I used a rented Leica one weekend over 40 years ago, and that's been pretty much the sum total of my Leica experience. I did go as far as putting an M4 on layaway in the early '70s (I still remember the price: $435!) but soon released it...unfortunately, a rangefinder did not fit my needs as a professional, and when the R series came about, lens and accessory choices were too limiting. (Guess that's why most everyone else used Nikon, too!)
But I always loved the results from the Leica, and of course, the mechanical precision of just operating an M was a source of enjoyment whenever I could get my hands on one. I often thought there was something special about the look of a photograph shot with a Leica lens, and one time years ago, I broke out a few photography annuals (back when Pop Photo published such things, with the tech details listed somewhere in the back of the magazine) and decided to see if I could pick out Leica shots from the rest.
Surprisingly (or, some may argue, not so surprisingly), my ratio of hits to misses was exceptionally high. So that little experiment confirmed for me that there was something special about Leica glass--even though I couldn't define it back then, and probably still can't to this day.
I can't let this Leica glow thing go
in Leica and Rangefinders
Posted
I used a rented Leica one weekend over 40 years ago, and that's been pretty much the sum total of my Leica experience. I did go as far as putting an M4 on layaway in the early '70s (I still remember the price: $435!) but soon released it...unfortunately, a rangefinder did not fit my needs as a professional, and when the R series came about, lens and accessory choices were too limiting. (Guess that's why most everyone else used Nikon, too!)
But I always loved the results from the Leica, and of course, the mechanical precision of just operating an M was a source of enjoyment whenever I could get my hands on one. I often thought there was something special about the look of a photograph shot with a Leica lens, and one time years ago, I broke out a few photography annuals (back when Pop Photo published such things, with the tech details listed somewhere in the back of the magazine) and decided to see if I could pick out Leica shots from the rest.
Surprisingly (or, some may argue, not so surprisingly), my ratio of hits to misses was exceptionally high. So that little experiment confirmed for me that there was something special about Leica glass--even though I couldn't define it back then, and probably still can't to this day.
Ron Hildebrand