p.2 #3 · sell D700+lenses for new Leica M or keep it and buy a sony RX1
only having one lens might strike a lot of people around here as limiting but the more I shoot not 50mm the more I realize I just want to shoot 50mm.
think about it like this: if you want a track car it doesn't matter that it only has one seat and stalls if the engine gets under 1000rpm.
if you're like me and just want to shoot pictures of people or things at normal distances 95% of the time then there really isn't a camera better than leica IMO.
p.2 #4 · sell D700+lenses for new Leica M or keep it and buy a sony RX1
redisburning wrote:
only having one lens might strike a lot of people around here as limiting but the more I shoot not 50mm the more I realize I just want to shoot 50mm.
think about it like this: if you want a track car it doesn't matter that it only has one seat and stalls if the engine gets under 1000rpm.
if you're like me and just want to shoot pictures of people or things at normal distances 95% of the time then there really isn't a camera better than leica IMO.
I agree. I love shooting only one lens, although it doesn't really take a Leica to do such a thing well.
p.2 #5 · sell D700+lenses for new Leica M or keep it and buy a sony RX1
Michael, I'm not sure buying into the Leica M system can be done 100% objectively. After all, if it's a dream system purchase, that alone indicates a significantly subjective motivation. All I can say is you only live once...
p.2 #7 · sell D700+lenses for new Leica M or keep it and buy a sony RX1
douglasf13 wrote:
Wow, have you lost tens of thousands of dollars switching systems in the last 3 years? Yikes! I usually recoup enough from selling gear to loose just enough money to be considered a fair rental cost.
My problem is, although M9 prices are getting more reasonable, the new M is my real dream camera, so I'm thinking about going all of the way next year, although, in reality, if I can't do good work with what I have, it certainly isn't the camera's fault.
In the past 3 years? A bit less, but still too much
Switching from Sony to film Minolta, to film Leica and Zeiss Ikon, until I finally got the M9. I guess my problem is I always buy expensive and sell cheap
p.2 #8 · sell D700+lenses for new Leica M or keep it and buy a sony RX1
If I didn't have to shoot for a living I would be 100% Leica M digital. Unfortunately I need AF, IS, long glass, fast zooms, strobe, reliability, and pro support.
My dream set-up would be 2- Leica M's, 1-Leica MM, 24 1.4, 35 1.4, 50 .95, and 75 1.4. I seriously thought about doing this a year ago instead ended up with a Hasselblad H4D 40 plus glass.
p.2 #10 · sell D700+lenses for new Leica M or keep it and buy a sony RX1
I sold my D700 a year ago or so and bought an M8 (for the second time), because of the same reason. I was very happy with it for a while, but I never felt that rangefinder photography was my "thing". I want to see through the lens to be able to compose very strictly.
Now I've bought a D700 again which I pair with an OM-D. Non of them feels "right" unfortunately, but I can't see a perfect camera coming in the next few years, so I'm trying to keep them.
The worst thing is now that the D700 gives me the IQ I want, while I hate to use it. The OM-D has great handling but lacks "feel" and the IQ is not up there with an FF camera.
I'd keep the D700 and get something smaller for walkarounds. Sure, the Leica M is probably great, but still not very small and so expensive that I wouldn't dare to use it every day, even if I could afford it.
p.2 #11 · sell D700+lenses for new Leica M or keep it and buy a sony RX1
Makten wrote:
I sold my D700 a year ago or so and bought an M8 (for the second time), because of the same reason. I was very happy with it for a while, but I never felt that rangefinder photography was my "thing". I want to see through the lens to be able to compose very strictly.
Now I've bought a D700 again which I pair with an OM-D. Non of them feels "right" unfortunately, but I can't see a perfect camera coming in the next few years, so I'm trying to keep them.
The worst thing is now that the D700 gives me the IQ I want, while I hate to use it. The OM-D has great handling but lacks "feel" and the IQ is not up there with an FF camera.
