Leica M*

[Lesco]

Ive been chatting with a friend of mine who has his late fathers Leica M8 camera, I notice on this forum that Leica's are rarely mentioned, why is that?

Are they a very specilised camera? and are the lenes expensive to buy for them, he has offered it to me at a very, very good price, but I must promise to look after it and must not sell it on just for profit, the only thing Im worried about is Im very very new to photography and still learning, would this be to much camera for me??

*sorry title should read M8, I hit the shift key - Doh

 

[Anorakus]

I notice on this forum that Leica's are rarely mentioned, why is that?

They don't get mentioned often for the same reason that Rolls-Royces and Maclaren F1's don't get mentioned often on motoring forums. They're luxury products and very expensive for what they do. The Leica M9 (body only) will set you back close to £5k.

What you get for your money is a beautifully-crafted manual-focus rangefinder camera, with a range of exquisite and very expensive lenses that only go up to 135mm. Just to give you an idea of how expensive - a Leica 50mm f/1.4 Summilux-M lens will set you back around £2,300. A Canon 50mm f/1.4 can be had for about £270.

When you consider what else you could buy for £5k (Nikon D3x/s or Canon 1D series and a pro lens or two), no wonder not many people are interested in talking about them.

The M8 was Leica's first digital camera, and had sensor problems (overly-sensitive to IR, which required a filter to be fitted). These problems have been fixed with the M9, which has a full-frame sensor. Leica offered an upgrade service for the M8, so if you've been given one you should check this out if it hasn't already been done.

The M series are real photographer's cameras. You'll need an understanding of focus and expsoure to get the most out of one - they're not for pointing'n'shooting - so I'd say they'd be ideal to learn on.

Yes I'd love an M9 and couple of Summicron lenses, but I'll have to slum it with my 5D2 for the time being

A.

 

[Lesco]

Thank you very much for your reply, Ill give that a miss and save up for a d300s or a d700 when I get a bit more expirience.

I have a Leica D-Lux compact type camera that we used to use for our holidays, but Ive packed that away now so I can concentrate on DSLR's and learn properly, but that is a cracking little camera and takes some loverly pictures

 

[jimlizard]

I used to have a Leica M8 and despite all the "problems" it had, I can say it's a wonderful camera to use.
It may be noisy at high ISO, it may be sensitive to IR light and the LCD may be a crap, but I had more pleasure shooting with it than I have with the 5D Mark II which replaced it.
The only digital body that gave me even more pleasure to use was the Epson R-D1, although the quality was obviously not on par with the Leica, since that camera uses a Nikon D100 sensor.

People rarely talk about these cameras in forums like these because they have a very specific market, constituted mainly by street photographers.
As mentioned before, they are also very expensive and there is no AF system.

 

[mikeyt]

when I finally admitted to myself that I wasnt using my 5d mk2 kit anywhere interesting because of the size, obvious expense and weight, I sold it to get an M9.

It's taken a long time to get used to manual focussing and the is a lot of stuff you cant do, but I dont regret it at all, i really enjoy not having so many options and just getting on with taking photos. I was drifting that way with my 5D2 when I stopped using zooms and switched to fixed lenses, the leica is big [expensive!] step in the same direction. I dont even take a second lens with me most of the time, just a 35/2 or 40/1.4.

I'm also starting to worry a bit less when I've got >6k of camera round my neck. Most people think it's an old, film body and the people who do recognise it just want to have a play with it not steal it

It's a bit like cycling, i have several bikes and the one that gets used the most is my fixed gear, compared to my race bike with 20 gears and skinny tyres it's slow, heavy and limited but it's just more fun enjoying riding the bike rather than worrying about being in the right gear.

 

[magicaxeman]

Lenses don't have to be that expensive, lesser models can be bought for roughly the same price as a half decent DSLR lens, ie a couple of hundred pounds if you look around for second hand.
I have to admit, I'd be snapping his hand off, a leica rangefinder is my dream camera.

 

[Aledafis]

Same here! A Leica is also my dream camera, and a digital Leica even more so!

If you have the disposable cash, buy it, it's highly unlikely that you'll get a chance to buy such a great camera for a reasonable price again. I've just bought my first rangefinder and find it's small size and manual focusing such a breath of fresh air after using my D300.

 

[custodian]

I started with a Leica way back in the early 1960s and progressed to an M6. They are lovely cameras with great lenses but not easy to get the best out of.

Strengths are the small unobtrusive and quiet in operation, also very good focussing with standard and wide angle lenses. No use with anything long focus.

Great 50mm f1.0 Noctilux which I used to own. Amasing low light results and the rangefinder was dead accurate which was required by the wafer thin depth of field of the Noctilux wide open.

Should you buy an M8 at a bargain price. Yes. If you dont want it, I'll buy it!

Will you get better photos out of it; almost certainly the opposite because you will need to get used to manual focus and framing your pictures in spite of the innaccurate viewfinder.

I guess it depends what you would use it for.

 

[lawrie29]

I would buy it and learn to use it over time.

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

I had a quick play with a relative's M9 that he recently took delivery of.
Have to say that it's absolutely lovely.
Size wise, just a bit bigger than a Panny GF1.
The manual focus system seems fairly easy to use, definitely better than the split prism system in my old Nikon 35mm.

The photos are really what does the talking. I was frankly astounded at the quality of the detail and bokeh, even from a JPG photo. Even at higher ISOs, it was stunning. On a pure IQ basis, I'm pretty sure that it walks all over my 5D.
In the real world, there's a lot of things that would take priority from a monetary perspective, but if I'd already bought a Meridian G68/621, Caterham and all the other toys that I'd like, I'd certainly put an M9 on the shopping list.

 

[acs]

While many Leica lenses are expensive some can be picked up for reasonable prices -- some of the non-current versions of the 50mm lenses and the longer 90 and 135mm lenses in great condition can be bought cheaper than SLR lenses.

Voigtlander also make an excellent range of lenses for Leica cameras, which even new are of comparable price to SLR lenses.

In addition to the M mount lenses that directly fit the M8, you can buy thin rings that screw onto the older Leica Thread Mount (LTM) lenses allowing their use.

There are also many older LTM lenses available, from cheap Jupiter and Industar lenses to the more expensive ones from German and Japanese manufacturers.

A couple of things to consider: some wide angle lenses are reported to perform badly on the M8 as digital sensors are less tolerant than film of light hitting them at odd angles; you should probably avoid collapsible lenses that push deep into the body of the camera.

If you do pick up any Leica lenses they would work well (but still manual focus) using an adapter on mirror-less cameras such as a m4/3 or Sony NEX.

Leica type (rangefinder) cameras are something you'll either love or hate but, given the chance you should certainly give one a try. They complement rather than replace an SLR (if that does sound the wrong way round ) so you'd have the best of both worlds.