filmjunkie
newbie
Reged: 04/01/2008
Posts: 3
Loc: Ireland
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Hello Leica people, this is my first post. I would like to pick your brain so to speak. I'm working towards getting my first Leica, somthing which I've wanted for quite a while.
I'm moving away from all digital except for a small point and shoot and hope to have enough to fund a used M6 and a 50mm 1.4 in the coming months. I'll be aiming for near mint and in black.
I'm still doing my research into the different models and the lens options and my word it's not a subject I'd choose on Mastermind 
Anyway I shoot a Hasselblad 6x6 as my main camera and use the "standard" lens most often on it. The same with a Linhof Technica 5x4. So I'm happy with going for the 50mm. The 1.4 is just pure indulgence and for the fact I like available light photography.
I'm not so sure about the viewfinder magnification and would appreciate any advice. I wont add any lenses for some time and would be going wider like 35 or 28, rather than longer. My eyssight is relatively good and I dont wear eye glasses.
Can I also ask for your suggestions to source the body and lens? Which dealers offer the best value with good customer service? Or should I turn my back on bricks and mortar shops and stick with eBay?
Any advice appreciated.
filmjunkie
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Mark_Norton
Reged: 29/06/2002
Posts: 1152
Loc: London, UK
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FWIW, that's exactly where I started with Leica in 1992 - M6 (what became known as "Classic") and the 50mm Summilux (the name of the lens automatically meaning f1.4). Don't do film any more, the M6 is more as a keep-sake but I still use the 50mm Summilux on my M8s.
You'll get a diversity of opinion here including (probably) those who think the M3 was the last good camera Leica made but I think the M6 with its built in TTL meter is a good starting point. So too is 0.72 finder magnification; although there's a 28mm frame in there, it's tough to see it which is what the 0.58 finder is for. If you go for the higher magnification (0.85), 50mm will be great but if you choose to go W/A in future, you will find it difficult. Keep in mind too that one of the joys of rangefinder photography is to be able to see what's outside the frame not just what's inside. Also, that the frames are approximate at best. You don't get anything like the frame accuracy that you do with an SLR.
As for lenses, the Summilux you are talking about dates from the early 60s and TBH is quite soft wide open. That's not to say it's unpleasant but it's soft in the way that the Noctilux is soft. The same lens was rehoused in a version with a pull out lens hood in the mid 90's, but it's the same vintage in a new bottle. If you want fast and sharp, the current 50mm Summilux-M ASPH is (probably) the best standard lens in the world, incredibly sharp even wide open, but it is expensive.
There are two lenses I would recommend Leica users to start with - the 50mm Summicron-M (f2) which is a classic and great performer and which survives even now largely unmodified though there are a number of generations. The other is the 35mm Summicron-M (the pre-ASPH version), sometimes called Summicron IV which is a very compact lens giving great results.
As for where to buy, you take a risk on ebay, you pay a premium with bricks and mortar. Internet dealers like ffordes have good secondhand stock (bought a lovely Tri-Elmar there just a couple of months ago); dealers like Richard Caplan (he with the gut churning slogan "Where the Elite Meet and Greet" - don't let that put you off) have a sea of used film bodies for you to look at. Avoid "The Classic Camera". IMHO, they have an attitude problem which gets up my nose.
Anyway, hope that helps...
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Mark
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Woolliscroft
veteran
Reged: 23/08/2005
Posts: 1253
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I'd agree with almost everything Mark has said and would also give votes for both the Summilux-M and Ffords. Over the last few years, thanks to everyone else flogging off top flight film kit cheap to go digital, I have gone almost totally over to Leica for my 35mm work (both rangefinders and SLRs), after 25 years with Olympus OM kit, and have been very happy with the results. That said, the law of diminishing returns is in fairly full operation at this quality level and you might find that Voightländer kit gives you all but the last once of Leica quality for a lot less money. Also don't forget that to really see how good Leica lenses are you will need the very best possible enlarger and/or projector lenses.
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David.
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Mark_Norton
Reged: 29/06/2002
Posts: 1152
Loc: London, UK
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Quote:
Also don't forget that to really see how good Leica lenses are you will need the very best possible enlarger and/or projector lenses.
...or film scanner...
