Roger Hicks
Mentor
...but who's counting?
I currently have five: IIIa, M2, M4-P, MP, M8, M9. But I'd hate to even try to calculate how many others I've had since I bought the IIIa in 1969.
Cheers,
R.
Gid
Well-known
I came to Leicas via an Epson R-D1 and this forum.The GAS was predictable - M6, MP, M8, M6, M7, M8.2, M4P and M2, now all gone and Leicaless for the last year. I very recently succumbed to a very low mileage M8 (1400 actuations) - they are hard to leave. I imagine there will be another film M in my near future. 
hepcat
Former PH, USN
I was a Navy Photographer's Mate from '74- '79. We were introduced to the KS-15 M2R kits in Navy photo "A" school in Pensacola. When I got to the fleet and got onto the photo lab shooting crew, I was given the choice of a Topcon Super D kit that weighed about 15 lbs, or a KE-7A M4 kit that weighed about five. As we shot mostly on location, I took the KE-7A M4 kit. Except for a few years here and there, I've shot Leicas ever since.
wwkw
-
After relieving myself of the absolutely abysmally sorry and (swear) excuse for f/2.8 optimized DSLR viewfinders, I procured a D-lessSLR with split prism ground glass rangefindin' & 100% viewfindin' capabilities, but I still couldn't focus at EI 3200 that one night at the Magician on the lower east side. With my MP and the right contrast (not brown on brown) I can focus at about EI 25,600, but I'm usually too tired to exist beyond EI 800 these days. I'm also kind of tired of the rectangle in the middle of my composition, and 58mm framelines with 50mm lenses. Do they make the 35/2.8 C-Biogon and 50/2.0 Planar in screw mount? Of course they don't. Because if you can't turn a profit on everything it is you do, why makes lenses, or even art for that matter? Good luck with your pensions, Mr(s). Janitor.
misterb
Member
It was a natural progression...
It was a natural progression...
Growing up, my Dad often took photos of the family on all the usual occasions, birthdays, holidays, picnics... you name it. He used a progression of cameras starting with a YaschicaFlex (2 1/4 twinlens), then a Yashica 35mm rangefinder (I can't recall the model), a Nikomat (Nikkormat), and on and on. Now he has a small Nikon point and shoot, and to this day, he has always shot film- B&W, color, and color slide, especially Kodachrome. I basically followed in his footstep, picking up his old camera when he went onto a new one.
By age 12, my best school buddy showed me how to develop B&W film and do B&W printing. We used all the classics- Tr-X, D-76, Dektol, Brovira paper, etc.
I also grew up reading Life magazine and other photo-story oriented publications, and I was especially drawn to photo-journalism, those images of war and conflict around the world, significant political events, exotic locations, or just the day in the life of a single person. I saw that many of the photos were taken with Leica cameras and I knew I wanted one.
After an especially lucrative summer job while I was an undergraduate at university, I was able to purchase a double-stroke M3 with a 50mm f2.8 Elmar. I ended up giving that camera to my girlfriend at the time who needed a camera for art school. I then saw an ad in the local paper for an M4 and the seller happened to be Michael Rougier, a retired Life magazine photographer selling off some of his extra equipment! What a delight to meet him and that was over 40 years ago! To this day, I still see his name listed in the phone book.
It was a natural progression...
Growing up, my Dad often took photos of the family on all the usual occasions, birthdays, holidays, picnics... you name it. He used a progression of cameras starting with a YaschicaFlex (2 1/4 twinlens), then a Yashica 35mm rangefinder (I can't recall the model), a Nikomat (Nikkormat), and on and on. Now he has a small Nikon point and shoot, and to this day, he has always shot film- B&W, color, and color slide, especially Kodachrome. I basically followed in his footstep, picking up his old camera when he went onto a new one.
By age 12, my best school buddy showed me how to develop B&W film and do B&W printing. We used all the classics- Tr-X, D-76, Dektol, Brovira paper, etc.
