only P&S I

have ever used that does not have a vignetting problem at any speed

or F stop. Great low light camera. Fast response on the AF, great

finder, very quiet, and about 2/3 the size and weight of the Minilux.

Buy a Minox TLX - the quality is increadible and it is more handy than

any of the so-called pocket cameras. Minox is even owned (still?) by

Leica.

CONTAX T2 Great little camera , better than every thing pre T3.

I have not used on of these yet. What i liked about the T2 was

that it had a fast lens[the reason the zoom cameras don't work

for me] and the flash doesn't overpower the ambient light.

I'd go for the Yashica T4 with its Carl Zeiss T* 35mm f/3.5 lens.

The Yashica's $169 price is much better value than the Contax T3 at

$699. I would be less nervous about handing over the Yashica to a

stranger to take family snap shots for me when on vacation, compared

to a Contax or Minilux. I also don't have to worry too much about

the Yashica's 35mm focal length making me look fatter than I already

am in my family photos--especially when I am asking a stranger to

compose for me. I would avoid any compact with a wider lens than

35mm. Strangers, and myself, almost never bother with the zoom

function so I'd avoid that. I also wouldn't get much use out of the

T3's aperature priority, manual focusing, or even the f/2.8 etc.

Sometimes I just want a high quality point and shoot camera to

supplement my M when traveling. I'd only go for the T3 if it was

half price though. The Yashica T4 is really good value. My 2

pennies.

At different times, I've used the following "pocket[able]" cameras:

Minox GT; Minox ML; Rollei 35SE (although a little heavy, still one

of my all-time favorites); Olympus XA; Contax T* (the original; 3

weeks after I bought it I dropped it into the Aegean while on

vacation); Olympus Stylus; Olympus Epic (my current Leica M6

companion). As soon as I can find it, the new, all-black Contax T3

(anyone got any leads??).

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For the money, the Epic is one helluva pocket point-n-shoot. The only

thing I'm not crazy about is its dependence on batteries and the

shutter lag time. When I take the Rollei SE along with me, I use it

pretty much set on hyperfocal distance and fire away. The compromise

40mm lens is amazingly sharp and the in-the-viewfinder LED light

meter is a bonus, too. I use the Minox the same way. I equip both the

Rollei and the Minox with lens hoods and either yellow, orange, or

red (Heliopan) filters on sunny days--just the lenshades without

filters on others. Except for the Epic which I load 50% of the time

with color negative film, I always shoot Tri-X (@ EI 200) in the

others (I don't think I've ever shot any color in any of the other

cameras). When I shoot Tri-X in the Epic I override the DX Coding so

that the EI is also 200. I have all my film processed commercially at

a lab that's been doing custom processing for me for over 15 years.

The results I get are exceptionally consistent since the lab follows

my preferences for developers and development times when I request

something other than D-76 1:1 with a dash of Benzotriazole. The

negatives sizzle.

I have to second Jack and others above. My M6 (TTL+2/35ASPH or 2/50)

is also my pocket camera, and that's why I bought it. It even fits in

a light jacket pocket e.g. when I'm at the Philharmonie here, where

photography is absolutely <FONT COLOR="#00CC00">forbidden.</FONT>

If you want the ultimate pocket camera, then the best choice is

<a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?

ViewItem&item=1257496058">MINOX CLX </A><P>

It has a super sharp lens, shutter from 8 sec to 1/2000, focus range

from 8 inch to infinity, with parallax corrected viewfinder, built

in UV filter, ND filter and lens hood, weight only 5 oz.

<p> A good choice for pocket 35mm is Minox GT-E, very sharp Leitz

designed Minoxar multicoated 35mm/2.8

lens, shutter from 1/500 to 20 minutes or longer, great for night

shots. Much quieter than Leica M. 7 oz only

My pocket camera is my IIIg with collapsible 50 Elmar. But, my

glovebox camera is a Konica Big Mini. Not the zoom, but the older

one with a 35 F2.8. Though I tend to carry the Leica whenever I 'go'

anywhere, I often fail to do so when popping over to the local store

or some such thing. A few days ago I went to get some bread first

thing in the morning at our local bakery. They have a couple of

small tables set up where you can order fresh buns and an espresso.

A man and woman, both older than dirt, he in an ancient black suit.

