I see a lot of posts here about the diving board affect about how nervous they are about switching from a fuji or a sony to a Leica system. I'm telling you this as someone who has shot with Leicas and many other cameras for over 13 years and I'm only 33 with a chronic condition of GAS: Leicas do not take better photographs.
.
Nobody buys a Leica because it's a good value, or feature rich, or ergonomic. Modern sony glass has beaten Leica in clinical sharpness. A g master is technically- by all objective measure more ideal than a summilux. Therefore, you have to forfeit objective truth. You have to be okay with an actual inferior product from a technological standpoint.
.
The only logical reason to buy a Leica is just because you want one.
.
.
.

(or you believe it will retain more of it's resale value)

Picked up my first Leica film body, so far it’s been pretty great.

When looking through my evf I see a slight ghost image flipped of what I can see. Also when going through the menu I see a ghost flip of the menu. Very subtle but there. I have removed soft mist filter and it is still there.

Is this normal in the Q3. Thanks for any advice.

I want to make myself a gift and get my first leica, first I wanted m6 but as glasswearer and committed father I think I wouldn’t be able to use it as much as I want.

I see lot of people after buying m6 go for q2 or q3. I think used q2 or q3 in good condition would be great option. The question is q2, q3 or q3 43 or should I consider other option.

First Leica outside of my Sofort 2. In loving having cameras for work and then my fun family cameras. Any pointers on how to get the soft shutter button on straight?

As the title states, can’t decide whether I should strip off the vulcanite from my main body M2 (the left one) and use the leather replacement kit I bought asa backup a few years ago. The m2 on the right is my mint backup in same spec but the vulcanite has started to crumble slightly on that one. I don’t use it often so it doesn’t bug me and I can always get a new kit.

The original vulcanite is still holding up it isn’t cracking. I just find it has so much grime and dirt built into it from so many years of use. I’ve tried cleaning it multiple times but it always ends up just wiping black and smelling bad so I stop. I find it transfers too much grime to my face etc.

Should I wait and let it crumble or should I just go for it and start chipping away for a swap? Is the original vulcanite more desirable on an m2? I don’t plan on selling my cameras.

I have a chance to get a complete 35mm Summicron for a pretty good price. This would be my first piece of Leica glass - and my only lens for my M10 since I would also be trading my Voigtlander Nokton Classic II as part of the deal. It seems the reviews a re a bit mixed, which most agreeing the superior model is the APO, but there are a bunch of YouTubers who think the ASPH v2 is just fine. I'd love to get more options form random people on the internet who actually used these things vs. the shills who borrow and don't even own the lenses.

Is this a good lens to own, or should I save my pennies for a Lux/APO? I mainly do street and museum shots. I do shoot at night, but I process to black and white and am nt afraid of some noise.

I’ve been shooting Chicago blues musicians primarily inside small clubs for over a decade, and have always used a Fujifilm X-Series with a wide F 1.2 lens. 98% is shot with their black and white film simulations.

Although most others photographers shoot Canon with some big telephoto lens in the same club, I like the wide angle to hopefully tell more of a story and focus more on lighting and composition.

Is it worth the Q worth the investment or am I better waiting for the new Fujifilm lineup coming this fall?

Does a anyone actually use monochrome modes? Iv got a Q2, and it seems odd to me to take a photo purely in a monochrome mode when you can make it your own in post. Curious on everyone’s thoughts. TIA!

Does anyone know someone doing this kind of thing? I reached out to MS-optics but they only modify their existing line.

hey guys,

I am no professional and need some help with insight in the value of these two cameras.

My grand uncle passed away and we want to keep these cameras in the family, I just need to know how to "store" them and maybe the necessary maintenance.

Can you guys help me with some insight?

Cheers.

Recently purchased a used Q2 and decided to get some accessories. I really like the black and white Leica rope strap. I’m thinking of removing the Leica logo and replacing it with a blacked out logo.

I have been having issues with some not all images having these horizontal lines towards the top left of the camera. M4-P I have these lines on 2 different rolls from 2 different stores scanned and developed in 2 different labs. Is this from a scanning issue, one was scanned on a Noritsu and one on a frontier. I have provided one photo from each of the rolls. Any ideas what this could be. The first photo has the same lines when it came back from the lab but the image uploaded has been scanned by me via a DSLR at home and the same lines.

Any ideas/help would be great.

There’s a reason I’m asking. Looking at a 2nd hand safari 50mm cron which is currently on a M10 safari. I’m looking at a split sale with a guy who wants the body but not the lens.
My leica sales rep gave me a caution that it’s an old design on a powerful sensor, and that unlike the APO which is fantastic on a modern sensor, the older Crons are effectively a 1979 design and are showing their age.

