tom_levidiotis

I too have had good experiences with Youxin Ye. Fast, reliable, honest and a fine fellow although I have never met him (only via e-mail and parcel post).

To address your inital question. I cannot speak for the 30s, 40s, 50s. I first held, took pictures with a borrowed M3 in the early 60s. I knew what it was, how fine, but I could not possibly afford one. Yes, outrageously expensive for a young fellow. Beyond my wildest dreams. I waited 40 years until "I could afford" one. In the meantime I used other more afordable Japanese SLR and other cameras.

 

My counsel to a young person. If you are serious about testing your abilities: buy the very best there is or the very best that meets your needs. At least you will have the chance to use the best tools extant to test your skills, potential. Al is right in the sense that Leica stuff holds its value. Buy it right, treat it right and you will not have spent much to own it.

I have a Noctilux 50/1 and shoot only film through non TTL M6s. I use it rarely. I prefer the Summicron 50/2. On a recent South American trip I took the 50/2, the Voitlander Cosina 35/1.2 as a low light option and a 28/3.5 Color Skopar.

 

I used all three lenses but the overwhelming majority of shots were taken with the 28. I am a rank amateur and enjoying shooting candid street shots. The big lenses are just too much trouble for me to actually use.<div></div>

The Babe is perfect. How about the expression on the guy in the orange shirt? This is life imitating Zap Comix. Good work!

I concur. I love my sling & hook. Properly fitted the sling is pretty neat. I tried the shade and retired it. I use a slide on two M6s and have a sfill but haven't used it enough to have an honest opinion. I bought a package deal and got a swiss for free but lost it to an airport security check.

 

The stuff is cheap and fun and my experience dealing with them (when still in Zurich) was very positive.

Yes, a "classic" with 0.72 finder. Thanks fellows, I'll stick with the view finder. I'll look for any excuse to do stuff the wrong way or at least to cut a corner. Thanks again for the help.

Has anyone much experience in using this neat little lense without the

separate viewfinder? Particularly, I want to use it on an M6 and go outside

the 28 mm frame lines to approximate 25mm. It wd stand to reason that just

using the whole view should be about right. Surely someone has worked this

one out with precision.

 

Please help.

Beautiful stuff. Thanks for sharing it.

Good work, thanks for posting

Because they're elitists and that's their nature. I rather like the look but would not pay a premium to have it. Mainly because I would be reluctant to kick it around -- which is what cameras should be all about anyway: use.

 

Hey, I noted a nice stratch this day on the top of my "user" M6. That's why it's the "user." I say enjoy yr equipment and make short shrift (is that the word) of jerks with an opinion.

A perfectly decent M-6, or, for less, a perfectly decent M-4. You say "body only," so you are all set. I would venture a guess that $1000 should get a person a decent M-4 plus a fine VC lens. You cannot do better; and, in a sense, you are better off with one lens, at least until you are confortable with RF practice.

Walt Whitman called it "the mania of owning things," and I think was one of the things he thought animals did not share. I don't know what it is but I am surely afflicted with it. I greatly admire Stephen's ability to keep all he owns in a storage locker. As a young man I boasted that I was able to carry all I owned at one time. No longer, sad (or perhaps not so) to say.

Pretty nice stuff. Thanks for sharing.

I agree with Frederick. It is exciting that somebody is thinking up new features. I probably won't buy one but it's neat that the option is out there.

 

It's true Bessas are not Leicas but IMHO they represent good value and there is a market for them. I say good for them.

 

I wish that contributors were a little more civil to each other. This is after all supposed to be fun.

Thanks much for sharing. I had wondered what he looks like.

Boy, is that a troubling story. Some months ago I experienced some delay in sending slide film to the NJ address but took it in stride. I am made uneasy by your experience. Thanks for sharing it.

Very light and handy and inexpensive. One of my favorite lenses.

Owen,

 

What a most excellent shot!

Great shot! Enjoy yr noctilux and yr beautiful little girl.

I'm with you Paul. It's folly and I promise many of those switching will live to regret the choice and buy back back in at a premium.

 

There ain't nothing like an M.

Beautiful shots, thanks for sharing. Whatever I did that day wasn't as much fun as you apparently had.

They're still kids, even if they're not -- if they're yours.<div></div>

I respectfully concur with the others. I have one (CV35 1.2) but seldom use it b/c it is just huge and completely throws my M6 off balance. I almost had forgotten I owned one until the other evening when I used it for a particular situation. I marvelled at its bulk.

 

There should be lens bank wherein one could borrow, or rent a lens long enough to determine sufficient interest to buy.

Take a look at Sections 2251, 2252(a), 2252A and 2256 of Title 18 of the United States Code.

Expensive watches are more easily recognizable as such. More people, at least more Americans, "know" what a gold and steel Rolex for example costs than do what an M costs. People are anxious to be perceived as able to spend plenty on doo-dads, however useless. Leicas are different in the sense that they really do work (at least in the hands of skilled operator). Mechanical watches are simply no match for digital. Reasonable minds can differ -- at least currently -- with respect to film vs digital.

 

I suspect if Leica equipment was only seen with large obvious price tags the market would improve -- at least where I live, where people really do have more money than brains.