Perfect Leica...ur Konica moment. At 8X10 (B&W) it looks 'Leica' to

me.

I was using an Olympus XA, which was a clam shell type camera with

plenty of controls, aperture priority, manual focus via a

rangefinder, and manual ISO (ASA back then) which allows you to fool

the meter for good slides in tricky light. This camera died and was

no longer available, so I bought a Minox ML (in 1986), which is still

going strong.

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It is the size of a pack of cigarettes, allows manual aperture and

ISO settings, uses scale focusing via traditional depth of field

markings. The lens is at least as good as a Summaron, aperture for

aperture, very sharp and plenty of contrast. It is in my pocket even

when my Leica isn't, and at the end of a trip, the Minox is

responsible for many of my successful shots.

The Leica CL is worthy of consideration - although you need a largish

pocket. The trouble with most pocket cameras is they

involve a compromise: usually you have to give up some capability such

as cable release, parallax compensation, long shutter speeds - nice

viewfinder. The good thing about the CL is that you give up nothing

with it. In terms of pleasure though the best pocket camera I found

was a Minox GT-E - very light and fun to use and suitably controllable

to produce good results. But I found mine tended to scratch the film

so I give it up - maybe this trait has been fixed. Also of course

guess focus is not so good if you are used to Leica sharpness. The

Rollei 35 is nice, but a 40mm lens is even harder to guess focus than

a 35mm.

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I gave up on the Contax T2 when the lens jammed in one time and it

made a horrible whirring noise. There were also metering quirks. Maybe

the T3 is better?

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I am a slide shooter so the exposure system needs to be good and at

least controllable, so most point and shoots (T4, Epic, Stylus etc.)

are out.

My pocket camera is Canon G1 digital camera. The shutter lag

is 'forever' if I don't do it in two steps. It is good companion to

my Leica M6+50 'cron. Often just carry these two for a day shots. I

also like Olympus Stylus Epic. It has very good design, lens. I

think it is best value for the money.

To answer your question, yes the Olympus Infinity Stylus Epic f:2.8

lens is much, much better than the previous model. Try it, you'll

like it.

I figure if you're not going to bring the relatively compact M with a

lens or two, you'd better be getting a lot in convenience and

portability in a P&S, which is why I have been long intrigued by the

Ricoh GR-1s. It's super small, almost slimmer than a roll of film, Mg

body, sports a 28/2.8 (?), that, recently, I read is a Leica lens. It

captures focus first, has manual override, etc.

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Does anyone know about this camera and its connection with Leica

optics?

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I have the Yash T4, which is a fine camera for the money. It's the

camera I'd take rock climbing or sea kayaking, but for back country

camping I was willing to schlept around my SLR and 2 lenses.

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BTW, <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=

1256319793">here's one eb*y ad for the GR-1s</a>

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while

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<a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=

1257090673">this ad</a> seems to claim a Leica lens.<p>

Finally, some info from <a href="http://www.ricoh-cameras.co.uk/35mm/">

Ricoh UK</a>.

The GR1 has a "Leica quality lens" according to those users and

sellers who like it. Personally, I am sceptical, but it is probably

pretty good. Still, no connection with Leica Camera GMBH.

My "car" camera is an original Leica Mini. Purchased it about 5

years ago from a store that was closing it out. I probably only put

a roll through it a year, but my wife loves using it. The photos

turn out surprisingly good with the right film. I've discovered that

camera prefers Kodak Gold 200 (which also happens to be one of my

favorite films for my M4P.

My wife has a Pentax UC-1 in her purse. It's a really nice little

clamshell p&s, but I think it's discontinued. My pocket camera is a

llf with an elmar 50/3.5, fairly light and really flat. Of course, my

tight jeans days are over.

I am totally frustrated with P&S cameras that have no manual

controls. My pocket camera is a Rollei 35S. It is also the camera I

stash in my luggage (when I'm carrying 35mm gear) in case some

disaster befalls my main system. The 40mm lens is a good compromise

between wide and standard, and it's built like a tank. Aperture

settable in 1/2 stops from 2.8-22, shutter 1-1/500 with X sync at all

speeds. There is no rangefinder but I have a Leitz rangefinder that

fits in the flash shoe, if I think I'll need to shoot wider than 5.6.