paul_chan4

I enquired from a reliable Ebay seller in Hong Kong about 2 month's back and was quoted -

1. Zeiss Ikon Body M $1450

2. 25mm Lens $1000

3. Lensshade $100.

4. Viewfinder for 25mm $412.

These prices exclude shipping. I guess all items are packaged with the usual International 1-year warranty (which may be rendered useless in ContUS as they are not considered local purchases from your authorised dealer).

Sergio, I'm not sure on the economics and $/cent. But if you happen to have 1 M body only you'd find yourself buying back at some time later if you get to dispose it now. That seems to be the inordinate rule of most Leica owners. I've been through that route before. Somewhat like the "sell now, regret later" syndrome for some reason. Cost factor aside.

A black paint body, chrome film advance lever, titanium speed dial and a rhodium rewind knob. Top it up with any exotic leather covering of your choice. A perfect gift for your first-born sibling from a mixed-marriage couple.

A lot of idiots are out there because they are new members who have not developed that sense to smell a scam when they see one. You really cannnot blame them in this respect. But for those who fell for the 'sting' because they thought it was too good to be true (which of course it ain't) they had probably themselves to blame. The pitfall can hurt the newcomer and seasoned buyer for different reasons.

A portable device that send a wireless signal to trigger a strobe or flash unit off the camera. Sorry I cannot be of any help, Tony.

Most of us have probably been through this road before. You're out with a

group on a field excursion trip carrying your Ms and bricks of film. They

brandish the latest DSLRs, image bank storage device and laptops. When you're

all done for the day, they upload their images on CDs, clear their CF cards

and tinker with their latest software in the hotel rooms. And they do this

while giving you a cursory look on your 20-year old M, extolling the

convenience of RAWs and probably saying out loud in thier minds 'you're an old

antiquated old horse' with that museum hardware and film you tot around. So if

there's any one simple but courteous reply you have to speak out your mind,

what could that be? This is not a film v digital thread please.

Michael, my concern is not being able to be in physical attendance at such places to capture those emotion-evoking shots and help out the unfortunate people. Many of us have the 35mm in whatever version but never the occasion to make these images. So go out and use whatever gear you have with a helping hand in such dire circumstances and leave aside the bokeh, tonality and gradation issues at the back of your mind. For a change the personal experience of being there would surely bring an urgent sense of humility in all of us.

Daniel, it's never too late. You can find great bargains for Bronica and Pentax MF stuff of late. The same goes for "Blad which you should be able to get them much cheaper compared with prices 2 or 3 years back. They're all great hardware and offer exceptional value for money at this time. The real satisfaction really comes in when you get to have your favourite shots enlarged from both film negatives and transparencies. Do not hold back.

The 2010 WC in South Africa is still a long way off. So go and shoot all those 'magic moments' with whatever Leica you have on hand if you're lucky enough to be in Germany. My eyes are getting a little too old to stay up for all the 64 games. And the champion is ...?

High praise indeed! If only we have more Bills around than doing faceless transaction on the 'net these days. Reminds me of Sherry for Leica and Harry for Rolleis. Rare breed.

Kristian, I do not believe many of us would doubt the capability of the Summilux Asph. But many would hold back getting one for an obvious reason, it's cost. So we shoot with our pre-Asph 'lux, or the fabled rigid or DR Summicron if we can get by with F2. I would not hold out 'sour grapes' pretending they are just as good but suffice if they do the work splendidly in its own way. Just as a matter of comparison, I shoot with both the 75mm 'lux and the 90mm Apo 'cron and there are times I prefer the results rendered by the former (focal length aside). Sometimes there's more to pure sharpness alone that makes a good picture. At other times it's the other way round. Enjoy it because you like it. We'll follow your footsteps when our pockets and priority permit.

Alvin, this is the Leica forum, remember? Be prepared for some brickbats. Some were bemused when I held out my Canon and Nikon can achieve a higher success rate for non-static subjects over my M. Let it be.

Ouch! Now sales of used 500CM's should be fetching more on the auction site 'cos more would be rushing to add a Blad just to shoot with the 250mmSA. Or is it the other way round?

