Recommendations for a starter Leica set?

[jongolia]

Hi guys, relatively new in the Rangefinder systems. Anything I should know or not know?

Been googling around and decided that with my 6k budget, was thinking of grabbing a pre-ASPH Summilux-M 35mm f/2 and an M6.

Would like to know more of other more viable options that could work around a few more lenses I could use... Any help would be appreciated!

 

[dankwan]

Hi guys, relatively new in the Rangefinder systems. Anything I should know or not know?

Been googling around and decided that with my 6k budget, was thinking of grabbing a pre-ASPH Summilux-M 35mm f/2 and an M6.

Would like to know more of other more viable options that could work around a few more lenses I could use... Any help would be appreciated!

Hi jongolia, welcome to the wonderful, poisonous and slippery slope of leica...with a 6k budget, your choice of the m6 and 35 lux is a very wise one. I presume, you have done your homework and settled on a metered m, so your choices are more dependent on your style of shooting, the 35 is great for travel and street. If it were me, I'm more a compositional shooter, i would, instead of the lux, get the king of bokeh, the 35 cron v4 and still have some change in pocket for film. Can't go wrong with royalty. I'm more a vintage soft flare-y lens kinda guy

Other choices would be go for a used mp and a 50 lux v3 pre asph which just makes your budget. That's a nice setup as well. My 2cts

 

[jongolia]

Hi jongolia, welcome to the wonderful, poisonous and slippery slope of leica...

Oh my goodness, haha. Oh yes I did hear bout the cron as well. Think I've copy pasted wrongly. :\ Thanks for the tip though! How do I check the versions and all?The 2nd hand marketplace is looking scarce on the equipment I'm searching for... Guess I'll have to be patient for them.

Would you recommend anywhere else to look further into Leica discussions?

 

[third3rdwheel]

Hi guys, relatively new in the Rangefinder systems. Anything I should know or not know?

Been googling around and decided that with my 6k budget, was thinking of grabbing a pre-ASPH Summilux-M 35mm f/2 and an M6.

Would like to know more of other more viable options that could work around a few more lenses I could use... Any help would be appreciated!

I would get an M6 and 50mm pre-asph F1.4 or pre-asph 35mm F1.4. My preference is the 50mm F1.4 pre-asph.

And since you have the budget, buy only mint copies of everything, because they will be easy to release should you decide to upgrade later.

 

[dankwan]

Oh my goodness, haha. Oh yes I did hear bout the cron as well. Think I've copy pasted wrongly. :\ Thanks for the tip though! How do I check the versions and all?The 2nd hand marketplace is looking scarce on the equipment I'm searching for... Guess I'll have to be patient for them.

Would you recommend anywhere else to look further into Leica discussions?

Google "rff" (rangefinder forum) loads of resource.

 

[jongolia]

Thank you everyone!

 

[distagon]

Do u wear glasses? It will affect how much of the viewfinder u see. This is pretty important

 

[jongolia]

Do u wear glasses? It will affect how much of the viewfinder u see. This is pretty important

Nope!

 

[schmuak]

Hi, with $6k I would get an M8 with a 28 Elmarit asph or 35 Cron asph.

If going with film, I would get an M7 with 50 cron latest version.

I would recommend getting a digital RF as a starter leica camera. You will see the results immediately. With film you may need to record notes when trying to experiment with settings.

I love shooting using aperture priority auto, hence M7. When starting out, there are more than enough things to consider - where to take a light reading, composition, focus, f-stop and at the same time trying to capturing the moment. Aperture priority auto is most suitable for street photography IMO. That is if street photography is what you choose to do.

I am also a fan of leica's modern asphericals. I love high resolution, sharp images. I believe the progress in optical design happened for a reason.

 

[distagon]

Nope!

u are lucky!

happy shooting!

buy more film, if u going film route and archive properly.
buy external hard disk to back up, if u going digital route.

the learning stage is the most exciting!

 

[chiif]

Just wondering... unless you have already set your mind on Leica....

with $6K budget, you could potentially buy off the whole range of voigtlander optics and 2 new bodies: R2M + R4M.

Anyway, Leica is poisonous... I fully respect your desire to get one. if you just want to take pictures, there are other options as well.

 

[raytoei]

hi hi....

Alot of good suggestions on this thread.

Many RFF users are not using their prized possession enough. Because of the large investment, many of the photos are just sample Image Quality type of shots. I too am guilty of buying something expensive and then not using it for fear of damaging/ scratching/ dinging it. I recall my IIIf and M4, so lovely and nice that I hardly brought it out to play, instead, choosing my beaten up CL as a daily shooter. In the end, I sold my IIIf and M4.

So, my 2Cents is this: If the above fits your description, perhaps you may want to get the best body / lens you can afford and with the remainder $$$, buy a user body and a user lens (note, "user" as compared to "collector") so that you dangle it around your neck and walk about without the inevitable knock and dings. And of course, take lots and lots of pictures.

 

[jongolia]

Everyone has lovely suggestions. Thanks so much! I guess I'll be sticking with my SLR set for a while more before there's enough to hop the wagon. Was considering Bessas too... since the Leicas are truly expensive stuff.

 

[dtohs]

If you actually thought about RF and budget is a constraint, try a non leica really. Honestly the experience and the mindset of shooting with a RF is really fun, or maybe I didn’t learn the trick enough or did not meet the right people while i was doing SLR (that’s my personal view, don’t wish to start a fight.) Again I want to stress.. I wished i had started RF earlier. Hope this helps.

flickr

 

[Royale With Cheese]

Everyone has lovely suggestions. Thanks so much! I guess I'll be sticking with my SLR set for a while more before there's enough to hop the wagon. Was considering Bessas too... since the Leicas are truly expensive stuff.

I've used the Konica Hexar RF, M mount, Japanese M7 with max of 1/4000 shutter speed, in build motor winder that works faster than M7 with motor winder

Not to mention, super fast loading, I load with one hand

Still keeping my copy, it really good for speed if you need to shoot seriously fast.

Some reads:
http://www.cameraquest.com/konicam.htm
http://www.dantestella.com/technical/hexarrf.html

btw, I've never experienced that flange distance thingy in those articles, sounds like BS to me really.

PS: if your hexar fails, you still have support for it through sony gallery at wisma, they will ship it back to Japan for fixing, TAT, 3weeks.
I've had a discussion with some members in RFF, we & the japanese are the lucky bunch who still got support for hexar rfs. The America, EU support is honestly BS

 

[raytoei]

sorry for the show off

the current love of my life is the Olympus 35 SP and the Contax G1.

 

[hydroburn249]

my god u guys seriously have lots of $ to spend.

im staying away from this forum before i get poisoned even more.

but your pictures keep me coming back for more. grrr. :angry: