Buying a Leica M nowadays?

[C R Utra]

Nowadays, due to the digital world, what do you think about buying a

new M body? Is it still worth?

[ronald_moravec1]

I am stuborn. Film will not go away. I prefer film. If digital was all there was, I would take up painting. I can get a digital image with a scanner if need be.

 

Is there a fouum on painting?

[michael_cockerham]

Not sure about buying a NEW body - depends on your personal circumstances. But I love the lack of do-this do-that toggle-up toggle-down, etc. buttons that is my M7. And it's discreet. And it's all-round quality. And it's not all that battery-dependent. And you can always scan away to your heart's content. And there must be heaps more opinions searchable hereabouts...!

[C R Utra]

Yes, the M body has just one button! All those little adjustments and switches also bother me.

[george_conboy1]

One of the good things about Leica is that buying used can represent good value since the quality and durability is generally high.

 

Buy new if you don't mind paying more and enjoy the satisfaction of getting a brand-new precision instrument.

[chip l.]

There is an ease in working with digital. You shoot and bring the card home for "post-

processing". With film you have the cost of the film and processing, as well as the added

cost of scanning (either by the lab ($) or by yourself (time).

 

There is a joy that is hard to describe in working with an RF camera (wether Leica or any

other brand). For myself having DOF scales that mean something, and a finder that does

"blur-out" when I am "out-of-focus" means a lot.

 

IMO, film will still be "affordable" for the next 10 to 15 years. It may be "imported", but will

still do the job. For die hards it will require shifting from the wet darkroom to the digital

darkroom, unless you are willing the pay the "price" of printing.

 

It is a matter of "vision". I have friends that swear by the "masters" they have for LP's.

There are those that swear by DAT, or the newer DVD-Audio. It is a matter of "preference".

[les_lammers]

I just did and have no regrets. I also have no animosity toward digital. I don't like all the 'buttons' on most cameras. The simple

M for a simple snapper. I think film will be around for a long time.

[albert knapp md]

Carlos- there will always be a niche called analogue aka film

and people will flock to it for a variety of reasons. Leica will have

a presence but being king of analogue may not equate with

survival. Consequently, the key for Leica will be the move (or

diversification) into digital. Let's watch and see!

[jeff_lu]

why not, if you have the money and like film/leicas? a hobby is for enjoyment...if you're a

pro you probably know the answer.

[richie chishty]

Yes. If you can afford it. And if you are willing to go against the crowd. Most photographers are already using digital cameras. Five years from now, it will probably be difficult to buy film and get it processed at your local lab. My guess is that by 2009, film users will make up less than 1% of all photographers!

 

Having said all that, I have no intention of giving up my Leica M6 TTL or the 35mm and 50mm Summicron lenses that I use every day. I really like using all manual mechanical cameras. And I like the image quality that I get from my Leica lenses.

[peter_white2]

Value is subjective - Economics 101.

[al_kaplan1]

Next time you're in the photo dept. of your local drugstore take a good look at the huge piles of single use cameras sitting on a couple of tables, one pile with flash, one without. Iside everyone of those cameras is a roll of 35mm film. I guess when they start making $6.00 throwaway digital cameras, maybe. Until then we should have film. Then there are the wedding shooters rediscovering the advantages and "look" of film.

 

When they came out with chromagenic C-41 process B&W film twenty odd years ago many people predicted that conventional B&W would go bye-bye.

[capocheny]

Carlos,

 

ABSOLUTELY... forget about buying used! GO BRAND SPANKING NEW!

 

Why not? It's ONLY money. :)

 

Cheers

[lex_jenkins]

Yeh, I'm certainly getting closer to a decision after a couple of years of considering it.

 

I'm about ready to acquiesce to digital for at least some of my work simply because the closings of local pro color labs (and, previously, slow turnarounds) are beginning to make me seem mulish for sticking with my Nikon manual-everything gear. It kinda annoyed a client this summer that it took three days from the shoot (on NPZ) to handing over the CD with scans of everything. Their regular photographer (out of town at that time) has moved to digital and can turn some work around much quicker.

 

But give up entirely on 35mm film? Nah. Can't see it. I'm not giving up on medium format either so I'll at least keep my Rolleiflex.

 

This weekend I handled an M6 and 50/2 Summicron and tried to imagine whether I could get by with just that for the foreseeable future shooting 35mm.

 

Weird decision. I'll never make it as a Leicaphile because I can't remember details. I've been using Nikon FD gear for two or three years and still barely know anything beyond what I own. Same with the Canon FD and Olympus OM gear I owned before. Leicavit? Gimme a minute while I look it up in the glossary. Differences in M6's between finders that supposedly ghost and those that supposedly don't? I dunno.

