How did you get into Leicas?

Roger Hicks said:
Assuming of course that you ever did. Here's my story: In 1969 my girlfriend wanted a reliable, compact, good quality, not-too-expensive camera. For £20 she bought a Leica II, complete with 50mm f/3.5 Elmar. After a few weeks she kept asking for it back so I had to buy my own Leica, a IIIa, with the same sort of lens. That was £30. (from http://www.rogerandfrances.com/subscription/leicaphilia.html -- there are even pictures of both the Leica and the girl!)

So what's your story?

Cheers,

R.
Click to expand...
Here is a link to Roger's story (above) as the original link is broken:
 
I bought my first Leica in 1979, a 1958 M3 chrome fitted with a Summicron 50mm f2 rigid, most likely the camera's original lens. Both lens and camera were heavily used, but the glass of the lens was in perfect condition. The shutter of the camera unfortunately suffered from tapering, I didn't know at the time that this was easy to fix, so I only used the speeds 125 and slower. The camera was originally a double-stroke, but was converted to a single-stroke. After years of shooting with a Nikkormat, I was stunned by the sheer quality of the lens. When the camera shutter was adjusted a little later, I was totally "into Leica", both M and screw mount. I still have the Summicron, but later, much to my regrets now, I traded in the camera. Never sell or trade in a Leica!

One of my first shots with this camera:

gelatin silver print (summicron 50mm f2 rigid) leica m3

Amsterdam, 1979

Erik.

1688813824036.png
 
I was offered a carrier bag of Leicas in 1975, containing at least two Barnacks, an M series, goggle lenses, finders, lenses, Leicavit and a Visoflex for £70. It was legit and had come as part of a house clearance. However I couldn't lay my hands on that much cash, my wages being only £20 per week. So I had to let it go. For years I regretted not borrowing the cash to buy it. I vowed to buy a Barnack at some point but it never happened.

Fast forward to 2014, on a collector group, I got quite friendly with a German guy in his late 80s, he was disposing of his Leica gear and so for €600 (£400 then) I owned a IIIf, 35mm Summaron, 90mm Elmar, 50mm Elmar, 2 finders, case and other bits like filters and hoods. The IIIf became my favourite user - until I managed to buy a M3. I now have a small collection of lenses and finders and many non Leitz LTM lenses and a CL.
 
I borrowed an old double stroke Leica M3 from a college friend with a Canon 50/1.2 lens on it and knew that was the type of camera I wanted to shoot with. My first Leica body was a beat up single stroke M3 that I bought in a camera shop in NY a few months later while on a study trip, followed a couple of months after that by a collapsible Summicron 50mm to go on it. Thirty years on both that camera and lens are long gone, but I'm still shooting Leica rangefinders.
 
I visited an exhibition of handprinted pictures from Sebastia Salgado in a Museum in Cologne in 1992. It was said on the accompanying texts that he was using Leicas. I wanted to replicate the exquisite printing and the gorgeous photography and set the standard for my own work to this day. Naturally I had to have a Leica at one point. The first was an M4-P I mailordered in 1996 from a store somewhere on the eastcoast before the bay even existed. Read their online-listing, called them, send a cashiers cheque, those were the days.
 
In the mid-80's I managed a local 1HR photo store and had an employee whose grandfather had loaned her his M3 with 50/2 Summicron and 135/4 Elmar. She didn't have a clue as how to use it, so I borrowed it one weekend to shoot some power boat races. I pretty much used the 135 Elmar, and the pictures turned out to be horrible. I was using a Nikon FE-2 at the time and had never used a rangefinder camera before and after seeing the results, thought I might never again, although the way the M3 handled and felt, I thought how beautifully smooth the operation was. I continued building my Nikon lens collection and only until I had a chance to buy a used M3 much later, did the tactile bug return. I still have the 50/2 rigid Summicron from that purchase which I use on a Bessa R2 and a more recent acquisition of a M2. I sold the SS M3 and a 35/2 Canada Summicron w/goggles, in 3 minutes on Ebay after my daughter crashed her car and needed a quick replacement. I had already acquired a IIIg and 50/2 collapsible Summicron before that, so my Leica fix was satisfied, until I convinced myself I really needed another M mount Leica.
 