I'd keep the D700 and get something smaller for walkarounds. Sure, the Leica M is probably great, but still not very small and so expensive that I wouldn't dare to use it every day, even if I could afford it....Show more →
You are in the same boat as me. I sold my d700 after I got my sony nex-7. I love the size of the nex-7, how it handles and pretty much everything _but_ the "fullframe look". If I could get a d800 sensor in a nex-7 body (or a nex-7 with a evf/ovf hybrid finder), I would be happy as a boy can be.
p.2 #13 · sell D700+lenses for new Leica M or keep it and buy a sony RX1
I'm hoping sony comes out with a full frame NEX camera with an EVF... I think that would be a happy compromise for most people who are tossing around the idea of ditching their SLR for a smaller body but still want the same IQ you get from FF.
Judging on the fact that they already have their FF point and shoot, I can't see it being that far away from reality!!
Hopefully they address the issue of using wide angle RF glass on it though.
p.2 #14 · sell D700+lenses for new Leica M or keep it and buy a sony RX1
ulrikft2 wrote:
You are in the same boat as me. I sold my d700 after I got my sony nex-7. I love the size of the nex-7, how it handles and pretty much everything _but_ the "fullframe look". If I could get a d800 sensor in a nex-7 body (or a nex-7 with a evf/ovf hybrid finder), I would be happy as a boy can be.
Yeah, after shooting FF, you really have to go into aps-c with the mindset of accepting the stop and a third shallower depth of field. If you're used to shooing f2.8-5 on FF, shooting aps-c in the f1.8-2.8 will likely work for you on aps-c. If you're used to shooting wider apertures, like f1.4, on FF, you'll likely not be thrilled with aps-c.
I've come to accept aps-c as an acceptable compromise between size and IQ, since I was never a super shallow DOF on FF, but I would still love a new Leica M. However, whenever I've almost pulled the trigger on a new M9 in the past, I go back through my photos, think about what kind of trip I could take for the same money, and I chicken out, because it is an absurd amount of money for a camera and a few lenses. Don't get me wrong, I like plenty of things that are absurd amounts of money, but there's something about creating art that makes me feel a little silly about having such expensive gear to accomplish it, when well respected (and paid) artist all over the world make their way with much less...or maybe I'm just scared about what my family would say if I spent $10K on a camera body and a lens or two, since I'm not using it professionally.
The same has happened with my guitar playing. I've gone from playing all of these ridiculously expensive guitars to favoring my simple Strat that I've had forever. Hmmm...maybe I should sell all of those guitars...and buy an M with that money! It never ends!
p.2 #15 · sell D700+lenses for new Leica M or keep it and buy a sony RX1
Some first ideas...
1. Renting Leica material seems very difficult in Belgium... Could some other people comment on the focussing experience with rangefinders, coming from a modern DSLR with AF lenses? I guess I could use it for a while in the shop...
2. What would be good choices in M lenses and an idea of the budget need for that? I want reasonably bright glass (F/2 or wider) and first class optics. I could start with a good 50 mm but probably in the end I would like a 35 mm and a 75-90 mm also (I have the Smmicron 90R but maybe it would not work as easy and give optimatl results on the M), so basically good options for 35, 50, 80 mm... Second hand is maybe an option for the 35 and the 80...
3. Douglasf13 wrote:
IDon't get me wrong, I like plenty of things that are absurd amounts of money, but there's something about creating art that makes me feel a little silly about having such expensive gear to accomplish it, when well respected (and paid) artist all over the world make their way with much less...or maybe I'm just scared about what my family would say if I spent $10K on a camera body and a lens or two, since I'm not using it professionally.