I also grew up reading Life magazine and other photo-story oriented publications, and I was especially drawn to photo-journalism, those images of war and conflict around the world, significant political events, exotic locations, or just the day in the life of a single person. I saw that many of the photos were taken with Leica cameras and I knew I wanted one.
After an especially lucrative summer job while I was an undergraduate at university, I was able to purchase a double-stroke M3 with a 50mm f2.8 Elmar. I ended up giving that camera to my girlfriend at the time who needed a camera for art school. I then saw an ad in the local paper for an M4 and the seller happened to be Michael Rougier, a retired Life magazine photographer selling off some of his extra equipment! What a delight to meet him and that was over 40 years ago! To this day, I still see his name listed in the phone book.
k__43
Registered Film User
I had one of those cheapo 40mm/1.7 fixed lens rangefinders after a series of SLRs. I liked the concept so I got a Zorki4 w/ Jupiter-8 and while the picture quality of that lens was great the camera itself felt unusable to me. So I realized that an M2 (for me back then expensive) + adapter would be able to focus that lens. I saved money and thought I have my dream combo, HA!
Roger Hicks
Mentor
This thread certainly seems to appeal to a lot of people, and has done for a long time! I'm glad I started it, not least because some of the stories are so cheering. Thanks everyone.
Cheers,
R.
Cheers,
R.
PhotoGog
-
How did you get into Leicas?
Here's my story. At art school, 15 years ago, I used my father's hand-me-down Canon AE-1 with FD 50mm 1.8, a kit he bought in Luxembourg before we emigrated from Portugal to 'the arse end of the world', Australia. It was OK; a good learner, but hardly inspiring.
Then, I discovered that the art school's Photo Dept had a Leica M4-P with 35mm Summicron, a Canadian version 3, I believe. With a beautiful worn brass body. And a film advance lever that screamed, 'I can't believe it's not butter'. As it turned out, no other students were interested in using it, so this meant that rather than the standard three-day loan period I was able to effectively borrow it for two full years on the proviso that if some other student wanted to borrow it I would have to turn it in. No one ever did. So this meant I loved her, shot her, caressed her, slept with her, got sh*t faced with her (Australian for 'drunk') and trained my eyes to read light for the perfect exposure, even and especially in low-light situations given at the time I was shooting mostly the twilight of the Sydney drag queen scene in pubs well beyond midnight before gentrification hit the city hard. Upon graduation I had two options: keep it (that is, steal it) as no one would ever recall the university had ever loaned it to me (the Dept technician had long resigned and there was effectively no record I had it), or do the right thing and turn it in. Of course, I chose the latter; even if no bright young thing borrowed it for a decade, I figured that I would not limit the opportunity for someone else to eventually gain as much pleasure as I had from using this tool. That, plus I'm no thief.
Fifteen years later, finally, I treated myself to a M2 after I realised that I just can't stand shooting digital, sold all my Fuji gear, and now chillax like I used to with the M, Tri-X pushed to 1600/3200 and D76. 9 months in and loving it. Plus I added a Panzer tank-like Canon F-1 original to my outfit to make use of my glorious FD glass. That baby is built as well as any Leica M.
Incidentally, I was reminiscing and asked a friend who now works at that art school: 'how's the M4-P?'. 'Excuse me? No record of it.' It seems someone else stole it. The cynic in me says that the moral of this story is steal before others do. The romantic in me says pleasure is in what you've actually earned.
Here's my story. At art school, 15 years ago, I used my father's hand-me-down Canon AE-1 with FD 50mm 1.8, a kit he bought in Luxembourg before we emigrated from Portugal to 'the arse end of the world', Australia. It was OK; a good learner, but hardly inspiring.