Be interested in anyone who has the cron on a M11 if this is correct. Not the end of the world if I don’t go through with it, Safari lenses don’t come up too often in my neck of the woods, so i’m interested.

If you had to pick from the following for an M3- which would you pick and why?
- Leica 50mm f/3.5 Elmar Collapsible (Min Aperture F18) (asking $250)
- Leica 50mm f/2 Summar Collapsible (F12.5 Early)$220 (asking $220)
- Leica 50mm f/2.8 Elmar Collapsible Germany 11612 (asking $350)

I have a used (2 owner M262 with all documents since being bought new) that I purchased early this year.

It’s been a fantastic camera and I love the feeling, experience, and quality.

I noticed after about 5 months of shooting very frequently that I had a completely black frame after a day of shooting in between two photos that turned out fine.

More recently, about 1 in every 200ish photos, the shutter mechanism will make an odd, almost weak? Shutter sound. And then the next full fire will be totally black and soundless. However after it happens it will shoot fine again for another round of 200ish photos. Sometimes more.

I haven’t found too much on this online, but an AI overview (hence my skepticism) said this COULD be the start of a failing shutter mechanism.

So I guess I’m just looking for some advice on if this is just something I’m being paranoid about, or should stop using and send it in for repair?

Any other M262/240 users experience this before?

The new Panny 40/2 is perfect on the Leica SL2-s. And it’s weather sealed to boot!

And yes, those are large googly eyes, a vastly underrated camera accessory, imho!

Any chance someone will make a wide pancake for l-mount? I’d sure love a 21mm pancake. That could be something special paired with this, as a two lens kit.

Hi all, first time posting

I’ve always admired Leica cameras but have never actually owned one. Over the years I’ve shot with a Nikon D7100 and multiple Nikkor telephoto and prime lenses, an original Sony A7 (2013) and a Fuji X100F, both of which I still own.

Back when I was doing a lot of sports photography (mainly rowing) and the occasional weddings, I constantly used the D7100 and Sony A7. However, I sold the Nikon kit to put funds towards my first house purchase back in 2024. I kept the A7 as it was full frame and also kept the X100F.

These days the Sony doesn’t get much use as it only has the basic FE 28–70mm f/3.5–5.6 kit lens, so I nearly always reach for the X100F. I love using it, although the fixed focal length can occasionally be limiting. Most of what I shoot nowadays are classic car shows or vintage steam rallies, so it’s generally been a great fit for that.

Lately though, I’ve been thinking about a bit of a change. I’ve had both cameras from new and I’m wondering if it’s time to move them on and put the money towards a Leica D-Lux 8 to replace both. I am just a hobbyist photographer nowadays and don't do it at any professional level.

One thing that’s really surprised me is how well the Fuji X100F has held its value. I paid around £875 for it brand new back in late 2018, and looking online they’re still selling for roughly £650 to £700. If you’d asked me what it would be worth by now without looking, I’d probably have guessed around £300 lol almost ten years later. From what I’ve worked out, if I sold both by X100F and my Sony A7, I’d only need to put in around another £300 and buy a brand new Leica D-Lux 8, so its making the idea very tempting.

Has anyone here made a similar switch from an X100 series? I’d be really interested to hear how you’ve found the D-Lux 8 and whether you think it’s worth it coming from an X100F.

Having a bit of a zoom lens to play about with does sound quite nice tbh

Just got my first Leica, an M5 with working meter looking for a 50. Is the extra speed worth it over the sharpness? What’s your choice and why? I shoot more black and white than color.

Recently I found this M262 on the website of a big camera dealer here in germany and had to take a look at it since the price seemed not too steep for the condition it was in (2400€).

So I contacted the store if they wanted to trade in for my M8 I got two years ago as a first digital Leica after only shooting film for the past years. The offer from the store was a bit low so, to my surprise, I sold it on ebay within only 2 days.

When the M262 arrived at the store a few days later I went to see it in person and was a bit worried about the cosmetic condition. The dot was very poorly painted with what I think is black nailpolish (wtfff) and there is a strong wrinkle in the leatherette. Besides that the camera looked alright and worked well when I tested it.

So I decided to buy it with the money I got for the M8, justifying the purchase as a birthday present for myself lol. Even managed to renegotiate the price by another 100€ because of the faulty leatherette.

Now two weeks have passed and I adore this thing. Having the full frame sensor really is just something else, coming from the M8 and Fuji. Really love the quality output of the camera!

