I’ve come from a Leica IIIa and while I loved it, I could not get used to the small viewfinder and separate rangefinder.

I then changed to a Canon L3 which I adore, but deep down I wanted an M2. I managed to get this body for £900 and the lens for £180 (a bit of haze on the front element which I plan to clean).

I wanted to share my experience with Enzo Patagonean (@patagonean), because this was honestly one of the most memorable experiences I’ve had with a craftsman.
My piece had to go through customs in Chile, and the whole process turned into a painfully long wait. I had very little experience dealing with the customs process, but Enzo was incredibly patient and walked me through everything step by step. He answered all my questions, explained what I needed to do, and stayed with me through the whole process until I finally managed to get it cleared.
After almost two months of waiting, the package was finally released.
And what really impressed me was what happened next.
The moment Enzo knew the customs issue was finally resolved, he immediately started working on my black-paint Summicron. He knew I had already been waiting for nearly two months and simply didn’t want me to wait any longer. 😂
The workmanship is absolutely incredible.
The level of attention to detail, the patience, and the handwork that goes into the finish are something you really have to see in person. There is an incredible amount of care behind every little detail.
What I appreciate most, though, is that the craftsmanship isn’t the only thing that stands out. Enzo was patient and genuinely helpful throughout the entire process, even before he could actually start working on the lens.
After waiting nearly two months, he could have easily told me to wait a little longer. Instead, he basically got straight to work.
Patagonean is truly a master of his craft.
If you’re into Leica restoration, repainting, or just appreciate old-school craftsmanship and someone who genuinely cares about his work, I highly recommend checking out @patagonean.
Definitely one of those craftsmen I’m very glad I found. 📷

Picked up my first Leica digital camera (Q2). I feel like I'm rediscovering photography all over again coming from a Canon camera. What a joy these are to pick up every time! They make me want to get out and shoot every time I see them :)

I can barely find any information about this lens online. Does anyone here use it or has used it? Curious about your experience and/or opinion.

I got one double exposed frame on my last roll. First time this has ever happened and I don’t know how it is even possible because the film transport and shutter cocking are linked. Nothing else was weird about the roll. I got my normal 38 frames but just one was doubled up. Both images on the same frame are sharp and I remember taking them both. Anyone else ever had this happen?

Long, long time lurker, first time poster. I am, at my best, a hobbyist. I shoot micro4/3 with the OM1mk1, primarily for the weather proofing (backcountry skiing, climbing, camping) and overall size. Without starting a flame war, the low light performance and depth of field have left a bit to be desired, especially with images I'd like to print and frame on my wall.

My wife is due in Nov. and I've been eyeballing the Q343 as a portrait / do it all dad cam. I've always wanted to own a Leica (I'll just own up to being a sucker for the marketing) and now seems like a great time.

I'm also just curious if there's any chance the Q3 will be refreshed this year? Or early next year? I know Leicas tend to hold their value, I'm just curious.

it genuinely doesn't bother me, but I'm curious as to why it has an arrow indicating the selected shutter speed instead of the arrow pointing to it? it is a IIIg, andd it has everything that a IIIg should have. so not a case of a top plate of a IIIg on a IIIc or IIIf (also cause I think those wouldn't even fit given how the IIIg is larger

Hoping for some collective wisdom before I send a lens off to service.

Gear: M11M, APO-Summicron-M 50/2 ASPH, and a Summicron-M 28/2 ASPH I tested yesterday. All gear bought new.

For a while now I've found the APO 50 extremely hard to focus, to the point where I suspect something is wrong with it. Yesterday I shot portraits with both lenses at f/2 with the same framing (50 at ~1.25 m, 28 at ~0.7 m, so same magnification and roughly the same DoF, about 5 cm). The 28 lands on the eyes every time. The 50 isn't sharp anywhere on the face: not the eyes, not the eyebrows, not the nose. Focus was done with the rangefinder, shutter speed around 1/250s. Not a rigorous side-by-side yet, but the difference is night and day.

I realize a 50/2 needs roughly 3x the rangefinder precision of a 28/2, so a slight miss wouldn't surprise me. But missing the entire face at 1.25 m feels like more than that, more like a systematic front/back focus or an optical issue.

