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point of no return

danlindberg

Well-known member
I have sold my extensive Canon gear and ordered a M9 - over the phone :toocool:

I have gradually lost inspiration with my Canon and feel ever so often out in the field that carrying a buzillion kg of equipment is not the solution to good photography. And then you open up the huge backpack and whatever you are going to grab it is of plastic feel. Yes, I mean that even if I have the 1Ds3 and plenty of L lenses.

So, decision made. I pushed the button. I am going minimal and I am starting with (maybe) a little unusual two lens combo.

I ordered a 24 Elmar and a 75 Summicron and ofcourse the M9 (grey).

The next lens will be (hopefully) the latest incarnation of the 35 Lux, but that's later.

Tomorrow I will pick up the body and the Elmar. The 75 is on order.

Do you think I am excited?

Hell yes.....:D
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
LOL man does that bring back some memories dumping the Canon for Leica's only mine was the DMR. Nice choice you won't regret it and your back will thank you. One word of caution this is a slippery slope. When i hear 3 lenses I laugh mine turned into 10. Good luck and happy shooting and lets see some images.:)
 

lmr

Member
LOL too... welcome to the empty wallet club. A lot of us started with three lens (35, 50 & 90) and as per Guy... you will end up with a lot more, but will still only take three out the door. 24 & 75 is a good start., but you may be getting that 35 very soon to fill the standard gap. Good Luck :)

Robert.
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
BTW you will buy more bags than your wife buys shoes. LOL

Seriously if you are eventually going to have 4 or 5 lenses I love the Domke Waxwear F803
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/592387-REG/Domke_701_83A_F_803_Waxwear_Camera_Satchel.html

Or for a smaller kit a lot of folks like the Domke F-5XB
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/16009-REG/Domke_700_52B.html

Domke's are just nice understated bags. They don't scream I have 15 k in here. If your a street type shooter or out a lot than they are great. But many nice bags out there as well Artist and Artisans are great love the Oskar One day.

http://www.artisanandartist.com/bags/acam7100.htm

Just be careful here these folks can spend your money faster than you can count it. LOL
 

danlindberg

Well-known member
:D you are probably totally spot on regarding picking up lenses along the way....
I actually already have an oldie 35 Summaron 2.8 on my M3. I am sure it won't be able to cope with the M9 sensor but it could be fun to try!!

Just the thought of leaving for a full day of walking in the forest with the M9 and 3 lenses at most and a featherlight Gitzo...it's just....so liberating!
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Be careful of that lens. I don't know it offhand but if that rear element sticks out a whole bunch go really slow and any resistance stop. It would be fun to try and most likely will not hold in the corners but just be careful . I am sure it will fit but I don't know that lens and it is old.
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
BTW the lenses you ordered are nice. The 24 is surprisingly very good and not much will beat a 75 cron. After that I would look for some look lenses 35 lux, 50 prelux is very sweet also. Nice to have at least one fast lens and at least one look lens. You want sharp pull out that 75 cron it is deadly.
 

weinschela

Subscriber Member
My name is Alan and I am an addict. I didn't sell my Canon gear and still have a 5Dmkii that iuse for macro and for going long ( like at the zoo).

But i also have a M9 and a lens or two. Okay, i started with 2 but now I have 6. Plus, as Guy says, an awful lot of bags. And flashes. And filters. Oh, and an X1 and A DLux3 and some Nikon film cameras too. My most important asset: a wife who is forgiving.

Welcome to the asylum.
 

danlindberg

Well-known member
Guy, I need a sharp/no distortion 24 but I do not need speed for wides, so the Elmar seemed a perfect fit. The only thing I am hoping for is that I can use it without the extarnal viewfinder without too much hazzle. The 75 I chose because I also need the close range capability, and I am thouroughly going to enjoy the resolution and sharpness of it!
A 35 is a must, but I am going to get to know my new baby first.

Alan, thanks! When it comes to camera stuff I suppose we are all nuts here. It's not like my shelves are empty after my Canon bags are gone. Oh no, here you find a Contax G1 with 3 lenses, a Fuji GX 680 III with 3 fujinons and a Linhof Supertechnica 9x12 with 2 Schneider lenses and also a trusty old Hasselblad 500CM with a 40, 80, 150 and a 350...
 

dannh

Member
Welcome, I feel like I know your story well, that was me 9 months ago. I sold the 5DII and a handful of lenses and haven't really regretted it. I admit it's been a challenge to adjust but I've spent more time learning the craft of creating images and slowed down my photography more in the past 9 months.