I had a friend at work that was a Leicaphile, I used Nikons at the time and still do. Listening to him and seeing his Ms I had to give them a try. Bought an M3 DS to give it a go. Many LTMs, Ms, and Rs have come and gone since then. Enjoyed them all. Still using an M8 and M9.
 
Pity I never answered you Roger. Bless'd be your memory.

First FSU, then a detour to Kiev/Contax, then Canon IVsb & 7, then a CL, then a IIIf... There was a Bessa R in their briefly but I forget why I didn't keep it long. Ended up discovering Nikon and m4/3 and that put the end to Leica for a number of years but not the desire for it.

Fast forward to about 4 years ago when I got a letter from a lawyer saying an uncle everyone thought was even more broke than me had squirreled away a bit and left all the nieces and nephews each as small inheritance. Big enough that with a little loan from my local pawn broker (obnoxious interest but nothing lost) got me by 3 years ago in May, my latest (and probably last) Leica, my M Type 240. I'm doing a persoanal photo a day challenge this year with the first lens I bought for it, my Voigtlander Nokton 50/1.5 Asph LTM as a reminder of why I love it.
 
Summertime in Munich Germany 1977, my Japanese SLR crapped out, I needed a camera so I went to a camera store and this used 1957 Leica M3 with a 50mm f3.5 Elmar caught my fancy and I bought it. Still is my favourite camera and I own many different cameras, from Leicas to Niccas to Zorki. & Kiev.
 
I was a Nikon shooter in the 1990s. I went digital around 2000 when the Nikon D100 came out. I still shot film now and again. I decided to get back into film around the mid 2000s and discovered RFF at that time. I had never shot with a rangefinder, but being intrigued I bought a beat up Bessa R from someone on the site (I think his name was Jonas). It came with a Jupiter 50mm (which needed shimming).

I was hooked then and soon ended up with a Snapshot Skopar, Nokton 50/1.5 and Heliar 75mm lenses and set up a darkroom in my house. I moved up to an M mount camera via the Bessa R2 and then Leica M6 - I had 2 of these. I also had a few medium format rangefinders - a Fuji 645, Bronica RF645 and Mamiya 7, some fixed lens ones like the Hexar AF and Olympus XA, and several old folders (which I still have).

I sold the rangefinder cameras again to go back to digital and have only recently got back into Leica with an M10 and M10 Monochrom. I was always hoping a company like Fuji or Cosina would introduce a more affordable digital rangefinder. It is nice to relive the experience of the RF cameras after a long absence. It was only retirement funds that allowed me back in.

If it hadn't been for all the helpful advice I received from people at RFF (including of course Roger Hicks) over the years I would never have discovered the joy and experience of using rangefinders.
 
gelatin silver print (summicron 50mm f2 rigid) leica m3

Pauline M., 1979

1705402939078.png

I got my first Leica, an M3 from the late fifties, in 1979. After years of shooting with a Nikkormat and a Nikkor H Auto 50mm f2 (definitely not a bad lens), I was completely overwhelmed by the quality of the Summicron, an early "rigid". The precision of the rangefinder of the M3 was also astonishing to me.

One problem with my M3, however, was the uneven exposure of the images. When using times faster than 1/60, a light gradient was clearly visible. It took several years until I found someone who could solve the problem by adjusting the spring tension of the shutter. It may sound strange now, but at that time photographing with a rangefinder camera was completely out of fashion and repairers of Leicas were very difficult to find.
 
Last edited:
I was reading Shutterbug Magazine then (in the late 1980's), and I was reviewing the prices of items for sale. I never understood why so-called Leica M lenses and cameras were selling for more money than Leica R lenses or cameras. It scared me off for use when I saw the high cost of owning Leica equipment. I stayed faithful to my Canon FD SLR system then.

Then one day I got a call from a stranger. " a friend of a friend told me you may be interested". It was a Leica M4-MOT without the hard to find motordrive. I knew enough from reading Shutterbug that a M4-MOT was not cheap. I bought it then as my "first Leica" camera just to quickly resell it for a profit. I repeated this excercise with a Leica M5 with Summicron 90/2. It was too scary to own a Leica!

