On selling digital and moving to Leica M

[jbq]

The grass is always greener on the other side. A film rangefinder and a digital SLR are both very capable machines, each with its strengths and weaknesses. There's nothing wrong in owning both.

 

I have no fear that film will continue being available, at the very least B&W film. It might make sense to learn to develop it yourself, though.

[regit_young1]

I've recently went through a similar move (though I kept a cheaper Nikon DSLR and some of the lenses that I can't find a M/Screw mount equivalent). Do remember that you're not just changing format, but you're also changing your shooting capabilities. RF and SLR both have strengths and limitations and they should not escape your consideration.

 

Personally, I think there is still a long way to go before film production stops (if ever), so I don't think you should worry about it for now... Also, I think the only time Leica will stop making film camera is when it goes belly-up... but I don't think it will, under different management perhaps, but not belly-up :)

[larry_kincaid1]

Since no one mentioned it yet, let me say that if and when you may want to try digital again (after buying a Leica), the "new" digital equipment you will buy will be much better and much easier to use than the Cannon equipment you own now. It will be an upgrade, so to speak. You will never be able to upgrade your Leica equipment! As the comments above suggest, the Leica equipment was great 30 years ago and has already been improved by 2005 to the point of perfection (for this type of cameras and photography). This also means that there's no reason to rent equipment if you have any money. Buy used Lecia equipment first. If you ever decide to sell it to buy, say, new Leica lenses or whatever, you will be able to sell it for more than you paid for it today. So, whatever Lecia equipment you buy it is also an investment as well, not something you'll have to throw away someday.

 

Also, Lecia is not good for long telephoto purposes or macro photography. So, you may want to keep the Cannon for those purposes and use the Leica for everything in between.

[Alex_Es]

First off, don't sell your digital gear. You'll miss it and you'll be bitter. The M7 is a great camera. But to taste the real vintage Leica flavor start with a mechanical M. I suggest the M6 classic. These are going at fairly reasonable prices used. Next, get a used 50/2 Summicron. Fool around with that for a while and if you real feel that Leica is you, get a 35mm lens and maybe a 90. But don't suddenly toss your digital stuff. That's nuts.

[Jim_Tardio]

Why not just try a Voigtlander Bessa R2A or R3A with a Leica lens? That won't set you back all that much and you'll have the same experience. That way, when you go back to digital...and you will...it won't cost you a small fortune.

<p>

Remember that rangefinders excel in the range from 28-50mm...maybe 75mm, but are difficult at the long end, and inaccurate to frame at the very wide end...unless you're very experienced with them.

<p>

I don't think film is going anywhere. There will probably be less variety, however.

[jim_mcbride]

I own/use three analog Leica M cameras and I would never part with them. Of course, I am

an old man and it is not likely that film will disappear during what little is left of my

lifetime. If by some strange twist of fate film DOES disappear while I am still alive, then I

will figure out a way to make my own. I've already figured out a way to make my own

printing paper. BTW, I love digital imaging, too. I've been very happy with my Leica Digilux

1 since I bought it a couple of years ago and it still gets a lot of use.

[mrivers]

Canon 5D. Use the tool for the job.

[db1]

Here my two cents:

 

The DSLR is declining in value by the minute where the M7 or even M6 still has serious value. I say dump the DSLR before it is outdated and no longer support by the manufacturer.

 

As for the concern of film not being around, that is silly. Ilford is once again saying they are making a profit. So buy some Ilford film and learn how wonderful photography can be again.

[rj]

Before you buy a new M camera, you have to decide if you mesh with a rangefinder. This is more important than any gain you think you will get with a smaller analogue camera and leica optics. Also, decide what focal lengths you use most with your current setup, if you are into telephoto lenses maybe an m camera wouldn't be the right setup.

[jbaty]

I bought a Digital Rebel when first released. Then, after asking much the same question as

yours, I sold it and picked up an M6TTL and 35 ASPH. Fell in love immediately. After a

while, though, I began to want the immediacy of digital again. I then bought a 20D and

several very nice lenses. *Again* I fell in love. Eventually, the Leica became almost

completely unused. I sold all of my Leica lenses and tried selling the body. Turns out I just

couldn't do it. Now I'm once again shopping for Leica lenses. The moral of the story?

Dunno, maybe it's "Be careful of what you sell." Anyway, I don't think you'll regret your

decision, but you just may develop the need to support 2 systems, which gets expensive. I

love them both.

[Jochen_S]

Most decissions to buy cameras remain right. What I like to say is it's O.K. to substitute a inferior lens with a better one sometimes, but I at least would keep whatever body I liked to use once.

 

At the moment I don't like to use my Pentax *istD, and prefer M3&4-P, but I can imagine enjoying digital again and entirely as soon as I can afford a reasonable 2nd and 3rd body, which might mean something able to hold M & CV glass.

