Marvin Dockery wrote:
I have owned Leica, but needed to upgrade and did. ( Decent cameras)

Hahahhahah well we all make mistakes in life don`t we?
(maybe you just didn`t know how to use it?)

Not everyone is a Leicaphile......but thanks for wasting your time posting here

Chip Willis wrote:
One of these days I will own one.

A friend, Abdi Robble, has been sponsored by Leica on his travel work, and to see some chromes on a light box thru a loupe is simply is amazing.

It is he that actually taught me that using a 35mm lens can rock.

Chip

Yes, most of the WW2 German combat photographer`s used the 35mm Elmar in most of the frontline work

I had a really nice 35mm Summicron on a M2 that I used back in Germany it was a great combination

Glamour Boulevard wrote:
Someday I will own one. I will opt for an older one because I love the older stuff. Probably the M2 as you mentioned in a previous thread. And that Leica ad you posted gave me a couple ideas,lol.

Yes, a early 60`s M2 is a great choice to get into using Leica`s, with a 50mm and a 35mm Summicron`s you will have a great little picture taker, light weight, compact and robust

I cut my teeth on a 1939 Screwmount IIIA so that was like taking a trip back in time and learning REALLY what photography is all about (self taught dark room etc. etc.)
It`s quite fun and really is something that`s really an artistic experience as well, while the lenses were also "uncoated" and shooting lot`s of slide film as I did the colours where also quite different, sometimes pale and soft like a surreal painting and other times sharp and saturated

KoolGirlieStuff wrote:

Yes, a early 60`s M2 is a great choice to get into using Leica`s, with a 50mm and a 35mm Summicron`s you will have a great little picture taker, light weight, compact and robust

I cut my teeth on a 1939 Screwmount IIIA so that was like taking a trip back in time and learning REALLY what photography is all about (self taught dark room etc. etc.)
It`s quite fun and really is something that`s really an artistic experience as well

I just spotted an M2 on ebay  that is at $340 right now. Body only, though. I have a guitar  on ebay that  I auctioned but the winner has not paid. If he pays id be lookin into the m2 in a heart beat.

Glamour Boulevard wrote:
I just spotted an M2 on ebay  that is at $340 right now. Body only, though. I have a guitar  on ebay that  I auctioned but the winner has not paid. If he pays id be lookin into the m2 in a heart beat.

Yeh send me a link through PM I`ll have a look at it.....either one a "push button" rewind is the older version and the lever one the 1960`s one

The BADASS version is the M2-R "Rapid load" camera (they were invented for sports and combat photographer`s in the 1960`s) I think the US Navy ordered a bunch of them too......they were often used during the Vietnam war

Ken Mierzwa wrote:
My dad used to speak of Leicas with a hushed reverence; he used them as a military photographer while in Europe in the 1950s.  Then one day when I was around 21 he gave me a IIIf.  The body was mint but the shutter had a few pinholes because the previous owner had kept it with the shutter cocked on a shelf for 20 years.  Very pretty, but not a user.

I was hooked, but needed a camera I could actually use every day.  So about six years ago I bought my M6 TTL.  Currently I use it for 90 percent of my shoots, it's well suited to my spontaneous journalism and street photography influenced style.  Mostly I use an 80s vintage 50mm Summilux, less often a 90mm Summicron.  The compactness of the whole package makes it great for travel, which I do a lot of.

WOW! I can just SEE Leica in your photos, simply wonderful....welcome to the club

If you still have that "minty" IIIF you can get the shutter blinds replaced now, I have some connections to people who do that I`d be glad to share them with you

KoolGirlieStuff wrote:

Yeh send me a link through PM I`ll have a look at it.....either one a "push button" rewind is the older version and the lever one the 1960`s one

The BADASS version is the M2-R "Rapid load" camera (they were invented for sports and combat photographer`s in the 1960`s) I think the US Navy ordered a bunch of them too......

There arent many m2 on there right now, I just did a search for leica m2 and only 2 pages full of leica cameras and accessories popped up. the one I am talking about was on the first page.

Glamour Boulevard wrote:
I just spotted an M2 on ebay  that is at $340 right now. Body only, though. I have a guitar  on ebay that  I auctioned but the winner has not paid. If he pays id be lookin into the m2 in a heart beat.

