Re: [Leica] Hello and plea for guidance

[kabob@tiac.net (Bob Keene/Karen Shehade)]

Hello Andre! I remember you from when I lurked and lunged on the Rollei-List.

        Welcome to the diasastrous world of Leicaphelia! Beware, it's a
slippery slope. Cancel your credit cards NOW- before it's too late! ;)

        Now, I'm guessing that where you come from medium/large format
work, that you're pretty used to using a hand held meter- if so, then you
could be very happy with an M3/M2/M4/M4-P..... depends on the lenses you
will be mainly using. The different models have different framelines
etc....
        I recently acquired an M2 in 'nice' condition- it's a great thing!
I think it's the perfect "user" body if you don't want on-board metering.
Of course, I've found an MR-4 Leicameter for it, so this makes for a very
usable unit. If you're not familiar with it, the MR-4 meter "mates" to the
shutter speed dial, you set your shutter speed and press a button on the
meter, it gives you a recomended f stop. It reads an area equivelant to the
90 frameline in the viewfinder. I usually use it to take a reading off the
palm of my hand, I open up one more stop (Zone 6) and I shoot away,
reasonably sure that I've got a reading for skin tones.
        Now, once you have a body; and mind you, there are some good deals
out there for screwmount bodies as well- Canon 7/7s/7sz, are nice for the
easy loading systems and you can use older screwmount lenses- that's how I
started and now have the M6/M2 and bunch of lenses ( I use combination of
'M' bayonet mount and screwmount lenses with adapters)
        If you're going to start with one lens, my recomendation would be a
35mm... personally I find it a nice choice, wide enough but still usable as
a standard... although I've not used one, lots of folks love the 35
Summicron; I personally have the 35 Summilux (pre-ASPH) which I love- but
if you can do with f2 vs. f 1.4........
        As I understand it the CL has a shorter rangefinder base, so use it
with the 50 and shorter lenses- it might be touchy to focus a 90 in low
light.

        Again, 'welcome aboard'; but be warned- lots of people on this list
will be filling your head with nonsense about this lens and that lens- I
firmly believe that this is a 'cult' that will never rest until your bank
account is wiped out and your marriage is on the rocks!!!!! :)

Bob (maybe I *need* a 90 ASPH???) Keene
>
>Date: 9 Feb 00 13:20:10 EST
>From: Andre Calciu <a.calciu@usa.net>
>Subject: [Leica] Hello and plea for guidance
>
>Hi there LUGgers,
>
>My name is Andre Calciu and I am a collector/user of Rolleiflex and Large
>Format gear. I subscribe to a number of camera related listservs and thanks to
>MJ Small I just subscribed to the LUG.
>
>I was recently offered the opportunity to buy a Leica CL and when I asked for
>guidance from the other lists I received answers that were very useful and
>informative, but I was also told that I should seek help from this group, so
>here I am.
>
>Having shot medium/large format for the past few decades, I am not very much
>up to speed with the 35mm gear. I know Leica has many variations and feature
>differences from one camera to another, even within the same model. Some of
>the differences are good, others just add collectible value. I am not looking
>for a collectible piece, rather I want a user. More precisely, a rangefinder
>of the M persuasion.
>
>Here is what I want to know:
>
>1.- which body to pick (M6 seems to be the most recommended one, but price is
>always an issue :-))
>2.- affordable good performing lenses (15mm Heliar came up a lot, but one
>cannot live only by wide angle alone).
>3.- what I should beware of (defects that are hard to spot by a neophyte,
>etc)
>4.- good sources of equipment with low (as defined by the brand) prices and
>good reputation.
>5.- recommended service providers for CLA, etc.
>6.- which child should I sell first to pay for all that :-)
>
>Note: the camera will NOT be my main piece of photo gear.
>
>Thanks for the help and sorry if this has been repeated over and over on this
>list. I could go to a FAQ if available.
>
>Andre
>
>