 

I got into M after getting the DSLR which I just need and love for some jobs / projects.

 

I'm not drooling over a M7 or any M body containing a meter, I get along with my handheld one, but in situations with critical focussing I don't dare to burn enough film to nail the shot securely as I maybe would with digital if the buffer allows it.

 

I don't worry much about Leica's future. I'm sure there are and will always be enough of the bodys I like on the used market. I've also been told that my huge old 90mm 'cron is a rather good lens, so just the WAs remain desireable for me, while I don't know if I'll need a aspherical 90mm and maybe never find it out without pixel peeping.

 

There are enough rumors to still hope for a digital M which would be nice to have and worth being purchased new in my eyes. I already considered purchasing a Epson ASAP together with a 12mm CV lens. Seeing Epson prices drop due to the existance of a real digital m would of course be nice.

 

Your post doesn't say if shooting film is a price you are willing to pay to shoot a M or if you have other reasons to do so. I at least feel the first way and would like to switch to digital or mixed if possible.

[dford]

Easy decision. The digital camera is depreciating by the second. Sell it NOW. Buy used Leica gear, if you don't take to it you'll be able to sell it at little or no monetary loss, and then buy back in to the latest generation of DSLR gear.

[fernando lopez]

The main reason for me to let go of my digital gear and switch to a Leica M7 is that as said, I love to shoot cities and cityscapes and also do a lot of travel photography. I have experience with my 10D during travelling and it just doesn't "feel" right to mount relatively heavy lenses and shoot from tripods whilst travelling. That said, I do love the quality of the EOS 10D, but a M7 with Leica Optics would be superior to most Canon Glass. I don't really need telezooms for my photography and the size, weight, superb optics and the idea behinds Leica attract me. I will have to live with higher speed films and probably more grain. It's worth it IMO, but still I also love the equipment I have. In practice it is not so functional for me though. As you can see, I'm kinda puzzled......

[fernando lopez]

I don't have the funds to finance a Leica without selling my current gear, so I will have to take a decision. It's a damn hard one....

[andy middleton]

leon, I had the same decision to make some time back..I took the plunge and sold off the

canon 10d plus lenses.Purchased an M6 TTL, 35mm summilux, elmar 90/4 all used but

excellent condition.PLUS I bought a small canon G6 (rangefinder style p&s)for those days and

occasions when you simply want digital.I am more than happy, no regrets whatsoever and

would do the same again...but it's you and only you to decide.good luck.andy

[michael s.]

If I were in your shoes, before I sold all my gear to make the switch, I'd borrow a rangefinder and try it first. If that's not feasible, I'd buy an inexpensive but decent used one -- the Konica Auto S2 comes immediately to mind, but there are many by Olympus, Canon, Konica, Minolta, Yashica, and others -- and try some rolls of film. You'll have spent comparatively very little $$$, and you'll know more about whether rangefinder photography is for you.

[steve_chan5]

* The folks who advise selling off your "digital gear" because it is depreciating by the second are incorrect. The body is depreciating rapidly, the lenses will hold their value. You aren't just taking a loss on the body, you're taking a loss on all the lenses that you'll have to buy again. The good L lenses won't be depreciating - that argument is false economy. And you've already taken a big depreciation hit on the 10d body - it won't depreciate to a NEGATIVE value after all, so where's the big savings from selling now?

 

* Film will be around for a long time, in the same way that you can still buy oil paints and watercolors and 4x5 film sheets. It will just get more expensive. If film gets more expensive, then you may be disinclined to just do lots of shooting just for fun and experimentation. I'd advise having a digital camera around of some sort.

 

* Those glorious Leica optics are nice - are you sure that your photography will benefit so much from those 80 lp/mm resolution at F2? If you are shooting mostly daylight, mid aperture and don't enlarge beyond say 8x10, what does a summicron get you that a good Canon prime doesn't?

 

* Size - for me, this is the big selling point of an RF kit. I like my RF's because they are compact (and they are nice to shoot at wide apertures, handheld, available light). But if size is the issue, an M7 doesn't have much (if anything) over the Zeiss Ikon, a Hexar RF, or the plethora of Bessa bodies. In fact, I like the form factor so much, I just picked up an Epson R-D1 (I also have a Hexar and an M3).

 

* Fondling. Yeah, Leica gear has massive fondling appeal. But if that is the big selling point, best to identify it clearly and honestly and not try to rationalize your way around it.

[mike-images]

Hi Leon,

 

several of the responses to you have hinted at a key Leica benefit: It's one of the few systems that allow you to buy quite old gear with a high degree of confidence.

 

I took the plunge about 6 years ago and walked in one day and traded a complete Nikon F3 system - 2 bodies, drives, wide & tele lenses, bellows.. on a 20+ year old M4-2 and a 90 TE and 35 'cron. I was sick of lugging the other gear and was slowly running out of "photo steam".

