Help needed on price of leica! thanks!

[keithjhee]

dear all, me know nuts abt rangefinder and anything everything abt manual camera but after looking at some pics n readings, i am keen to know more..

can anyone tell me wat the market/street price of a new as well as a used leica mp, m7, 50mm f1.8len and 35mm f2len? jst wanna know in case kana toto then can buy to collect..hehe..joking..but seriously want to know more..

is there any kind soul here tt willing to meet up with me n bring his/her rangefinder and let me 'play' with it for a while n know wat is going on abt rangefinder n manual camera? i can buy kopi at funan 'ya kun'..thanks in advance.

me a newbie into photography and have a used canon slr at moment..

rdgs,

keith
keithjhee@hotmail.com

 

[Ansel]

Keith,

This is one of the best resources on RF on the internet:

http://www.cameraquest.com/classics.htm

 

[keithjhee]

thanks for the link! how abt the local price? CP Iqoute no reply leh..

 

[greg]

can anyone tell me wat the market/street price of a new as well as a used leica mp, m7, 50mm f1.8len and 35mm f2len? jst wanna know in case kana toto then can buy to collect..hehe..joking..but seriously want to know more..

.. I doubt u can find used MP (the current production) easily. Used M7 are beginning to show up quite frequently. To have a better gauge of market price, check ebay, DEFACTO market price list/demand and supply trend.

.. I haven't heard of a 50mm f/1.8 lens, the closest could be a 'lux f/1.4 or 'cron f/2. 35mm f/2 is an older lens, leica sells only ASPH 35mm lenses today, be it 'cron or 'lux.

a new MP/M7 costs around S$4300.. my personal advise, get them overseas, and buy them used.

..don't buy to keep (though we need some of these people around to help support leica), believe it or not, cameras which are not used, don't funtion well

..welcome to the RF world

 

[keithjhee]

hehe..thansk again..me dunt intend to jump into the RF yet coz i just started on SLR and have invested a few $K in..and i still been taking CMI (ie cannot make it) photos..so need to take more n improve and learn more abt the exposure n lighting techniques first b4 i go into RP..frankly i find non-digital n slides more interesting than jst digital so wana know more now first...

so where overseas is a good place to buy good price leica? Hongkong? any shops detials?? if this year bonus really good..then i may consider to get one..unless gf wanna kill me..then maybe i give her all my current SLR to complete her collection too..hehehhe...

 

[greg]

...ebay.com hksupplies.com... good luck

 

[SzennyBoy]

...me dunt intend to jump into the RF yet coz i just started on SLR and have invested a few $K in..and i still been taking CMI (ie cannot make it) photos..so need to take more n improve and learn more abt the exposure n lighting techniques first b4 i go into RP...

Shooting with a rangefinder is very different from shooting with a SLR. Basically, WYSINWYG... (what-you-see-is-not-what-you-get)! You have to rely on the viewfinder framelines to compose your shots and these are framelines that are activated based on what lens you mount onto the body. Incorrect framing or not paying attention to the framelines often lead to chopped heads and feets in the final images.

Many SLR users don't like this style of shooting and after a brief period of playing with the RF system, switch back to SLR. I suggest you try to borrow or at least try out a RF system before taking the plunge... especially with a Leica, as they don't come cheap!

 

[keithjhee]

thanks for the info n tips. yes, i dunt intend to jump straight into RF yet and i understand the high cost. tt y i hope someone is kind n free enough to meet up for a kopi and let me handle his/her RF and teach me more abt it. I got hold of my dad's yashica electro35 and going to bring down to TCW to see if they can save n repair it. I poped by for a while, when they were abt to close shop n the lady took a quick look n say need a further checkup on the batt connections b4 letting me know can save it or not. i dunt have time to go down till after cny and if tt old piece of machine can be repaired, then i can test it out.

one of the reason y i wanna know more abt RF is i looking for a fully manual camera, esp manual shutter, to bring the baby up to high mountains, above 6000m, to shoot and dunt want to worry abt battery failure.

Thanks to all for the advices n i do hope to continue receiving tips n pointers..and i wish all a HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

 

[shutterspeed]

thanks for the info n tips. yes, i dunt intend to jump straight into RF yet and i understand the high cost. tt y i hope someone is kind n free enough to meet up for a kopi and let me handle his/her RF and teach me more abt it. I got hold of my dad's yashica electro35 and going to bring down to TCW to see if they can save n repair it. I poped by for a while, when they were abt to close shop n the lady took a quick look n say need a further checkup on the batt connections b4 letting me know can save it or not. i dunt have time to go down till after cny and if tt old piece of machine can be repaired, then i can test it out.

one of the reason y i wanna know more abt RF is i looking for a fully manual camera, esp manual shutter, to bring the baby up to high mountains, above 6000m, to shoot and dunt want to worry abt battery failure.

Thanks to all for the advices n i do hope to continue receiving tips n pointers..and i wish all a HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

Won't it be cheaper to get some hardy SLR like the FM2? Mine survived quite a lot of abuse (dropping on snow ... etc) before I let it go.