I really enjoy the 75 cron, one piece of advice I found useful was to pick up the 1.25x magnifier. When using this lens, I always have the magnifier attached and I've found my rate of in focus shots has increased to almost 100%, even when shooting wide open.
 

Paratom

Well-known member
I am sure you will love it.
Even though I have nearly all focal lengths of the M I find 24 and 75 a great choice for 2 lens set. Keep us updated how you like the new system.
 

ashwinrao1

Active member
Welcome! Enjoy this new world. I agree with all posters above. All decision on keeping a 2-3 lens kit go out the window once you realize what these lenses can go. that being said, I think you are building a great collection for regular use! Congrats!
 

Don Libby

Well-known member
I remember when I thought 3-lens would be all I needed/wanted so I ordered the 35, 50 and 90. It must be something that happens in the bag at night as I now have a 24 and 135.

I've been using the Domke waxwear F-2 that now holds all 5 of my lens as well as the M9 very comfortable.

My shooting partner and wife is kicking around the idea of making the switch from Canon to Leica as well although she's been telling me to keep shooting with the Cambo so she'll have more use with the M9.

Congratulations of the M9 as Guy said lets see some images..

Don
 

Jan Brittenson

Senior Subscriber Member
Slippery... very slippery, indeed.

I've only had mine about a week but already feel like it's been a lifetime. It's the digital M I and many others always wanted.
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
Very slippery. However, it really is a sweet system and if you're very diligent you can get by with a 3 lens system. The only problem is that it might take you 7+ lenses to find out what those 3 need to be.

Another :thumbs: on the Domke F803 wax wear. Tear out the single partition and drop in something like the artisan & artist padded liner (I whipped mine out of an A&A bag - it's the IN2-1000 according to Popflash) and you'll have an almost perfect travel outfit.

Btw, I think that Guy & Jack need to add the Dante "Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here" to this forum too. :ROTFL:
 

Seascape

New member
:....
I actually already have an oldie 35 Summaron 2.8 on my M3. I am sure it won't be able to cope with the M9 sensor but it could be fun to try!!
You may be very surprised by the Summaron, it doesn't have the ASPH type resolution, but has a very balanced look of good contrast, resolution and colour saturation, all with nice Bokeh as well......truly a classic Leitz lens, enjoy :thumbup:
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
I have sold my extensive Canon gear and ordered a M9 - over the phone ...
I have gradually lost inspiration with my Canon ...
I am going minimal and I am starting with (maybe) a little unusual two lens combo.
...
Do you think I am excited?
Ought to be, it's a lovely camera in every way.

Unlike others, I found I didn't accumulate a lot of lenses and such when I was shooting with Leica RFs. I worked with them for over thirty years, alongside my Nikon SLR kit. A wide, a normal, a portrait tele were always enough for me. At most, at one time, I had two bodies and four lenses (M6 + M4-P, 24/35/50/75 mm lenses) and that was after I'd stopped shooting with the SLRs entirely. That seemed a big kit to me.

An M9 with 24 and 75 sounds like a great combination. Add the 35 and you should be in heaven.

(It's not so different from my current shooting kit. I mostly use wide-normal and portrait tele primes. I tend to prefer a TTL viewfinder rather than a rangefinder nowadays.)
 

D&A

Well-known member
It's wonderful to hear of your excitment of your uncoming photographic endevor. We've all been there (most all still are). Your choice of the 24 Elmar & 75 Cron couldn't be better and as most expressed, add a nice 35mm and you've made a great start! Bags are another thing altogether when it comes to rangefinders (as opposed to SLR systems) and I find it becomes even a more personal choice as opposed to those large backpacks we're used to with SLR's.

As time goes on and the more you shoot, it will of course stir your interest to try some of the other "looks" in lenses that Guy (and others) mentioned.

I'd start buying as many winning lottery tickets as you can now....as there are never enough of them (the winning ones) to cover all the wonderful rangefinder items we'd love to aquire. Have fun and let us know how its working out. and welcome!
Dave (D&A)
 
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