 

I have had 6 years great service out of that Leica outfit, with never a beat missed. The camera is just now having its first piece of work done - a RF adjustment. The two lenses are older than the camera and still going strong.

 

If this is *really* what you want to do then do it. Think really hard though before shelling on a brand new Leica M. I recently bought one of the new Ms and I love it dearly, however as a friend of mine says the anticipation of the purchase is always better than the reality so if you never buy you always get the best of it - just the anticipation.

 

Let us know what you do.

 

Best wishes

 

Mike

[rj]

It would be a very tough decision for me to get rid of all my camera systems but one, but if forced at gun point to do it, I would keep the m system, no doubt for me. I am glad I don't have to do it, I would find it pretty hard to part with my pentax 645 and crown graphic, but the m is the camera that I do enjoy using more and does most of what I need a camera for, I could get by.

 

I think film will be around for much longer than I will be alive. I think that the number of emulsions available will be lower and more expensive, but still available. Good luck Leon.

[brambor]

Well, to get to the point you are trying to make: you are saying you shoot cityscapes and landscape. In this case YES. Sell the digital because with the 1.6 crop you're pretty much damned. Get a full frame digital or get a leica with 35mm lense and your cityscape and landscape shots will benefit.

[dg1]

I posted a similar, if not identical, question on the Pentax forum. I was considering selling my Pentax *ist DS DSLR and getting a Pentax MZ-S film SLR.

 

Like here I was advised to keep the DSLR in any event. Seemed like good advice so I did. My reasons for getting the film SLR was not for the mechanical manual type experience, as you might be after with the Leica, but to have a top level AF AE SLR to use with my lenses, and I like the quality I can get on film. I scan on a Minolta Scan Dual IV and get great 15megapixel files, from the full frame "sensor", and immediate archiving on film (the MZ-S prints shutter, and aperture data between the sprocket holes of the film on each frame!).

 

I'm not too interested in the DSLR at the moment, and continue to wonder if I'll find much use for it once the current novelty of the MZ-S wears off. But right now, I honestly can't see a big advantage of the DSLR over the SLR in my case.

 

I'm finding it quite easy to break the instant review habit, and I've found that the MZ-S exposure is so darn accurate I haven't found any reason to review, I know it's going to be on the money. This is emphasizing once again a focus on the moment of the shot, and paying attention to previsualizing and really looking so as to know what I'm seeing ahead of time. Better yet, once the shot is over it's over and I can let it go and be ready for the next. Also I'm not stingy with film but I'm more thoughtful about what I shoot.

 

Post processing scanned photos is some amount of work for certain shots because I don't have digital ICE, but it's not much more time consuming than playing around with RAW digital file adjustments, in my case.

 

I guess I agree that you should hang on to your DSLR at least for awhile to see if you will still want it for some things, that's what I'm doing.

 

But for digital I prefer my KM-A2 because it offers so many digital only advantages like live preview, waistlevel viewing, incredible range of image adjustment, and great focal length range, in a very compact form. My DSLR could be living on borrowed time.

[john_photo]

Leon,

 

You really should be looking at a MEDIUM format camera. Probably an SLR.

 

Ever thought of Hasselblad or Contax 645? Lots of snob appeal ( this seems important to you ) and greater enlargeability. For the stated types of pictures you take its the ideal solution.

 

Leicas are great cameras with sharp glass but they are truly geared towards the wealthy amatuer market. If you want to take a step up get a MF rig.

 

If you only print 8by10 or smaller Leica is a great camera. At larger print sizes your images will be sharp but will suffer from more grain and less tonality than a larger negative. If you really care about quality MF is the way to go. Leica is the perfect camera for some specific types of photography but for cityscapes and portraiture its a poor choice.

[zapata_espinoza]

Saw a used Linhof 4x5 today with two lenses, a 6x9 back and accessories for around 700 bucks. Now I am sure film WILL disappear!!

[andrew robertson]

Hey, why not get a less expensive rangefinder first, to find out if you like the RF way or not,

before selling your 10D.

 

Most rangefinder users I know also have an SLR, because their uses don't exactly overlap.

[Nowhereman]

>>>Buying a meterless Leica will get you as far away from digital as you are likely to get.

And into the world of manual, thinking for yourself, photography. The M2 is really a

meterless new MP, and the M4 is really a meterless M6. But a lot better built and smooth

as silk.<<<

 

Some years ago I've had M2/M3 cameras and sold them because the M6 with it's meter is

so much more convenient, particularly if you shoot in low light. The M6 meter is very, very

good, and so so much more convenient than an external meter. That the M2.M4 are built

so much better than the M6 is, at best, an over-statement.

 

--Mitch/Bangkok