 

I just want something at least as quiet as my Canonet GIII QL17 with at least as good a lens but with a better viewfinder.

 

But new or used? Again, dunno. A new MP is awfully tempting if only for the retro novelty. But I could get a relatively gently used M6 and 50/2 for the price of a new MP.

[christopher_moss]

I just bought an M7, and have no regrets at all. I do have digital cameras, including a Leica

D2 and a Nikon D70, but they don't bring the satisfaction of the whole process. I'm not

trying to say that film is better than digital - that's another argument altogether - but that

I find the process of using a film camera, then developing the film and, these days,

scanning the negatives for Photoshop much more rewarding. Some of the fun for me is the

moment when I check to see there are images on the film before washing it. I can't resist

and always do this after fixing; the thrill and wonder of it is always there! Now there are no

end of good bargains to be had in film cameras these days, and more or less all of them

would give me this thrill. The point of an M though, is to maximise the pleasure I have in

taking the photographs, and just possibly help them turn out as I hope. The unrelated joy

of appreciating a well-made mechanism is the icing on the cake.

So while I can't afford my purchase, I shall happily cope with the consequences which are

far outweighed by the benefits.

 

Chris

[william_john_smith]

<EM>"I guess when they start making $6.00 throwaway digital cameras,

maybe."</EM><P>Last year the price was $10.99, the Dakota Digital, which is a "fully

digital single-use camera". 25 images, you have to return to the dealer, Ritz Camera,

where you then

pay for prints and/or a CD. That was last year. The camera was cracked three months

after it came out so now you don't have to take it back. The person who cracked the

camera is known as - Ritz Cracker! I didn't make that up.

[jorge]

Lex,

<br><br>

<i>>> I could get a relatively gently used M6 and 50/2 for the price of a new MP. <<</i>

<br><br>

A friend of mine in Cleveland, who prowls camera shows all the time, says that M6's are going for about $1000. You might two for the price of an MP.

[abufletcher]

I'd say that "nowadays" is the best time ever to buy a USED Leica M, in

particularly the M6TTL (great camera in my opinion). Used M7's are also to

be had a good prices.

 

Only buy new if you appreciate that special something of owning a "virgin"

camera and don't mind an immediate 10-30% depreciation in price the

moment you walk out the door of the camera shop with your new Leica still in

its box.

[jay bee]

Just don't get the whole digital workflow - certainly more involved than clicking and putting it on your computer. Its been my very limited experience with scanning and digi cams that one needs a solid understanding of Photoshop or other such program in order to get the desired appearance on the screen and printed output (which its my undersanding are two very different things). I like oursourcing the whole printing process as I don't have the discretionary time to learn that end of things and much prefer snapping away till my hearts content. I'm fortunate to have a quality lab who provides great prints. Plus there's something neat about taking a picture and NOT having the instantaneous gratification of seeing what you've captured. Kind of like a kid on christmas morning each time I pick up my photos from the lab...

[jamiew]

I love digital and find it far easier to use than the darkroom. I started first using traditional and digital darkroom work at the the same time (about 3 years ago). Digital is FAR easier to use and get your results.

 

BUT ...

 

I HATE digital cameras. I really really wish they made s digital camera and limited the ammount of buttons to the bare essential (WB, ISO, etc.. ).

 

Oh well.

[dan flanders]

I started off with a second (or maybe even third) hand Leica III and have used and traded them almost to the exclusion of other brands for the past sixty years. My last acquisition was a classic M6 which I regard as the last of the real Leicas, those made in Wetzlar, and which will probably be the last. I value it for its convenience though sentimentally I will always prefer the Barnacks. As long as film is available I will use one of my Leicas though for business reasons I have also acquired a digital set-up. It surely is convenient to have a digital darkroom, but film has been a lot more fun.

[mayorson_kirk]

please don't look at the digital world. Leica cameras are precision made cameras thta will last for a long time with you. It is like an antique or china that can be display at your home or use it as a tool for making money. For those who are interested in leica , good progress.

[travis1]

I should have stuck with one M and a 35 all these while. After years of fooling around gears, it's time to take pictures.

[lkv]

Thanks Travis !<br>

Finally a sensible statment !<br>

Well, I use a Mamiya 7, but for all it matters, lets just take pictures ;-)<br>

Lenny<br>

<a href="http://www.afimage.com">AFimage - Photographe</a>

[roger_michel]

is it really a bad thing to be in that 1%??