Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/02/09
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Two years or so ago I bought an M3. Then I bought an M4 so I could use a 35. I have now sold them both, and replaced them with a pair of mint used M6's (a .72 and a .85). I know people say "Never sell an M, you'll regret it forever". Well, all I can say is "Je ne regrette rien!". The M6's are just as nice as the earlier chrome cameras, except I don't get as nostalgic looking at them. But then, nostalgia doesn't improve my photography, and built-in meters do! Not to mention that when I decide to do it, I can put Tom A's Rapidwinders on both of them, with no mods necessary. TTL? Shrug. I've got a Vivitar 283 - it's fine, but I've only used a flash in the last 2 years, and that was on my Nikon. Save your money. User M6's rule! About lenses - I use a 35 Summicron ASPH. What an astonishing lens. I've had 35's that were soft wide open (made by a certain Japanese purveyor of black lenses that shall remain nameless) and I couldn't stand them. Wide open or stopped down the Summicron is just remarkable. In fact it's so good it has redefined my definition of "good". (This redefinition has since been reinforced by the 90 APO.) I'd rather have a lens I can get sharp pictures with wide open, than all the "Leica glow" (read flare) in the world. But that's just my technophilic opinion - others will disagree mightily :-) The one lens I might buy in its place is the 35 Summilux ASPH - same lens, one more stop - what's a few dollars between a man and his mistress? Paul Chefurka