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Mark
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Tacitus
History
Reged: 17/01/2006
Posts: 871
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My own choice a few years back was a 0.58 M6TTL and 1.25 magnifier (which helps with 50mm lenses). With the 0.58 viewfinder you can guess the coverage of a 24mm lens. I also use an M2 or M4 (both 0.72 v/finders) which are great with 50 & 35mm lenses and just about useable with a 28mm.
If I was buying today I'd probably choose an M7 for the convenience of AE. I often use a Minolta CLE when I want an easy life and AE is a boon in many situations.
I have also come to the conclusion that I'd very rarely use the extra stop that a 'lux offers. I have a tripod; 200 & 400ISO film is really good nowadays, and I don't do low light portraiture or narrow dof work. Hence I have a Nokton which arguably outperforms the pre-Asph. 'lux, at a fraction of the cost, and the savings actually bought me a mint late 50 Summicron and a IIIf + Summicron (no kidding) ...
.T.
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mike_j
nobbut a beginner
Reged: 23/08/2005
Posts: 1333
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Some good advice here. I do recommend that you look seriously at Voigtlander lenses, especially the little wide angles. As to extreme wide aperture - I guess it all depends on how you use the camera, I wasn't happy till I got a 50/f1.4, after an initial burst of enthusiasm I found I didn't use the lens full open and because of its size, sold it and bought a Summicron 50/f2 which is a superb lens though a little long for my taste, I prefer 35mm and below most of the time.
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photogeek
Professor Yaffle
Reged: 02/01/2007
Posts: 220
Loc: Londonish
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Richard Caplans are very helpful, but do try the Classic Camera Shop as they have a wide selection of kit, and to be honest I have not encountered the attitude problem, that I know others have, even when they were decended upon by my three young children. That said Richard Caplan spent the best part of an hour playing with them whilst my wife and I looked at the cameras with another assistant.
Also try RG Lewis, they are lovely but do not carry as much stock as the others but sometimes you can pick up a real bargain from them.
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Be yourself you know its true and in the end whats left is you.....
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filmjunkie
newbie
Reged: 04/01/2008
Posts: 3
Loc: Ireland
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Thanks for those very informative replies. I have been doing some more research based on some of that info. I'm leaning towards buying an M6 TTL in one of the dealers you guys have suggested and trying some different viewfinders first before I decide..
I"m also thinking of buying new or nearly new the 50mm f/1.4 Summilux M Aspherical. It will take me a little while longer to raise the funds but I don't really want a starter setup. I've read some great stuff about the f2 and sorely tempted but if I can manage it, I'm going to get the 1.4 possibly in the USA or Hong Kong.
I can't wait to get my hands on my first Leica but I'm going to use this camera for 20 years [hopefully] and I want to get the right one for me.
Thanks again for all the info
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filmjunkie
newbie
Reged: 04/01/2008
Posts: 3
Loc: Ireland
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Quote:
Also don't forget that to really see how good Leica lenses are you will need the very best possible enlarger and/or projector lenses.
I use a DeVere 504 enlarger and I got a 50mm Componon S included with it when I bought it. I'm looking forward to trying it with a Leica neg
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LargeFormat
old hand
Reged: 24/10/2006
Posts: 1161
Loc: Buckinghamshire and Cumbria
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Never had a Leica (except binos and surveying equipment) but still think they're lovely. Spent the last 50 years regretting not having bought a mint IIIg when they were £49-19s-6d.
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Tacitus
History
Reged: 17/01/2006
Posts: 871
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Quote:
... Spent the last 50 years regretting not having bought a mint IIIg when they were £49-19s-6d.
Similarly for me when I say a Reid II + lens in Marston & Heard's for £20 - just over a week's wages in 1967 (upwards of £2k today). In real terms Leicas are almost certainly cheaper now than 40-50 years ago - a clean IIIf and Elmar can cost as little as £250, though the IIIg, at around double that price, is rather less of a bargain. Some neat Barnack bodies can be found for less than £100 with a bit of searching - and that excludes EBay ...
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LargeFormat
old hand
Reged: 24/10/2006
Posts: 1161
Loc: Buckinghamshire and Cumbria
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Quote:
Similarly for me when I say a Reid II + lens in Marston & Heard's for £20 - just over a week's wages in 1967 (upwards of £2k today).
Still a week's wages? 
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