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User comments btil June 2003

Hi Geoffrey

Like yourself I am also waiting for this piece to add to my collection - as I use the wide and normal lens more often;

Let us inform each other of any developments

Best regards

Joseph Low
 
just received (and read) the Eastlake book on the M7 which i received from Amazon UK. Book is great and contains many tips and explanations which have made the transition from the R 8's to the M7 seamless and painless. recommend this book to both newcomers as well as M enthusiasts. louis a cicalese
 
Joseph,
I recently saw online from a German website that an M7 chrome can be special ordered with .58 eyepiece. I asked our local leica dealor and he did state that this combination can be ordered now. I have yet to see one in person.

Geoffrey Hamill
 
>Hello Geoffrey

Thanks for this information - please let me know costs - I may want to add to your order as well.

Best wishes

Joseph Low
 
Hi, i'm a college student falling in love with photography. I've been using a canon rebel for a year now, I do mostly black and white street photography, and still-life. My rebel is ok but what I really need is a quick, inconspicous, quiet camera with great image quality. I've saved enough to buy a M6 or maybe even a M7, but recently my friends are telling me the Leica M's are a waste of money. They say I should ditch the Leica, buy a decent camera body and a couple of good lenses (canon or nikon).

I've set my heart on buying a Leica (M6 or 7), but getting scared of the commitment.I'm just worried about spending too much money on a camera i might not even know how to use.
Should a beginner like me buy a Leica????

please give me any advice about the leica M. Also anything about leica's and street photography
 
Have any of your friends owned a Leica? Upon what are they basing their opinions.

You could probably buy a decent used M6 and 35/2 or 50/2 summicron, use them for 6 months to a year, and then sell them if you don't like them. Leicas hold their value well and even if you sold them for a few hundred dollars less than what you paid you are still money ahead. Think of it as a rental fee.

There has been endless debate whether Leica lenses are any better than canon or nikon lenses. All I can tell you is that I could see a difference when I bought my first 35/2 summicron nearly 18 years ago. That lens blew my 35/2 Nikkor away.

Most folks have no idea what a Leica M is. To them it looks like a cheap point and shoot camera. To most folks, "real" photographers use a big motorized Canon or Nikon with a big zoom lens. I've found that to be a big psychological advantage.

Leicas are quiet, but then I've been amazed lately how quiet and small some of the consumer Nikon and Canon belt-driven cameras are.

I used SLRs from the time I was 15 to 20 when I got my first M2. I have to tell you that for me the Leica was like an epiphany. It freed me up and changed the way I saw images. Since you aren't seeing though the lens that takes the picture everything is sharp from near to far. You tend to notice spatial relationships more in your frame.

If Leicas aren't any good for street photography someone should have told Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank, Garry Winogrand, Gilles Peress, Joseph Koudelka, Mary Ellen-Mark, Danny Lyon, Larry Clark... You get the idea.

If your friends are telling you to buy an EOS-3 to do street photography they need a reality check. I would rather use your rebel than an eos-1 or 3 on the steet.

Try out a Leica. If you don't you'll spend the next 10 years wondering "what if?"

Best of luck!
 
Dear SW,
I uased nikon F100, F3, FM2 and both the manual and AFS lenses. Nikon's cameras and lenses are fine. I also owned 2 M6 and 3 lenses.

When talk about street photos, there is nothing to beat Leica. Small, quiet and "friendly" are what Leica have to offer.

I can see the different between the Nikon and Leica lenses, esp when use large aperature. Its lack of mirror vibration allow you to ahve slow speed with handheld. After practice and hold your breath, you can use down to 1/8 second handheld with some confidence. 1/8 second and f1.4 means ( or even f/1) is very powerful to capture very dim light. Leica's lenses are good because they give excellent performance even an wide open.

Buying a Leica and then sell it, you may lost 10-20% of the money you paid for the camera. The maximal lost is when you are buying new and then sell. If you buy a 2nd hand one, you may make even after careful use when you sell it 1-2 yrs later.

Hope this helps. By the way, I sold all Nikon stuff expect the FM2 and the 300mm and micro lenses, this is what M-system cannot do for you.
 
Hi all,
do you think it is worth to trade in an M4-2 and a M6 TTL for the new M7. Is it the automatic exposure worth the change?

Thanks
Andrea
 
We'll I think you'll get the usual answer on this one that only you can decide the importance of AE for yourself. But on top of that I personally feel that trading in 2 working bodies for one, you must be insane to consider it.

Best regards Bas
 
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