Then I bought locally a shiny like-new Leica M3 with several lenses. I still own and use that Leica camera and the lenses. Some gentleman was stationed many years ago in Germany and he bought two M3 cameras; one as a back-up camera that he used without film once each 6 months. It had its receipt for quality assurance. I got the boxes and the fading wrapping paper and several accessories, such as a 35mm finder in the box.
 
Erik van Straten said:
gelatin silver print (summicron 50mm f2 rigid) leica m3

Pauline M., 1979

View attachment 4831606

I got my first Leica, an M3 from the late fifties, in 1979. After years of shooting with a Nikkormat and a Nikkor H Auto 50mm f2 (definitely not a bad lens), I was completely overwhelmed by the quality of the Summicron, an early "rigid". The precision of the rangefinder of the M3 was also astonishing to me.

One problem with my M3, however, was the uneven exposure of the images. When using times faster than 1/60, a light gradient was clearly visible. It took several years until I found someone who could solve the problem by adjusting the spring tension of the shutter. It may sound strange now, but at that time photographing with a rangefinder camera was completely out of fashion and repairers of Leicas were very difficult to find.
Click to expand...
Back in November, a close friend of the family passed away and I came into possession of his 1958 M3 double stroke, rigid Summicron, 50mm ƒ/1.5 Summarit and various accessories. Last week I got my first roll from it developed (second roll shot) and I'm finding the same issue with many of the pictures, though I'd say the gradient is quite severe on mine. The camera probably has not been serviced since it was bought from the US Army Postal Exchange when our friend was stationed in West Germany in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

I'm hoping to send the camera and lenses in for service soon. I'm happy to be in the Leica club, though obviously I wish it was under better circumstances.
 
Judge Holden said:
Back in November, a close friend of the family passed away and I came into possession of his 1958 M3 double stroke, rigid Summicron, 50mm ƒ/1.5 Summarit and various accessories. Last week I got my first roll from it developed (second roll shot) and I'm finding the same issue with many of the pictures, though I'd say the gradient is quite severe on mine. The camera probably has not been serviced since it was bought from the US Army Postal Exchange when our friend was stationed in West Germany in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

I'm hoping to send the camera and lenses in for service soon. I'm happy to be in the Leica club, though obviously I wish it was under better circumstances.
Click to expand...
JH, A CLA charge, is a small fee to pay up front to join the Leica family....& you'll benefit from years of reliability ahead of you.
 
Judge Holden said:
Back in November, a close friend of the family passed away and I came into possession of his 1958 M3 double stroke, rigid Summicron, 50mm ƒ/1.5 Summarit and various accessories. Last week I got my first roll from it developed (second roll shot) and I'm finding the same issue with many of the pictures, though I'd say the gradient is quite severe on mine. The camera probably has not been serviced since it was bought from the US Army Postal Exchange when our friend was stationed in West Germany in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

I'm hoping to send the camera and lenses in for service soon. I'm happy to be in the Leica club, though obviously I wish it was under better circumstances.
Click to expand...
For a professional repairman it is not difficult to adjust the speeds of a M3 and it will not cost too much.

Obviously, the uneven exposure is worse at the short times than at the long ones. You can choose to always use 1/60 and longer, then you will be less bothered by uneven lighting.
 
I fully intend to get it serviced! Even before getting the first scans back and seeing the shutter issue, the rangefinder is slightly out of alignment and the VF could use a good cleaning. There's also some rust on the body where the vulcanite has chipped off. The Summarit has some fungus and haze and I believe the Summicron has some haze as well. I hope to continue to shoot it alongside my other cameras. It's very nice. I've always been impressed by the feel of Leicas when handling them in the store and the viewfinder experience is leaps and bounds better than the Olympus and Canonet fixed lens rangefinders I've shot with. I'm also largely a 50mm shooter so the lack of 35mm frame lines is something I can live with.
 
When I was a kid, a teacher made me aware of a photographer named H. C. Bresson. I later became aware of Robert Frank, Gerry Winnogrand, and Kryn Taconis - I had to try out the camera that they all used. I'm a mostly an SLR guy these days, but I still shoot an M2 and a Leica I - in fact, the latter is my EDC.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top