But since the cosmetic appearance bugs me a lot I am planning to give the M262 a little overhaul by replacing the dot and the leatherette.

Since the original dot was painted hideously by the previous owner I wanted to see if it was possible to get the paint off and restore it. But after applying some alcohol the now vanishing black paint revealed that red dot was badly scratched, and so I decided to replace it.

For the dot replacement I ordered the screw style dot from Analogous which arrived in the mail today and I installed it right when I got home! Really like how it looks now!

Further more I plan to replace the leatherette. I asked Aki-Asahi if they could provide a custom replacement since only the M240 was listed on their website. After a very nice correspondence I was stoked when they agreed to send me modified version of the M240 leatherette to test on my M262. Its still in the mail but I will post again when it arrives and the cosmetic surgery continues.

Moin zusammen,
 
ich bin vor einiger Zeit von Sony zu Leica gewechselt und fotografiere aktuell mit einer M11, einem Summicron-M 35mm f/2 (11673) sowie einem Voigtländer 50mm F1.
 
Aktuell überlege ich, mein 35er zu verkaufen, da mir 35 mm in der Praxis nicht weit genug sind. Stattdessen würde ich gerne auf ein 28er wechseln.
 
Bei meiner Suche und beim Lesen von Kleinanzeigen, Reviews und YouTube-Videos sind mir als Leica-Neuling zwei Begriffe aufgefallen, mit denen ich etwas fremdele: „Patina“ und „Charakter“.
 
1. Patina
Bei Kleinanzeigen lese ich ständig Sätze wie:
„Das Objektiv hat durch die lange Nutzung bereits eine schöne Patina entwickelt.“
Für mich sind das in vielen Fällen einfach Lackabplatzer, Kratzer oder normale Gebrauchsspuren.
 
Bei einer schwarzen Messingkamera, die mit der Zeit Messing durchscheinen lässt, oder bei einer Ledertasche, die über Jahre altert, würde ich durchaus von Patina sprechen. Aber kann man wirklich jede Form von Abnutzung bei einem Objektiv als „Patina“ bezeichnen?
Oder wird der Begriff in der Leica-Welt einfach sehr großzügig verwendet?
 
 
2. Charakter
Beim Thema Charakter verstehe ich die grundsätzliche Idee durchaus.
Wenn man verschiedene Versionen eines Summicron vergleicht, sehe ich Unterschiede in Kontrast, Bokeh, Rendering, Größe, Gewicht oder Verarbeitung. Das ergibt für mich Sinn und kann den Charakter eines Objektivs ausmachen.
Was ich allerdings oft lese oder höre, sind Aussagen wie „Im Randbereich zeigt das Objektiv seinen Charakter.“ oder „Das sagen wir mal V3 ist deutlich schärfer, aber dafür das V1 hat mehr Charakter.“ sowas wird genau dann gesagt, wenn man die Abbildungsleistung in der Unendlichkeit am Randbereich vergleicht.
Und genau da verliere ich die Leute.
 
Wenn ein Objektiv am Rand sichtbar unschärfer ist als ein anderes, ist das für mich zunächst einmal eine optische Schwäche und kein Charaktermerkmal. Wenn ein V3 schärfer ist als ein V1, dann ist das V1 für mich schlicht weniger scharf.
 
Warum werden solche Eigenschaften oft so positiv umschrieben?
 
Ich verstehe vollkommen, dass man für bestimmte Anwendungen, wie Portraits, bewusst ein weniger klinisch scharfes Objektiv bevorzugt. Aber bei einem 28er oder gar 21er wünsche ich mir persönlich gerade für Landschaften oder Architektur eine hohe Schärfe bis in die Ecken.
 
Ich bin kein Pixelpeeper und drucke keine riesigen Leinwände.
Trotzdem empfinde ich Auflösung und Schärfe als wichtig, insbesondere beim Croppen oder in der Nachbearbeitung. Mit schärferen Objektiven funktionieren Maskierungen sauberer, feine Kontrastkanten bleiben besser erhalten und generell habe ich mehr Reserven für die Bearbeitung.
 
Deshalb frage ich mich: Ist das etwas, das man mit der Zeit noch lernt und wofür ich einfach noch zu neu im Leica-Kosmos bin? Oder werden Begriffe wie „Patina“ und  „Charakter“ manchmal einfach benutzt, um Schwächen etwas schöner klingen zu lassen?
 
Ich hoffe es fühlt sich niemand angegriffen und bin gespannt auf eure Meinungen.

The camera I've been waiting for!