The same has happened with my guitar playing. I've gone from playing all of these ridiculously expensive guitars to favoring my simple Strat that I've had forever. Hmmm...maybe I should sell all of those guitars...and buy an M with that money! It never ends! ...Show more →
This issue comes to my mind sometimes too. That is also a reason why I consider the RX1 too. The latest images one can find on the web are also promising.
p.2 #17 · sell D700+lenses for new Leica M or keep it and buy a sony RX1
I often print at 11.69 x 16.53 inches and seldom at 16.53 x 23.39 inches.
I also print smaller but when I want to put them on the wall its alwys that sizes.
p.2 #18 · sell D700+lenses for new Leica M or keep it and buy a sony RX1
Yeah, I also tend to print around 12x18. To be honest, I have a very hard time distinguishing between my old NEX-5 with Contax G lenses and my A900 with Zeiss lenses, at that print size. Have you considered just getting a smaller, cheap-ish mirrorless camera as a supplement to your D700, when you don't want to lug around the size?
p.2 #19 · sell D700+lenses for new Leica M or keep it and buy a sony RX1
I did consider that. In fact I think that my 12 MP D700 gives me enough resolution most of the time ... if I do my framing well (crop is crap said a photograher to me) but some things I really like in my curent setup and would really miss them too much:
1. full frame and the ability to play with DOF. I really like bright lenses although I confess that I do not use extreme low DOF frequently. Therefore I often prefer F/2 over F/1.4 but often an F/1.4 lensperforms better at F/2 than an F/2 lens. On the other hand I would have bought the Nikkor 85 mm F/1.8 AFS in stead of the F/1.4 if it existed at that time since the new F/1.8 (my father has it) is that good. So if I go M I guess with the Leica quality an F/2 lens will be sufficient (if one has to save money somewhere...)
2. the look one can achieve with a lens. I adore the look the summicron 90 and the summilux 80 and no Nikon/Canon can give me that (I had the Canon 85/1.2 and all Nikon 85/1.4's). Zeiss I like in wideangle but for portrait I prefer Leica o Nikon.
3. I do not use liveview for the moment (some rare tripod situations) so I do not see myself using it very often. An optical or electronic viewfinder I will maybe use (I guess on the RX1 its a must since making pictures at armlength seems like a terrible proces to me).
p.2 #20 · sell D700+lenses for new Leica M or keep it and buy a sony RX1
Frank-Starling wrote:
Some first ideas...
1. Renting Leica material seems very difficult in Belgium... Could some other people comment on the focussing experience with rangefinders, coming from a modern DSLR with AF lenses? I guess I could use it for a while in the shop...
2. What would be good choices in M lenses and an idea of the budget need for that? I want reasonably bright glass (F/2 or wider) and first class optics. I could start with a good 50 mm but probably in the end I would like a 35 mm and a 75-90 mm also (I have the Smmicron 90R but maybe it would not work as easy and give optimatl results on the M), so basically good options for 35, 50, 80 mm... Second hand is maybe an option for the 35 and the 80...
3.
This issue comes to my mind sometimes too. That is also a reason why I consider the RX1 too. The latest images one can find on the web are also promising....Show more →
I know renting is kinda hard, and also expensive. But trying in a shop isn't always the best way since its hard to take your time with it. And It takes a lot of time to get used to a rangefinder. Therefore I still think its a good idea to buy a used M8 or film camera and use if for some time.
About good lenses, All the leica lenses are good, so you only have to pick the focal length and speed u want/ need.
Personally, for a 3 lens set with a tele I would go for 28mm, 50mm and 90mm.
Cheap option is 28/2.8 (1600 euro), 50/2 (1700 euro) and 90 summarit (1200 euro). = 4500 euro
Expensive option is 28/2 (3400 euro), 50/1.4 (2900 euro) and 90/2 (3000 euro). = 9300 euro
Instead of the 28 u could also take a 35 (or both like I did) with are a little more expensive. 2400 for the 35/2 and 3900 for the 35/1.4.
Also don't forget the summarits. The 35/2.5 and 50/2.5 are really stellar lenses. And a lot less expensive.
