MJP Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 For Fim and Sunshine . . . . In 1914 optical engineer Oskar Barnack was working for Ernst Leitz when he designed the very first Leica, the Leitz Camera, or so-called Ur-Leica. The small handheld camera, one of the first to use 35mm film, finally went into production in 1925 following a long delay caused by World War One. It went on to revolutionise photography in the hands of the first photojournalists who set out to record the world on the brink of change. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-27516384 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fimgirl Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 (edited) Nothing magic about a Leica or any other camera. You stick a lens on it, point it at the subject and shoot. The real magic is about 4 inches behind the viewfinder. That's all that separates one photographer from another. I believe an Austin Allegro is now a "cult" vehicle........ <deleted>! Edited May 23, 2014 by fimgirl 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fimgirl Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 New anniversary set to be launched including a film M. Not for the faint hearted. Staggering prices! http://lavidaleica.com/content/100th-anniversary-m-sets-and-more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunshine51 Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 ^^^ FG...I won't give a "like" to the above post mainly due to the amount of legal tender certificates needed in hand or wheelbarrow to purchase the new sets! But the article sure is interesting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunshine51 Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 (edited) MJP...I reckon Leica owners are a cult...of sorts...just what sort I haven't come to a conclusion on yet. The camera isn't a cult per se...it's just an opto-mechanical contraption of exceptional build quality and so are the lenses. As an aside...the Voightlander Bessa's & lenses are also of the same...errrr...nearly the same quality but you rarely see or hear the people who bought them exclaim loudly..."I just bought a Bessa!!!" to their mates in the pub...as many new Leica owners have done... such as myself. I have concluded that Bessa owners know something Leica owners don't...one gets the same quality at less dosh with a Bessa. And... they also hold their value over the years. After all...a camera is just a tool...same as a roofing hammer in a strange way. Give the hammer to a 5 year old boy and leave him alone for the day...your home may be ruined. Put the same hammer in the hands of a stone carver and you may see something like Mt. Rushmore in a few years...or at least a new roof on your house if he/she's a carpenter. After some considerable thought about the cult of Leica in the past few minutes I realise that we who own them, regardless of which model or how many...we're all addicted to that astronomically vibrant red circle. What if that "steal me" red blob wasn't there? Yeah...we'd probably still have at least one...after all they're touted as the best there ever is & will be & has been. The red thing wasn't there on early models so that must say something eh. Back then the Leica was like an Edsel, a big ugly American car, that had very advanced build & options but was butt ugly. So butt ugly not even a starving amateur thief would waste their time. OK the old Leica's were small & not as large as an Edsel and face it...the old M's were ugly: compared to the other camera's of today...such as Canon's EOS jobbers all nifty and smooth and Italian like in design. In fact it was an Italian who designed the EOS bodies originally & Canon has stuck with that packaging...sorry...I digress. Nowadays...people call a simple and functional design "beautiful" so even an old ugly Leica is beautiful by todays standards of form and function & Leica has pretty much stayed with that old design. Save for the new S series cameras and their old R series jobbers but I will not digress in that direction. I guess that's why Fuji made their X Pro-1 look so much like a Leica...there is beauty in simplicity. And other camera makers have followed suit. Even Nikon remade their old rangefinder camera & stuck it on the market at Leica prices...the Nikon S3. My final theory about the Cult of Leica... It all boils down to that dam_n red dot. It's hyper-hypnotic and tells a photographer instantly..."YOU WANT ME!"...and the photographer, at some stage in their life....complies. Some just comply more than others. Like beer & pistachio's... one is never enough. NB...edit to considerably shorten this babble... Edited May 24, 2014 by sunshine51 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJP Posted May 24, 2014 Author Share Posted May 24, 2014 (edited) Just for information, the title of the BBC article was 'Cult of Leica'. Being lazy, I just copy 'n paste. These things are still far too expensive for me. I put a M 240 and three lenses in a basket and it came to £20,000. LOL! Edited May 24, 2014 by MJP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fimgirl Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 Just for information, the title of the BBC article was 'Cult of Leica'. Being lazy, I just copy 'n paste. These things are still far too expensive for me. I put a M 240 and three lenses in a basket and it came to £20,000. LOL! My response was "tongue in cheek" - I bloody love my Leica's and they're worth every penny. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJP Posted May 24, 2014 Author Share Posted May 24, 2014 Just for information, the title of the BBC article was 'Cult of Leica'. Being lazy, I just copy 'n paste. These things are still far too expensive for me. I put a M 240 and three lenses in a basket and it came to £20,000. LOL! My response was "tongue in cheek" - I bloody love my Leica's and they're worth every penny. I still can't afford it. Never will. Oh well. If I'm good in this life, will I have a Leica in the next? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunshine51 Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 Just for information, the title of the BBC article was 'Cult of Leica'. Being lazy, I just copy 'n paste. These things are still far too expensive for me. I put a M 240 and three lenses in a basket and it came to £20,000. LOL! My response was "tongue in cheek" - I bloody love my Leica's and they're worth every penny. I still can't afford it. Never will. Oh well. If I'm good in this life, will I have a Leica in the next? You could always save up for a second hand one....???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJP Posted May 24, 2014 Author Share Posted May 24, 2014 Just for information, the title of the BBC article was 'Cult of Leica'. Being lazy, I just copy 'n paste. These things are still far too expensive for me. I put a M 240 and three lenses in a basket and it came to £20,000. LOL! My response was "tongue in cheek" - I bloody love my Leica's and they're worth every penny. I still can't afford it. Never will. Oh well. If I'm good in this life, will I have a Leica in the next? You could always save up for a second hand one....???? They don't seem to lose much value. Which makes them sort of affordable I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fimgirl Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 (edited) What did I say in another thread. Money in the bank, gaining interest and using it daily. Maybe not the camera, but certainly the lenses. The entry route may be to purchase Hexanon, Voigtlander and Zeiss lenses initially. It's the Leica glass that's the killer. I have some of these more affordable lenses and they really are stellar. The Heliar 75mm f2.5 and Hexanon 90mm f2.8 are certainly up to Leica standard at a fraction of the cost, and I have no hesitation in using my Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 for low light stuff. M240 and VC 35mm F1.4 Just a thought. Edited May 25, 2014 by fimgirl 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJP Posted May 25, 2014 Author Share Posted May 25, 2014 It really does do the business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tw25rw Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 If you really want to try out film rangefinders on the cheap, there are always old Soviet Feds and Zorkis for sale on Ebay. And they are so cheap that it's no great loss if it turns out not to be for you. I have one of each which came to about £50. The Zorki has a pin hole in its shutter, but It looks good on the shelf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fimgirl Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Seemingly a new Leica store in Bangkok https://www.facebook.com/pages/Leica-Store-Bangkok/590119781074455 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FracturedRabbit Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Seemingly a new Leica store in Bangkok https://www.facebook.com/pages/Leica-Store-Bangkok/590119781074455 I wonder if you would be better served by the likes of AVCamera? Not so flashy, but better service and more discounts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fimgirl Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Seemingly a new Leica store in Bangkok https://www.facebook.com/pages/Leica-Store-Bangkok/590119781074455 I wonder if you would be better served by the likes of AVCamera? Not so flashy, but better service and more discounts? IQ lab are also a Leica outlet but agree that my preference is AVCamera. Bit more to view. http://us.leica-camera.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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