Then, I discovered that the art school's Photo Dept had a Leica M4-P with 35mm Summicron, a Canadian version 3, I believe. With a beautiful worn brass body. And a film advance lever that screamed, 'I can't believe it's not butter'. As it turned out, no other students were interested in using it, so this meant that rather than the standard three-day loan period I was able to effectively borrow it for two full years on the proviso that if some other student wanted to borrow it I would have to turn it in. No one ever did. So this meant I loved her, shot her, caressed her, slept with her, got sh*t faced with her (Australian for 'drunk') and trained my eyes to read light for the perfect exposure, even and especially in low-light situations given at the time I was shooting mostly the twilight of the Sydney drag queen scene in pubs well beyond midnight before gentrification hit the city hard. Upon graduation I had two options: keep it (that is, steal it) as no one would ever recall the university had ever loaned it to me (the Dept technician had long resigned and there was effectively no record I had it), or do the right thing and turn it in. Of course, I chose the latter; even if no bright young thing borrowed it for a decade, I figured that I would not limit the opportunity for someone else to eventually gain as much pleasure as I had from using this tool. That, plus I'm no thief.
Fifteen years later, finally, I treated myself to a M2 after I realised that I just can't stand shooting digital, sold all my Fuji gear, and now chillax like I used to with the M, Tri-X pushed to 1600/3200 and D76. 9 months in and loving it. Plus I added a Panzer tank-like Canon F-1 original to my outfit to make use of my glorious FD glass. That baby is built as well as any Leica M.
Incidentally, I was reminiscing and asked a friend who now works at that art school: 'how's the M4-P?'. 'Excuse me? No record of it.' It seems someone else stole it. The cynic in me says that the moral of this story is steal before others do. The romantic in me says pleasure is in what you've actually earned.
Rob-F
Likes Leicas
My dad had a Leica II (D) with 50mm Elmar. When I was 13, he felt I had outgrown my Kodak Brownie Hawkeye, so he let me start shooting the II. It was stolen while he was on a trip, so he replaced it with a IIIf and 50mm Elmar. I shot the IIIf until I was, I think, about 19. Then I bought My M2 with 35mm Summaron. Eventually I added a 90 Elmarit and 50 collapsible Summicron. I still have that outfit. And I've added a lot more! I will never be without Leicas. I guess they are part of my way of being in the world, as is photography itself.
sepiareverb
genius and moron
I'd been shooting stock photos for a long time, all on slide film with Nikon F4 bodies and nearly all manual focus glass. In 2005 got a Contax G1 and 45mm to play around with outside of work, and was blown away by the image quality. Soon after, two of the stock houses I worked with stopped scanning slides from regular submits, so it was switch to digital capture or stop. Looking at my dwindling income from stock images, and the lack of options available then from Nikon or Kodak for digital bodies that could fully meter with vintage glass, I decided to pack it in. In retrospect I guessed right, the cost of getting all my lenses chipped or replacing most of them would never have been recouped. I traded a big chunk of my equipment for an M7 and 50/2. Haven't looked back. I still have that M7 and 50. I just took the 50 to Madagascar, and have the M7 loaded up with XX right now. Not sure where I heard about the G1 or the M cameras. I knew a guy back in the 80s who shot R bodies, and another guy in the 90s who shot an M3. In investigating the G2 the M7 came up somewhere, perhaps this site.
valdas
Mentor
Pure "lust". I was just a victim of all this Leica "iconization" on places like RFF And then I was in the phase of "looking for the sharpest lens", already tried Canons, Nikkors, Contaxes that were on top of MTF review charts, so it was Leica time. And so I bought M6 and Cron 35 (v4). It was 15 years ago. Now that I look back - big part of the process was pure vanity... although I still like M6 and this cron...
