Leica M question???

[tml]

I am considering either an M9 or an MP. Any suggestions????

[johnastovall]

Well one is digital and the other is film. I would go with an M7 for film as it is the apex of Leica M film bodies. Not just my view but also Puts. He also calls the M9 a Digital M7.

I picked the M7 over the current MP.

[Colyn]

Originally Posted by tml

I am considering either an M9 or an MP. Any suggestions????

Which do you prefer apples or oranges??

Do you want to shoot film or digital?

[tml]

Stovall, thanks for the input and the referred article. An M7 is definitely a consideration if I can find a good buy with a 50 or a 35/f2 Summicron??? I mean, to start the collection....

[crackhead]

how about a used M6 classic? Half the price of a used M7.

[tml]

Form the article, the AE feature can be very useful...

[johnastovall]

Originally Posted by tml

Stovall, thanks for the input and the referred article. An M7 is definitely a consideration if I can find a good buy with a 50 or a 35/f2 Summicron??? I mean, to start the collection....

For good deals on M7's I highly recommend PopFlash. Tell Tony or Alex I sent you.

For lens deals Igor's, KEH, Collectable Cameras, B&H, and Kevin Cameras. Also check the B&S boards at RRF, L-Camera forum and GETdpi

I would also recommend you get copies of Erwin Puts Leica Lens Compendium and Laney's Leica Collectors Guide: 2nd Edition.

Finally read Steve Gandy's Leica pages.

[tml]

Thank you again, Stovall. You are the source!

[venchka]

There are other sources. Any M body is a good body. Depends on how much convenience you want. One thing about Leica stuff: There is more Internet Babble and Drivel written about the cameras and even more about the lenses than any other brand. Hair splitting raised to an art.

The Rangefinder Forum and Steven Gandy's archives at CameraQuest are THE source. More information than you need. Enough information to confuse and bewilder you.

If you must own Leica lenses, have fun. There are alternatives. My own assortment includes offerings from Canon, Nipon Kogaku (Nikkor), Konica & Leitz in both LTM and M mounts.

Bigfoot & Bubba wish you luck. Who are Bigfoot & Bubba? My M5 bodies. "It was the best of Leica. It was the worst of Leica." Owners of the M5 know the answer.

Good luck.

[johnastovall]

I would say L-Camera Forum trumps RRF every time when it comes to Leica esoteric. I find RRF rather mundane these days.

[venchka]

OK, after you read everything at RFF, if you haven't gotten totally bored, you could graduate to L-Camera. I just figure 2 or 3 zillion words on 35mm Summicrons is plenty. It's like folks asking about 70-200 lenses here. The really interesting thing is that the 35mm Summicron may not be the best ever 35mm/2.0 lens for a Leica.

Edit:

177 threads with 35mm Summicron in the last year. Good grief.

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/foru...archid=3359455

[tml]

This is going to be a journey into the LIGHT!!!

[venchka]

A long strange trip it's been. Took me nearly 40 years to see the light. Now I wonder if I shouldn't trade Bubba in a 1DMk Something.

[tml]

Wayne, I am, perhaps, heading the other way. I am thinking of selling some of my Canon lenses, my 5DMk2 and keep my 1Ds Mk2 which still feels so much better built than the 5D Mk2. I looked at the MP last Saturday in Houston and a M3. They have a feel of what a precision machine should be. That M7 is going to be heavenly!!!

[venchka]

Everyone says that "Everyone should own an M3." I am sorely tempted. I reckon I could sell off the Canon rangefinder gear and get one.

Yes, if I made the digital plunge, it would be with a 1D Something.

Good luck! Holler if you want a test drive.