Posts Tagged ‘Leica’
A Leica, 160 miles hiking – How they fared
First things first: My Canon EOS 5 and then 3 never fell apart on any hike. But then I hadn’t walked 160 miles with either in one go, but they proved to be tough cameras. So the Leica’s first outing on a hike through Surrey and Kent in South East England for 2 weeks around my neck covering at least 130 miles up and down on the trail and 30 miles to and from pubs, accommodation and around towns would give it a gruelling challenge.
The result was the M2 holding up perfectly apart from one screw going walkabout somewhere in Rochester probably.
Travelling light – small camera liberation
Oskar Barnack, the man behind the original Leica camera designed the system to use 35mm movie film because of his asthma. A smaller lighter camera gave him the opportunity to walk and take photos which erstwhile equipment prevented due to its large size — 35mm was and is a miniature format. Yet today super-zooms and cameras including my own EOS 3 whilst undoubtedly robust, it is a big camera and does not make for long journeys on foot in my book. I have done it and for me I found the camera was not getting used because of its weight at the end of the day. You can read more about that in a previous blog post.
Having bought the M2, the plan was not so much to replace the EOS 3 but to have a smaller, lighter camera to use on occassion on walks. The reverse has happened, the M2 is fast becoming the only camera I use. From walks to pub gatherings and taking the odd silly snap down a night club, the M2 has become a a fantastic camera.
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Leica a lot
Bodiam Castle, East Sussex
Taken shortly after sunrise on 21 Feb 2009
I really do love using the Leica M2
Leica M2, Kodak EBX 100, Hoya 81A and Voigtlander Ultron 35mm
I Leica A Lot (Part 3)
In Use
Prices
- Leica M2 – £300
- Leica MR Meter - £30
- Voigtlander Color Skopar 35mm f/2.5 – £120
- Voigtlander LTM to M Mount adapter (35mm) – £40
- Camera and Meter from MXV, Uckfield – www.mxv.co.uk
- Voigtlander LTM-M Mount adapter, Robert White – www.robertwhite.co.uk
Most reviews of a Leica usually pour over the specifications, the actual piece of equipment itself. However, any camera is in effect a light tight box which controls the amount of light that comes in and goes on to expose the film or sensor behind it. A Leica is no different in this effect. If you put a 50mm lens on an automatic every bells and whistle SLR (e.g. a Canon EOS 3 or Nikon F6) and a 50mm lens on the Leica, put it in the field and shoot away, the majority of people will see little to no difference if the aperture and shutter speed; as well as the subject are the same. Like any camera, the Leica by itself does not take better pictures. Owning a Leica will not make you a better photographer by default of owning it. What it will do is avail opportunities that some cameras don’t open up, where the nature of a camera like a Leica is best suited.
