If You Don'T Own A Leica You Are Not A photographer


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Actually, Leica is the maker of the first 35mm still camera - it is the forefather of all 35mm cameras - for this alone we should respect the make if not some of the users - basically it's just like all the contractors buying Mercedes (which by the way is the forefather of the motorcar) and Rolex/Loleks (which by the way ..... oops x that

Anyway, let me tell you a story - but please don't call me Moses (the fat guy on TV not the guy in the Bible)

I used to know an ah pek like this – actually an ex-boss - he spent most of his money on Leica RFs – problem was in those days we didn’t get paid much so all he could buy was either well used or very old stuff – he wasn’t a great photog but not a bad one either – he seldom showed us any of his own work and normally it was salon stuff and no we don’t want to dig that thread up – just that we could tell that spending all his money on Leicas affected other things – he had a scooter – this thing looked like someone had abandoned it - rusty chrome, faded blue and white paint and tyres that were well past round – that thing was a rolling road hazard with him on it traveling at no more than 35kph at any time - we were amazed every morning when he turned up for work alive – his helmet looked like he picked it up for free after a fatal accident… back to his Leicas – he was one of those typical of the day (maybe even today apparently) – if he brought the whole lot in it would be in one of those hard leather cases with the red interiors otherwise a leather saddle bag and inside all his precious bodies and lenses each carefully wrapped in bright orange polishing cloths like the ones you can buy at petrol stations – trouble was the cloth left so much lint and fibers on the equipment that he spent most of every morning cleaning – we always wondered if he was polishing off the coating – his pictures into the light always had some flare… – then on shoots his equipment being well-used and seasoned wasn’t the most reliable – sticking/erratic shutters, light leaks, unintended multiple exposures and so on – so a few times after d&p which he would do alone so we never really knew what was going on - he would send us back with some story and do reshoots with our usual xxxons – but he never stopped swearing by his Leicas – us on the other hand were always swearing at him and his Leicas…

But back to the forum and the original post – the old guys are probably just mouthing off – they’re from a generation before digital (me too) and probably uncomfortable and unfamiliar with digital – to each his own then – live and let live

The one thing about the Leicas is that if you haven’t handled them before you should try – a really wonderful piece of machinery or instrument as some would prefer - I have never owned one but have always respected the name and the results (b&w and colour) produced in capable hands

happy shooting!
 

jpcc said:
d. Leica M is mechanical and was designed/made in Germany (then).
It is now manufactured in Canada.

Now manufactured in Canada??? I think you'd got the wrong piece of info!
For your info, Leica M cameras are still manufacted in Solms, Germany.
 

Dennis said:
Ha ha ha the biggest joke of all, maybe Ah Pek don't own a Leica also. BTW he should also clarify which Leica M series or R series. You are not a "Photographer" if you don't own a Leica M series not the R series. In any case if you have a M series don't used it to take pictures it is only for show, usually people who carry one also carry a Casio to go along so as to take "real" pictures. Ha ha ha.

Hey !! This is very true man...saw some ah pek doing tat.....
 

vader said:
Hey !! This is very true man...saw some ah pek doing tat.....

Those Ah Peks show-off with their Leica or not has nothing to do with us. If they have the money, they can buy whatever they wanted. If they don't have the money, it is also not my problem.
Jus ignore those ppl and take our picture.
 

XXX Boy said:
Now manufactured in Canada??? I think you'd got the wrong piece of info!
For your info, Leica M cameras are still manufacted in Solms, Germany.

Yes, I was wrong on this one. Leica started manufacturing M4-2 (and all of M4P) in Midland Canada but has since closed down the Canadian plant.
All M6 (and variants) and subsequent M7 are manufactured in Solms, Germany.

Stephen Gandy has quite a good writeout on this area:
http://www.cameraquest.com/mguide.htm

Erwin Putts also has some interesting read.
http://www.imx.nl
 

Hmm... this thread still alive? Heh.
After thinking it through, maybe that statement really is true. Well, maybe just for that particular Ah Peh.

How so?
MAYBE:
When Ah Peh was an Ah Boy like I am now, he had to use RFs because maybe SLRs not that well recieved yet. So, the RFs in those days are all mechanical, don't need no batts to run them because they haven't figured out how to make stuff work electronically yet.

So Ah Boy had to learn how to judge distance by eye ( in feet, not meter ),
estimate the correct exposure through trial and error, use flash at only Full Power and change batts after every 8 shots to ensure there's enough fill.
In other words, to Master the Art of getting the camera to do what he wants it to do. Blah blah... ...