Make sure the fuse is not blown. There's usually a spare inside. Remove all the 5 AA batteries and insert them again with the polarities seated correctly. Close the cover carefully and tightly to ensure the contacts are in place. I thought mine was dead and I had to fiddle around in this manner before it sprang to life. Possibly an internal contact problem inside the battery chamber?

Jeff, I use the Canon usually for moving subjects when there's this obvious need to track focussing fast to get the shots. And I use the M6 for static subjects optimised with the 35mm lens. I never have any regret using the Canon (or Nikon) if the percentage of getting good shots increases, notwithstanding my general preference to opt for Leica glass. Since landscape is your forte you'd need to find what suits you most. There are many times I know I would not be able to get that one particular shot if I had used the Leica. The old adage "different horses for different courses" holds true in any case. So do not be swayed just for the reason you believe Leica glass is exceptional compared with others. I'm just about sick with this contention. At the end of the day it's still that big satisfied print you hold in your hands that counts. With whatever gear.

That's what this lens is renowned for. You do not appreciate it's inherent performance capabilities unless the print is enlarged many times over. All the more exceptional given that your magnification shows only the bottom near-corner portion of the original image.

6x6 is foreplay. 35mm is strictly petting.

Tony, I do not suppose you would have much ammo as far as the seasoned members on this forum are concerned. We've been through this road many times before and the assumption is 'either one plays by the rules or he's out'. No 3 strikes here. Problem occurs when a new member comes in with an infringement on his first post. While's he's expected to have read and be familier with these ground rules yet some of them may not have done it purposely. Then again that's not an excuse.

Is it correct to say a print size of 240mm x 360mm is a 10x

enlargement from a 24mm x 36mm format? So a non-crop machine-print

size of 300mm x 450mm (that is, 12" x 18'') taken from my M6

negative translates to an enlargement factor of 12.5X ?

I had my 500CM as a paperweight on my desk since digital had gone big over the past few years. Yes, my crystal version that is. I'm still shooting with my other 500CM Classic as happily from day 1 with no regrets.

Mark, I've bought on Ebay and from sellers on this forum. I'd send a bank check drawn at a bank in New York in the seller's name and mail it out. It takes time for the check to reach its destination in ConUS (depending on where it was mailed from an oversea country). And it takes additional time for the check to be cleared and payment credited into the seller's account. You get your confirmation from your bank before you ship out the item. Wire-transfer is another option but more costly at the buyer's expense. If I need to pay $1000 for the item I'd need to wire the equivalent of $1025 to cover the bank commission at the seller's receiving end. On top of this the buyer usually has to add for shipping cost. So if time not being the essence of the deal, it's best to ask for a bank check in which case both parties need to be patient before the deal can be concluded up to the receipt of the item (2-4 weeks). I suppose it's a 'give-and-take' situation but it makes a successful transaction.

I bought a 'Blad SWC/M and some Leica lenses by mail order from Jim many years ago and his service was indeed excellent. We never had the 'net then and everything was done through fascimile. Yes, those were indeed the good old days when there's a personal touch to it. Remarkable considering my home base has a 12-hour time zone difference.

Taking a sidetrack from the above threads I'd believe the earlier SWC/M had the same glass formulation and perform just as well. However, the viewfinder is a little awkward to use compared with the current model. I suppose any of the series would meet your expectation of a 'lifetime purchase'.

Focussing is not a real problem when you have the 45mm or 55mm lens. Set it for hyper-focal distances and F8 or thereabouts and you get a fair expanse of depth-of-field to render subjects in adequate focus. Composition may be somewhat tricky for quick point-and-shoot. The viewfinder gives a fairly good view right up to 6x12 with the appropriate mask in place. It's visually bright and has an adjustable feature for imperfect vision. Unless you take deliberate measure to hand-hold the camera perfectly level indicated by the built-in bubble (seen thruogh the lower portion of the viewfinder) you are likely to find a high percentage of your grab-shots 'imbalanced' in this respect. But then that's the nature of street-shooting. Yes, the SW612 can function to meet your intended purposes but I suppose you can do the same with any 35mm camera with a wide-angle lens except for the different format size. Metering is of course another aspect you need to be aware of which is an all mechanical affair before you trip the shutter. The Rodenstock lenses are superb for the series available on the SW612.

No. Just bought a Pradovit CA2500 and that's breathing renewed lives to all my old slides.