And then I was in the phase of "looking for the sharpest lens", already tried Canons, Nikkors, Contaxes that were on top of MTF review charts, so it was Leica time. And so I bought M6 and Cron 35 (v4). It was 15 years ago. Now that I look back - big part of the process was pure vanity... although I still like M6 and this cron... someonenameddavid
Well-known
I worked in photo retail in Philly from 1980-84 and had the chance to try various bits of equipment, and someone traded in a mint (engraved with his name) M3 with 50DR. So I thought.... inexpensive... nah. Went for 500+, which was more than my mortgage payment. I later lost my mind and went to medical school, so 14 years later, just out of residency, I went yard saling, and there was an extremely clean... few scuffs on the top chrome from the light meter early M3 with collapsible Summicron for 600, which was still there on the final day of the sale, and I said "I have 450". Sold. Best photos I have ever taken are with thathe lens, but I did buy a BessaT when they were 150, so that I don't accidentally scratch the Leica
RichC
Well-known
How did I get into Leicas? It was Epson's fault...
Unlike many members, I learnt photography using digital cameras, and never really used film: my first "proper" camera was a Canon 10D.
I became increasingly frustrated with my 10D: I wanted a camera that I could control, not one that made decisions for me, and there were too many bells and whistles. To pick a car analogy, I was driving a family hatchback with power steering and an automatic gearbox but hankering after a stripped-down manual sports car.
My sister has an Olympus OM-1n with prime lenses*– an ancient SLR with no automation except centre-weighted metering. You have to focus, set the aperture and choose the shutter speed manually. It’s also tiny compared with modern SLRs. I’ve never used it, but began to think that it would be perfect for me*– if it was digital! Unfortunately, no one at the time (2003) made such a camera. They still don't.
But whilst browsing the Web in 2004, I came across a review of a camera that began
Another reviewer complained,
What was this awful camera? The Epson R-D1 – a digital rangefinder, with a horrendous price (£2000 without lenses) and a limited 10,000-unit production run. But it seemed ideal to me: small, robust, large optical viewfinder, manual controls, analogue dials instead of an LCD panel, and a multitude of lenses.
I swallowed hard, and handed over my cash.
A few years later, in 2007, I sold the R-D1 and bought a Leica M8. The Leica had more pixels and was more robust: if the R-D1 has one weakness, it's fragility (I taught myself to how to dissemble and repair it - my notes are now hosted by Cameraquest).
The Leica M8 and Leica the company were quirky, and I had a love–hate relationship with both. I went on to study photography at university, and needed a more practical camera, so sold the M8: I shoot mostly still lifes - not best suited to a rangefinder! I currently use a Nikon D800E. But - unlike the Leica M8 and the Epson R-D1 - I have no love for the Nikon. It's an ugly lump of plastic and alloy, and I hate its ergonomics; however, it is a very efficient tool, and takes superb photographs. I'd have been gutted if I lost the Leica, but if I lose the Nikon, I'll just shrug and buy another.
One day I'll buy another digital Leica, unless someone makes an all-manual digital SLR equivalent (the Nikon Df isn't it!)...
Unlike many members, I learnt photography using digital cameras, and never really used film: my first "proper" camera was a Canon 10D.
I became increasingly frustrated with my 10D: I wanted a camera that I could control, not one that made decisions for me, and there were too many bells and whistles. To pick a car analogy, I was driving a family hatchback with power steering and an automatic gearbox but hankering after a stripped-down manual sports car.
My sister has an Olympus OM-1n with prime lenses*– an ancient SLR with no automation except centre-weighted metering. You have to focus, set the aperture and choose the shutter speed manually. It’s also tiny compared with modern SLRs. I’ve never used it, but began to think that it would be perfect for me*– if it was digital! Unfortunately, no one at the time (2003) made such a camera. They still don't.
But whilst browsing the Web in 2004, I came across a review of a camera that began
It’s a six megapixel camera with no autofocus, it only has center-weighted metering and either aperture priority auto or manual exposure. It has none of the usual handy features like auto-bracketing, continuous shooting or a movie mode*… a digital camera designed to look, feel and operate like an old-fashioned 35mm rangefinder camera
and concludedThe only analogy I can think of would be stuffing a turbocharger into a wood-framed Morris Traveller.