Fast forward to present. Ah Boy is Ah Peh now. All these kids nowadays running around with all those things that have a mind of its own confuses him. These optics move by themselves when he press the shutter button. How to take a picture like that? Make them so big, so heavy, so difficult to hand hold. He is now no longer in control. Cannot make the camera work the way he wants it to work. He can't get the shots. The camera works against him.

So maybe without his Leica, Ah Peh can't take nothing worth the film.
He is not a photographer without his Leica.

Maybe.

Maybe Ah Peh is like my dad. I have to teach him what he had taught me many years ago. " Look Dad, this is where you select the shutter speed... "
 

No No no, the ah Pek got it all wrong...

If you do not have a D70 THEN you're not a photographer. :bsmilie: :bsmilie:
 

Some respects must be given to Leica users. Ok, the M7 may hav a build in meter. BUt all older versions dont. Everything is totally manual. To be able to use that piece of equipment properly is one thing, to use it to get great picture is an achievement. Of course, those lenses are of very high quality no lens can match. It helps to get good results.

I confess, I own a Leica too, with 3 lenses. This is not to show off, but just to say I know how good that camera is. I have dreamt of owning on since I took up photography 20 years ago. Today, guess what is my dream camera? Leica digital. The Panosonic Lumix, I think. It still uses the Leica lens.
 

Pro-New said:
Today, guess what is my dream camera? Leica digital. The Panosonic Lumix, I think. It still uses the Leica lens.

since u r used to the super-fast shutter of leica manual, i think the shutter lag of leica digital will exasperate u...
:think:
 

I fully agree that Leica has made its mark in 20th century photography. It manufactures perhaps some of the finest film cameras in the world.

However, the art of photography is more than just equipment, that, we all know. And all the debate about which camera makes a 'better photographer' is only a complete waste of time -- better off investing this time in pursuit of our common passion in photography. At the end of the day, talk is cheap. For the fruit of our labor in the cherished images that we create will no doubt speak greater volumes by itself.
 

So what if u own a leica and can't use it to its full potential and so what if u can't even get your creative side to work... A leica does not make a person an instant photographer overnight... only patience and a helluva lot of practice makes a good photographer... An inexperienced person with a Leica can hardly make the same brilliance of the photos as an experienced photographer with those use-and-throw cameras...
 

1Ds said:
Yesterday I was at a coffee stall near TCW.There were a group of so call photographer (age +,- 60).Than one of them said to one of a younger gay (35 +,-).If You Don'T Own A Leica You Are Not A photographer.

Leicas - Fall into the range somewhere between Cheap compacts and Disposables... Good for Simple Point-and-Shooters only!! Real Photographers can get great photos from any Camera!! ;p
 

A Soviet photographer might have also once said 'If you don't SHOOT with a Zorki you are not a photographer'.
 

stroma said:
Leicas - Fall into the range somewhere between Cheap compacts and Disposables... Good for Simple Point-and-Shooters only!!

Have you used a Leica before? I haven't, but I wouldn't think that a sweeping statement like that can be true.

stroma said:
Real Photographers can get great photos from any Camera!! ;p

Another sweeping statement...but one that has more truth than your first statment... :D
 

justarius said:
Have you used a Leica before? I haven't, but I wouldn't think that a sweeping statement like that can be true.



Another sweeping statement...but one that has more truth than your first statment... :D

I was Joking!!!....... :) :) :)
 

andylee said:
Then i guess we got to be in our 60's to be a photographer!i wonder if those gentlemen got the same words when they are young?or maybe they own a leica when they are born?!i would say,compare the pics,not the cam.so wat if my pics is a bit soft?as long as it can tell a story,the composition is good,i am very happy.leica or not,i still shoot weddings,models or street scenes.they all can sell.follow your heart.know wat you want to do!you wanna spend time at coffee shop talk leica or you want to shoot with leica?


Haaa....rite...v v rite... :devil:
 

I never own a Leica camera in my life. Only owned a Nikon FM2 which I got it from Cathay Photo somewhere in 1989. I shoot a lot of wedding photos, products, foods, sceneries, and commercials.

From my FM2, I managed to own an F3, F4, F5 and D100.


Believe it or not, from the the day I got the camera, it never give me any problem.
 

If Schumi didn't drive a Ferrari, he wouldn't get first place all the time.
If Alex Yoong drives a Ferrari, he won't get first place no matter how powerful the car.
Good photos need both good equipment and good photographers.
 

leicas are so hard to use compared to cams nowadays...have to select shutter, aperture, focus and create composition all at once when only the creating composition thing is done in other cams.. This is really what muti tasking is about..oh..and getting right exposure and focus quickly is so difficult.. try shoot with slides!! i did and i almost cried...
 

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