RE: [Leica] Old vs. new: Please help me decide.

[AlastairF@bhs.grampianshealth.org.au]

Oh dear Stefan, 
decisions made for others are fraught with danger ;-) but here we go. You do
not mention Noctilux, so I assume the real bad dark world of available
darkness is not a major concern, so you do not need the extra mag, and meter
sensitivity of the TTL job. Now at the other end, youve had a meterless M
and clearly "missed" not having an on board red triangle or two to go with
your red dot, so the decision is clear. Get a user M6. This camera is a
classic, and largely unchanged from its inception in the early 80's, so
there are plenty to choose from. Being a complete nong, I always buy (and
pay more for) cameras from dealers which therefore have some initial
warranty, but I also like the idea of buying from "trusted" Luggers, and
have recently done so when I got the "classic" hi mag M6. (thanks Howard)

Lenses: well it really does not matter anyway. What ever we say, you will
get one then another, then hear about the asph, then another, then a LTM for
those softer b/w images that made Leica famous in the first place, and on
and on, BUT why not start with a  good summicron DR. This lens remains a
favourite of almost everyone who uses it (including me), though on my M3 I
prefer to use the coll version -- came with the camera, and just feels so
right. Lately, I've been using an external viewfinder on a IIIf, pre
focusing the 50 and judging the light by the sunny 16 rule. This has been a
fantastic learning exercise, and the images are improving. 

Enough ;-)

- -----Original Message-----
From: Stefan Kahlert [mailto:S.Kahlert@uni-bonn.de]
Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2000 9:20 AM
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: [Leica] Old vs. new: Please help me decide.


Dear fellow Lugnuts,

two years ago I owned a M4-P with a recent 50mm Summicron but 
decided to sell the camera because I took a deeper look into formal 
potraiture and needed the money for a medium format camera. I 
still think it was the right decision to put the money into a H'blad  
as the results are more than I expected. Now, as my finances are 
in balance again, I miss a light, small and unobstrusive rangefinder 
and can't take my eyes off the gorgeous slides and prints that 
originated from the Summicron. The Nikkor 1.8/50mm on my FE2 
simply doesn't deliver quite the same level of quality.

Now I'm contemplating what camera and lens to buy as starting 
point. I have three approaches in mind: 
1. A User M2
2. A User M6
3. A new M6 TTL 0.85

snip