[Leica] Back in the fold

[ken at iisaka.org (Ken Iisaka)]

After 5 years without a Leica, (Leica branded Panasonic lenses don?t count)
I'm finally back in the fold, after acquiring a lightly used SL with an
SL50.

I was a Leica M user for many years, having owned a slew of M cameras: an
M3, an M5, a couple of M6s, then finally an M8, with a variety of lenses
from Noctilux 1:1,0/50 to Summilux 1:1,4/75 and APO-Summicron 1:2,0/90.
Also had a reflex camera and a few lenses: an SL2 MOT, with several lenses
from 24mm to 400mm.

I loved using them because of their simplicity and utmost optical and build
quality. They were transparent in my hands, and they translated my
intentions into photographs with few obstacles, something I could not say
of other equipment I had used.

My most frequent subjects were my two children, of course, who are now
adults now.

I lost them all in a divorce, along with just about everything else that
could be taken away from me, due to the nuclear-options deployed in the
conflict. I was reduced to nothing.

I had continued to take photographs using an Olympus system, around a body
that my girlfriend gave me a couple of years ago, after seeing I was
enjoying using the one that I rented for a trip to Hong Kong, Taiwan and
Japan. Its compactness meant I took it on many trips since, as I began
spreading my wings again.

But its fiddly controls meant I often missed moments I wanted to capture. I
was painfully aware that I shouldn?t be faced with so many dials and
buttons to control just a few things: aperture, shutter speed, focus,
composition and timing.

But my life situation has improved especially in the last two years. As I
celebrated a major birthday milestone a month ago (the new 30, as they say)
I finally allowed myself this indulgence.

I agonized a bit between an M and an SL, but I chose the latter, after
having become accustomed to a mirror-less system. It?s an evolution, and
it?s the right direction forward, as evident in Nikon and Canon?s recent
entry to the field.

I also looked at Sony, Nikon and Canon, too, but all the buttons and dials
turned me off. They would have certainly given me better quality
photographs than my little Olympus, but not necessarily better shooting
experience.

But it?s quite a jump from an Olympus system to an SL. The latter easily
weighs thrice as much, and costs 5x. But seeing how much wear the Olympus
has gotten in just two years, I am confident that the SL body will last 10
years easily, and the lens probably until I can no longer hold it steadily.

I will likely acquire a 24-90, and possibly a couple of M lenses to be used
with an adapter. I will likely keep using the Olympus where I need a super
portable camera with my favorite lens on it: a Panasonic-Leica Summilux
1:1,7/15. However, I suspect I may want a Q to replace it eventually. It?s
also that a fast M wide angle lens costs as much as a Q anyway. Q almost
seems like a bargain, actually.

As far as my life goes, I have regained, or am gaining back most of what I
lost. I now live with a loving partner, sharing a house full of grand
pianos, filling the air with music. I am able to do more of what I wasn?t
able during the 18 years of abusive marriage. Nothing will erase the pain
of struggles I experienced in the last 10 years, but my life is now better
than ever. A Leica was just one of the key ingredients to ?complete? my
life again. Going from an M system to an SL system is perhaps a metaphor
for the evolution of my life, too.

Folks, I am back, stronger than ever.

-- 
Ken Iisaka
first name at last name dot org or com