After proving he had no idea how to use this camera, the reviewer gave it a rating of 2/10!
Another reviewer complained,
There are no extra perks of the modern digital camera, it just takes pictures.
This sounded like my type of camera!What was this awful camera? The Epson R-D1 – a digital rangefinder, with a horrendous price (£2000 without lenses) and a limited 10,000-unit production run. But it seemed ideal to me: small, robust, large optical viewfinder, manual controls, analogue dials instead of an LCD panel, and a multitude of lenses.
I swallowed hard, and handed over my cash.
A few years later, in 2007, I sold the R-D1 and bought a Leica M8. The Leica had more pixels and was more robust: if the R-D1 has one weakness, it's fragility (I taught myself to how to dissemble and repair it - my notes are now hosted by Cameraquest).
The Leica M8 and Leica the company were quirky, and I had a love–hate relationship with both. I went on to study photography at university, and needed a more practical camera, so sold the M8: I shoot mostly still lifes - not best suited to a rangefinder! I currently use a Nikon D800E. But - unlike the Leica M8 and the Epson R-D1 - I have no love for the Nikon. It's an ugly lump of plastic and alloy, and I hate its ergonomics; however, it is a very efficient tool, and takes superb photographs. I'd have been gutted if I lost the Leica, but if I lose the Nikon, I'll just shrug and buy another.
One day I'll buy another digital Leica, unless someone makes an all-manual digital SLR equivalent (the Nikon Df isn't it!)...
Roger Hicks
Mentor
Love the story, especially the bittersweet last paragraph. Even if you didn't get the M4-P, you have my sincere admiration, and no doubt the admiration of many other decent people on the forum.
I'm glad this thread has come back to life!
Cheers,
R.
davidnewtonguitars
Family Snaps
When I was a freshman in 1970 shooting an H1-a, my Lit teacher's husband asked me to accompany him on a shoot. He had a shiny Leica M-something and I was mesmerized, but knew I could never afford one.
Fast forward, 2 years ago, a Leica Standard came home, and I thought that would be all.
I'm only up to 3 of them, and that is all. I thought the little screwmounts were perfect for me, the M2 is perfect-er.
Fast forward, 2 years ago, a Leica Standard came home, and I thought that would be all.
I'm only up to 3 of them, and that is all. I thought the little screwmounts were perfect for me, the M2 is perfect-er.
Emile de Leon
Well-known
I used to scour the Modern Photography mags as a kid back in the day...and in the Christmas camera year end review for Dec..there was a black M6 in there..and a 75mm Summilux too ...I thought to myself...jeeze..I'll never be able to afford that...but boy is that M6 sexy..
About a year later..I managed to get a used M3 with DR Summicron...and later on..finally got the M6 with 35mm Summicron ver 4 German..which I never should have sold...
Dont shoot too much Leica bodies these days..but still use Leica lenses..
Never got into the Leica digital thing...
I still have the M3 and 6 though..and they still tick away...ready to go at a moments notice..
About a year later..I managed to get a used M3 with DR Summicron...and later on..finally got the M6 with 35mm Summicron ver 4 German..which I never should have sold...
Dont shoot too much Leica bodies these days..but still use Leica lenses..
Never got into the Leica digital thing...
I still have the M3 and 6 though..and they still tick away...ready to go at a moments notice..
Bill Pierce
Well-known
When I first came to the big city, New York, Leica reps would give kids (young professionals) a U-code Leica or a free loaner. Then, once you were hooked, they made you pay for more.
raid
Dad Photographer
Like getting a free Milka chocolate bar! Once you taste one, no other chococate will do!
Bike Tourist
Well-known
When I got off the army troop ship in Germany, in 1959, some PFC in personnel asked me how I'd like to be in PIO. I said fine since, whatever it was was bound to be better than the combat engineers. When I got to Augsburg I found out that PIO stood for Public Information Office. Part of my duties entailed writing and photographing for the division newspaper.