 

[keithjhee]

yes.. i did consider that coz i just start some research onto the nikon slr just 2 days ago and find the FM2 is something wat i looking for, esp the full manual shutter. one thing is tt me n my gf has between us 4 canon lens and 2 camera bodies n 2 flash so it somehow make me more reluctant to go into nikon but i did consider just getting a FM2 and just a 35mm len for the high mountain purpose. thanks for the tip too. plse let me know more abt ur stories with ur FM2 and where u brought it to and how it functions at high mountains and ur many stories if u wil like to share with me at keithjhee@hotmail.com thanks! u know wat the current market price of it? new and 2nd hand? it no longer in production right? thanks once again!

 

[Ansel]

Keith,
One way to get into RF without paying a bomb is via the Russian route. Reasonably good USSR made RF cams are available at very reasonable prices off eBay and they can produce some very stunning images if you happpen to land on a very good specimen, like I did. They are mostly mechanical and without meters. Look for FED-2, -5, Zorki, -2, 4K, etc. They come with Leica Thread Mount lenses and these can be used on old Leicas directly or on new Leica's with a mount.

Check out :

http://www.fortunecity.com/marina/marine/569/rusrngfdrs/index.html

 

[pascalc]

yes.. i did consider that coz i just start some research onto the nikon slr just 2 days ago and find the FM2 is something wat i looking for, esp the full manual shutter. one thing is tt me n my gf has between us 4 canon lens and 2 camera bodies n 2 flash so it somehow make me more reluctant to go into nikon but i did consider just getting a FM2 and just a 35mm len for the high mountain purpose. thanks for the tip too. plse let me know more abt ur stories with ur FM2 and where u brought it to and how it functions at high mountains and ur many stories if u wil like to share with me at keithjhee@hotmail.com thanks! u know wat the current market price of it? new and 2nd hand? it no longer in production right? thanks once again!

The FM2's a reliable and affordable camera... While I'm thinking of getting a RF soon (budgeted for FY2005) I'm prolly gonna keep my FM2 + a couple MF lenses.

 

[keithjhee]

thanks to all that gave me valuable advices.

I just want to check, is it cheaper to get leica in germany? i have friends travelling there soon and wonder if the price in germany is cheaper than singapore and hongkong since it is made there. any help? thanks!

 

[PLRBEAR]

thanks to all that gave me valuable advices.

I just want to check, is it cheaper to get leica in germany? i have friends travelling there soon and wonder if the price in germany is cheaper than singapore and hongkong since it is made there. any help? thanks!

Just out of curiousity. If you're thinking of getting a Leica, what difference does it make even if you've got Canon lenses, bodies and flashes, and won't consider an FM2 as such?

 

[chgoh]

thanks to all that gave me valuable advices.

I just want to check, is it cheaper to get leica in germany? i have friends travelling there soon and wonder if the price in germany is cheaper than singapore and hongkong since it is made there. any help? thanks!

I don't think so, even though Leica is made in Germany. Probably due to something known in the retail world called dealer discount. Which retailer can sell more would command higher dealer discount from the manufacturer. This is a general rule in selling consumer items (I'm using consumer as a term in the retail trade, not as a reference to consumer/professional in the photo world).

So, HK is still going to be cheaper. Like some other post commented, try HK first, hksupplies.com or email Joseph Yao at joseph@yao.com. Don't think Singapore can beat their prices.

chgoh @ 7:34am on 23 Feb 2004

 

[keithjhee]

hi, thanks for advice..actualyl i am considering a fm2 really and nearly bought a 2nd hand one but was too slow to give a firm offer n seller sold his to a faster reaction buyer..me still too novice and poor to afford a leica and i am just asking to get more product and market knowledge. really glad to get lots of valuable advices here. right now i think i just need to go out n shoot more n learn..and really hope to pick up more tips n advices from this forum..thanks once again and have a good week ahead.

 

[weeteck]

dear all, me know nuts abt rangefinder and anything everything abt manual camera but after looking at some pics n readings, i am keen to know more..

can anyone tell me wat the market/street price of a new as well as a used leica mp, m7, 50mm f1.8len and 35mm f2len? jst wanna know in case kana toto then can buy to collect..hehe..joking..but seriously want to know more..

is there any kind soul here tt willing to meet up with me n bring his/her rangefinder and let me 'play' with it for a while n know wat is going on abt rangefinder n manual camera? i can buy kopi at funan 'ya kun'..thanks in advance.

me a newbie into photography and have a used canon slr at moment..

rdgs,

keith
keithjhee@hotmail.com

dear keith i am a fan of the leica m6 because of its silky smooth shutter - vibration free. you can contact me after i come back from holiday on 20.3.04 and have a feel of the camera and the precision engineering of the lens. call my office 67370044 rehgards gordon tan

 

[kex]

a cheaper alternative is the Bessa R2 camera dat cost a fraction of leica,u might wanna check it out,uses leica lens too.