Hey GB TRY to find a lens combo deal, M2 with a 35mm or 50mm Summicron and then buy a good light meter like a Gossen or a Voigtlander VC or VC II
(most of the time the original Leicameter`s are broken or just plain burnt out....and a pain in the ass to restore)

KoolGirlieStuff wrote:

Hey GB TRY to find a lens combo deal, M2 with a 35mm or 50mm Summicron and then buy a good light meter like a Gossen or a Voigtlander VC or VC II
(most of the time the original Leicameter`s are broken or just plain burnt out....and a pain in the ass to restore)

Yea, if the guy pays for the guitar I would get the combo.They also have one of the light meters you mention, I believe. I also saw a rapid loader for 20 bucks.

Glamour Boulevard wrote:

Yea, if the guy pays for the guitar I would get the combo.They also have one of the light meters you mention, I believe. I also saw a rapid loader for 20 bucks.

Well, ok the R version of the M2 is the M2-R  "rapid loading" version....they are really a Leica M2 with a rapid load M6 take up spool.....these cameras are crazy rare and cost about $1,500+ without lenses when you can even find one

KoolGirlieStuff wrote:

Well, ok the R version of the M2 is the M2-R  "rapid loading" version....they are really a Leica M2 with a rapid load M6 take up spool.....these cameras are crazy rare and cost about $1,500+ without lenses when you can even find one

when I said rapid loader I meant just the system itself, in what looked like an original plastic bag

KM von Seidl wrote:
Hi.

My name is Kim and I am a leica addict.

HAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome to the club Kim.......holding a Leica is like a heroin addiction cept MORE expensive and less life threating

Glamour Boulevard wrote:

when I said rapid loader I meant just the system itself, in what looked like an original plastic bag

aHHH I wanna see

KoolGirlieStuff wrote:

HAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome to the club Kim.......holding a Leica is like a heroin addiction cept MORE expensive and less life threating

what drives me crazy are all these wealthy collectors who let their gear sit like fine crystal on their respective displays.


for gods sake, USE THE GLASS!

David Nusbaum wrote:
I've had my eye on an MP for awhile, but it's still just a dream. I even thought of lowering my aim and going for a Voigtlander rangefinder, but it's not quite the same. A digital M would be heaven, but if it ever happens the price will probably be high.

Yes, well the SAD news from Germany is the company`s not doing well......the DIGITAL M sound`s like a dream, if it does come out (and they could make it affordable to Leicaphiles say $5,000 to $6,000 they MIGHT? save the company, but I think becasue of all the new retooling it will be more like $15,000 and at $15k they WON`T SELL CAMERAS

KM von Seidl wrote:

what drives me crazy are all these wealthy collectors who let their gear sit like fine crystal on their respective displays.


for gods sake, USE THE GLASS!

Most of the Leicas made today that they collect were made just for those people. but what they dont realize is that when every single camera of a particular line is made for collectors , those collectors are keeping them in perfect condition in a closet somewhere, thus making sure none of them get ruined, worn ,etc. which are two of the things that make a collectable a collectable and more valuable than when you bought it.rarity and condition.

KM von Seidl wrote:
what drives me crazy are all these wealthy collectors who let their gear sit like fine crystal on their respective displays.


for gods sake, USE THE GLASS!

I slept in a living room in Frankfurt, Germany that had about $2.5 million dollars worth of camera`s in it (yes, folks I was a COLLECTOR before I was a shooter) and this collector had the largest collection of Leitz *sucher* (finders) in the WORLD!
Also in his main glass case he had (3) Leica MP`s (original M3/MP`s) two chrome, one black (those camera`s alone are worth $300,000!)

I`ve seen and held some of the strangest and rarest Leica`s of all time in my hands and no matter what it is, it`s a pleasure just to cock in and press the release and listen to that beautiful sound........

Most of those AMAZING cameras haven`t been used since day one, or have now been put to pasture which is so sad, the amazing glass will never be used again

I`ve always wanted to *convert* a chrome body M2 to a black paint or find a really beaten black paint M4 to use just to have a conversation piece around my neck
Just think what and where some of these camera`s have been since they were built, only if they could talk..........

McMadCow wrote:
Leica shooter checking in!  But I took the ghetto Leica route and got an SLR.  I've got an R4 with a Summicron 50 and a Vario-Elmar 35-70 f3.5.  Both are fantastic lenses and I read somewhere that the Summi 50 was the sharpest SLR lens ever made.  Seeing some of my prints, I believe it.  When I'm not screwing everything up, I can get some amazing quality. 
I kind of wonder what models think when I show up with my little 20+ year old MANUAL FOCUS SLR instead of some bigass digital monstrosity.  GWC alert, I'm sure.  Oh well.  For the price of a Rebel XT with the kit lens I got a far superior camera.  I've had it for a little more than a year now and it's the only camera I use anymore.  I'm actually thinking of getting a second body so I can load one with color and the other with B&W. 
TOTAL COST:
Body:  $200 on Ebay
35-70 lens:  $350 on Ebay
50 lens:  $100 at a local camera store!!!