I was replacing a sergent rotating back to the states. He only had two days to teach me evrything he knew about the darkroom and cameras. That was more time than needed!
Later on, the editors at the newspaper told me to use the cameras the army provided, a Rollei or 4x5 Speed Graphic. They would never accept 35mm.
As I wandered through downtown Augsburg I chanced upon Foto Bachschmid and a window full of glittering Leicas. I ended up with an M3 and DR Summicron. I happily used the Leica for all my work and the newspaper happily accpted it (always 8x10 prints) and never knew that it wasn't from a larger format. (Even made the Stars and Stripes once.)
These days, Leica has put too much distance between them and my budget!
I was replacing a sergent rotating back to the states. He only had two days to teach me evrything he knew about the darkroom and cameras. That was more time than needed!
Later on, the editors at the newspaper told me to use the cameras the army provided, a Rollei or 4x5 Speed Graphic. They would never accept 35mm.
As I wandered through downtown Augsburg I chanced upon Foto Bachschmid and a window full of glittering Leicas. I ended up with an M3 and DR Summicron. I happily used the Leica for all my work and the newspaper happily accpted it (always 8x10 prints) and never knew that it wasn't from a larger format. (Even made the Stars and Stripes once.)
These days, Leica has put too much distance between them and my budget!
farlymac
PF McFarland
I've mostly been a Nikon SLR kind of person, but have owned a few rangefinders over the years (man, I miss that Vitessa L). But after spending money on the Nikon gear, there usually wasn't much left over for other goodies. Leica was always on the radar, but for the prices I saw, they must have been made out of unobtainium.
Some years ago, after I was put off work through disability, and after a spell of trying to find something I could do with my time (which wound up using all my time doing stuff for others), I switched to what I wanted to do, which was get back into serious photography.
I started out with buying a kit for one of my brothers to replace one he lost in a fire, and got hooked on what that brand had to offer. Then it was another brand that caught my attention, and then another. All this really nice gear I could not afford when it was new or slightly used was now available for pennies on the dollar, and I had some fun making up kits, and seeing what I could do with them.
It came down to the realization that of all the SLR gear I had, Nikon was still my favorite. And all the rangefinders I had gotten, being mostly fixed lens models, were truly lacking usability when the shooting situation changed.
So I bought a Zorki-1D to be able to appreciate the Leica experience before taking the plunge. Other than the usual FSU foibles, I liked it. But it could have been better, such as having a combined view/rangefinder. So I got a Contax IIa which was nice, but the finder was kind of squinty. A Canon P was up next, as I found it locally, and knew the owner well enough that I got it for a decent price. I also started getting various FSU cameras for their innovative improvements on the original Barnack design. Again, kind of hit-or-miss there, but still like the idea of what they offered. But it was the fact they were all screw mount cameras, unlike the Contax, that I figure it was time to go up a step or two.
But I'm still a Nikon guy, so I went with the S2, building out a nice kit that got its start when an 85/2 showed up in a box lot of camera gear from an online auction, along with a few other Nikon RF accessories. TomA convinced me about the S2 purchase, and I'm very happy with it. To expand on that kit, I later got an R2S so I could have built-in metering, and take advantage of the relatively affordable SC line of wide-angle lenses.
Still, I have that yearning for a Leica M, especially an M2. I've handled a few M's over the last couple of years, so it's settled that is what I'm ultimately going after. But I came across an R3 with the Elmarit-R 28/2.8 on consignment at the local camera shop (local being a relative term, as the store is over 50 miles from where I live), and was hooked. I now have six lenses for it, as they were less expensive than the M equivalents.
The R3 seems to have a meter problem that I haven't yet determined if it is the camera, or the way I was setting the system (you can switch from spot to average very easily). I know there are situations that you don't use the spot meter in, and may have set the camera up that way.
