Roger and all,
I think the M Monochrome offers a huge array of creative lens choices by narrowing the intent to B&W ... sounds remedial, but we often forget that by eliminating color from the equation many optics languishing in gear closets are coming to the forefront.
In many cases my trek with the M involved use of the "classics" being discussed when they were new
... so, I wince a bit ... I guess I'm just an old classic myself :ROTFL:
Had I started this M "thing of ours" 30 years later, when I could afford to keep each precious lens as I moved on to explore newer Leica offerings, I'd also have a jaw dropping laundry list of classic Leica lenses and cameras.
Unfortunately, I'm a bit to practical to have done that since some cameras and lenses I owned skyrocketed in value beyond my love of them, or the lust for newer M issues that seemed to better fit my creative intent. Japanese collectors used to follow me around the camera shows with wads of hundred dollar bills vying against each other to get the classic deliberately slung over my shoulder as bait ... which had a sort of Pied Piper effect
So, I really enjoy seeing "old friends" bolted to the MM, and the results coaxed from them by insightful photographers :thumbup:
However, my trek is still underway, and I've returned to the future by limiting my M work to B&W exclusively. I almost never shot color with a M prior to the M8, so the MM was exactly what the doctor ordered.
With the exception of my last gen M90/2.8, all my M optics are the newer ASPH designs: 21/1.4, 28/2, 35/1.4 (pre-FLE), 50/0.95, 75/2. For me, they have a consistency for a general body of current work, or across a single assignment when used commercially. I have opted to forego some of the most recent offerings which have taken on "rare collectable" pricing right from the get-go.
What the MM camera brought to the party was a fantastic democratic sort of rendering that allows older lenses to come to the forefront, or the newer lenses to be toned back if desired. One's PP skills being the only determining factor. I'm still learning the MM, and expect that to take much more time yet as I explore a variety of PP programs and techniques the MM files seem to respond well to. Damned thing is so democratic, that the creative choices it allows are mind boggling.
- Marc
Below is a one of my first Leica rangefinder shots ... "Romantic Rendezvous". A happy accident featuring my then 21 year old wife with a gentleman suddenly appearing on the steps as I went to shoot a more ordinary sort of environmental portrait. Ah, to be young and in Paris ...