Hell yeah!!!!!!!!! Leica SLR (1960`s) is FANTASTIC stuff

(I`m looking for a LEICAFLEX SL2 Black Paint right now)

And  about the models not knowing what a manual focus camera is.......hahahahah I`m so GLAD that I shoot RETRO and even work with OLD Camera`s while the models get to KNOW what real modeling was like and they also learn another great thing.............patience

Ohh buy the second camera....that`s JUST what I do as well, load B&W and Colour....so you have BOTH sides of the story when it comes to shooting a subject

David Linke wrote:
Was the Argus C3 a knock off of the leica?

It might be.......there were many Leica knock off`s made in the USA about 1940 to 1955 the Tower one`s and others like it are now rare and very collectible

KoolGirlieStuff wrote:
Just think what and where some of these camera`s have been since they were built, only if they could talk..........

You have just mentioned the main reason I love the older ones than the newer stuff, its history, where it has been and all. second to how they used to build them like a tank, made them to last.

Glamour Boulevard wrote:
Most of the Leicas made today that they collect were made just for those people. but what they dont realize is that when every single camera of a particular line is made for collectors , those collectors are keeping them in perfect condition in a closet somewhere, thus making sure none of them get ruined, worn ,etc. which are two of the things that make a collectable a collectable and more valuable than when you bought it.rarity and condition.

Sadly it`s this WHOLE collecting idea that`s RUINED the future of the company.......Leica`s ruling reign was in the 1950`s when photography was something that could really make people wealthy if they knew what they were doing, the compactness, simplicity and high quality of these cameras were almost a guarantee of a fine result

Now so many people look at the Leica as a overrated china cabinet item, which is a crime, while this camera the "Father" of all 35mm cameras is maybe one of the easiest and most enjoyable camera`s in the world to use, but still so many of them go un-used

Markus Richter wrote:
http://www.familyofman2.com/

Servus Markus!

Thank you for gracing this thread with that wonderful link!

Alles Gute

KoolGirlieStuff wrote:
Sadly it`s this WHOLE collecting idea that`s RUINED the future of the company.......Leica`s ruling reign was in the 1950`s when photography was something that could really make people wealthy if they knew what they were doing, the compactness, simplicity and high quality of these cameras were almost a guarantee of a fine result

Now so many people look at the Leica as a overrated china cabinet item, which is a crime, while this camera the "Father" of all 35mm cameras is maybe one of the easiest and most enjoyable camera to use, but still so many of them go un-used

Couldnt have said it better myself. I wonder whose idea it was at the company to make it basically a collectors piece to just be looked at.

Glamour Boulevard wrote:
I wonder if it is still possible to find a Leica gold mine in some old mans attic or if everyone knows how collected they are by now,lol.

It could be an urban legend but on the LUG (leica users group) which I belonged before I was overwhelmed with mail, someone shared that their house or maybe car had been broken into and all the new electrical gear/photo stuff had been stolen and the old fashioned leica/rollei/zeiss stuff had been left.

KoolGirlieStuff wrote:
And  about the models not knowing what a manual focus camera is.......hahahahah I`m so GLAD that I shoot RETRO and even work with OLD Camera`s while the models get to KNOW what real modeling was like and they also learn another great thing.............patience

I kind of feel bad showing up with my old equipment sometimes.  Most non-photographers don't know the Leica name, but a "professional" photographer is easily recognized by the presence of a hulking camera.  I'm sure some models see my old bare camera and think it's a yardsale item and I'm some perv who's just there to gawk at hot babes.  The part about it being a cheap yardsale camera is totally not true! 

Glamour Boulevard wrote:
I wonder if it is still possible to find a Leica gold mine in some old mans attic or if everyone knows how collected they are by now,lol.

Well, as the WW2 generation now is almost all passed away the chance of finding the "best"  vintage one`s is almost over......finding a deal on a 1940 to 45 "Stepper Rewind" or "Red Shutter" or "Grey Paint" IIIC`s are almost impossible

But keep looking stuff still pops up every now and then