So before I could do another test on it, I came across an R7 at a very attractive price. And I could get a motor drive plus grip with hand strap so it wouldn't be hanging around my neck all the time. The metering system, while being as particular as the one on the R3, is more foolproof, as the settings for spot or average ("selective" and "inclusive" in Leica terminology) are baked into the mode settings. So you get two Manual modes, two Aperture Priority modes, but only one Shutter Priority or Program mode (the latter two being exclusively inclusive).
Anyway, it's not going to supplant my Nikon SLRs. Such as an M2 will not supplant the S2 or R2S. But I really appreciate having a well designed and built camera, and the day the M2 finally arrives, that should be the last film camera I'll ever need (other than the three F model Nikons I'm missing to fill out the collection), and I'd like to get an R6.2 to supplant the R3.
The digital gear now, well, I'm sticking with Nikon on that.
PF
Some years ago, after I was put off work through disability, and after a spell of trying to find something I could do with my time (which wound up using all my time doing stuff for others), I switched to what I wanted to do, which was get back into serious photography.
I started out with buying a kit for one of my brothers to replace one he lost in a fire, and got hooked on what that brand had to offer. Then it was another brand that caught my attention, and then another. All this really nice gear I could not afford when it was new or slightly used was now available for pennies on the dollar, and I had some fun making up kits, and seeing what I could do with them.
It came down to the realization that of all the SLR gear I had, Nikon was still my favorite. And all the rangefinders I had gotten, being mostly fixed lens models, were truly lacking usability when the shooting situation changed.
So I bought a Zorki-1D to be able to appreciate the Leica experience before taking the plunge. Other than the usual FSU foibles, I liked it. But it could have been better, such as having a combined view/rangefinder. So I got a Contax IIa which was nice, but the finder was kind of squinty. A Canon P was up next, as I found it locally, and knew the owner well enough that I got it for a decent price. I also started getting various FSU cameras for their innovative improvements on the original Barnack design. Again, kind of hit-or-miss there, but still like the idea of what they offered. But it was the fact they were all screw mount cameras, unlike the Contax, that I figure it was time to go up a step or two.
But I'm still a Nikon guy, so I went with the S2, building out a nice kit that got its start when an 85/2 showed up in a box lot of camera gear from an online auction, along with a few other Nikon RF accessories. TomA convinced me about the S2 purchase, and I'm very happy with it. To expand on that kit, I later got an R2S so I could have built-in metering, and take advantage of the relatively affordable SC line of wide-angle lenses.
Still, I have that yearning for a Leica M, especially an M2. I've handled a few M's over the last couple of years, so it's settled that is what I'm ultimately going after. But I came across an R3 with the Elmarit-R 28/2.8 on consignment at the local camera shop (local being a relative term, as the store is over 50 miles from where I live), and was hooked. I now have six lenses for it, as they were less expensive than the M equivalents.
The R3 seems to have a meter problem that I haven't yet determined if it is the camera, or the way I was setting the system (you can switch from spot to average very easily). I know there are situations that you don't use the spot meter in, and may have set the camera up that way.
So before I could do another test on it, I came across an R7 at a very attractive price. And I could get a motor drive plus grip with hand strap so it wouldn't be hanging around my neck all the time. The metering system, while being as particular as the one on the R3, is more foolproof, as the settings for spot or average ("selective" and "inclusive" in Leica terminology) are baked into the mode settings. So you get two Manual modes, two Aperture Priority modes, but only one Shutter Priority or Program mode (the latter two being exclusively inclusive).
Anyway, it's not going to supplant my Nikon SLRs. Such as an M2 will not supplant the S2 or R2S. But I really appreciate having a well designed and built camera, and the day the M2 finally arrives, that should be the last film camera I'll ever need (other than the three F model Nikons I'm missing to fill out the collection), and I'd like to get an R6.2 to supplant the R3.
The digital gear now, well, I'm sticking with Nikon on that.
PF