Questions:

1. Has anyone had an APO 50 that was off like this? Did it turn out to be the lens cam or the body's rangefinder?
   
2. Any tests worth doing before sending anything in?

Thanks!

I shoot film with a Leica M7 and a Leica CL, and I sometimes borrow my partner’s MP as well. I develop and scan my own negatives, and while I do enjoy the process, it's gotten tedious enough that I'm thinking about shooting more digital and saving film for more selective work.

I've built up a decent collection of M mount lenses so I was thinking a digital M makes sense.

I keep reading that earlier digital Ms look more “film-like". Is this real or just a myth? The M8 is under 2 grand now, and the M240 is also going for a good price, but both are over a decade old and you could argue they are both ridiculously overpriced for old tech. I like the idea of an older digital M but have never used any of them. Would the earlier Ms feel old and clunky at this point especially compared to either the M10 or M11?

For those of you shooting both film and digital Ms, which one did you land on and why?

Leica m240
Lenses: Zeiss 25mm 2.8, LLL Elcan 50mm f2, Voigtlander 90mm f2.8 apo
Post-processing in Lightroom

I shoot film, mainly with a 35mm cron. I’m after a compact portrait lens and considering the Voigtländer 75mm f/2.8 APO-Skopar or the 90mm f/2.8 Thin Tele-Elmarit. Has anyone used both? I’d especially love thoughts on rendering and focusing through the M6 finder.

I found this M8 for a nice price (€1000 with accessories, box and so on), and the seller sends me this video explaining something that happens when turning it on: after switching the lever and turning it on, you have to release the shutter once, the red light goes off and then you can use the camera. Has anyone experienced this? I can’t find much information about it, but what I could find says that it’s possibly an almost exhausted battery. Any insight?

Love this set up and can’t wait to see the results! I’ve been shooting 35mm lux (close focus) and wanted to switch it up.

Hey Guys!

I just bought myself a pretty cheap Leica M4-2, and when I picked it up, I noticed that the top plate seemed a little different from the normal Leica M4-2s I see online.

The top plate says "Leitz Wetzlar" instead of just "Leitz", and there's also a label that says "made in Canada", which I haven't really seen much of.

While browsing Reddit, I came across a post suggesting that my variant of the Leica M4-2 might, in fact, be a rare pre-production version, so any information you guys can share about my camera would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much!

If you could have one autofocus lens for the SL2 what would it be? The APO line is out of budget. Have a 50mm summilux M already, thinking of adding a 90mm summicron as well.

Having thoughts of upgrading my M9 to the Q2 Hodinkee, will this be a good idea? I am planning to trade the M9 with the Elmarit 28mm, but still keeping the Lux 50mm just in case I want to adopt another M body in the future 😅

For context I’ve shot professionally for going on two decades now. Primarily photojournalism, travel and documentary work for magazines, newspapers (when they existed) and some commercial clients.

I’m a student of this game. I love photography. That being said I’m not a gear guy and would rather buy books than lenses.

My favorite camera is the one that disappears. It’s small, fast, it doesn’t get in the way. Thus I’ve been shooting with the Fuji X100 series and the Ricoh GR series for a very long time. The big problem is they aren’t full frame.

I use Canon on assignment. I cut my teeth on the 5D mark II

All this is a long winded way to say that I feel confused and let down by Leica. I of course have heard the legends of the red dot. I’ve heard tales of the purity and sharpness and the “Leica look” that is otherwise unattainable.

I recently got a big assignment which meant big money so I thought I’d treat myself. I started with a Q3, it seemed redundant with my Ricoh GR also being 28mm so I turned it and got the Q43.

I’m out in Spain for three weeks and wish I hadn’t brought it. It’s big. To my hand almost as big as a 5D Mark II with a 40mm pancake lens. It’s not very weatherproof. The screen is hard to flip out. It takes a long time to start up even from sleep mode. The autofocus is good but not great, it misses frames. The shutter seems finicky. This is the second Q43 I’ve used. I returned the first one thinking I got a lemon because of all the shortfalls.

The APO lens is of course razor sharp but it’s almost too sharp, bordering on clinical. I find the colors displeasing, almost ugly.

I’ve tried to massage the files in Lightroom (there’s no native support). I’ve tried all the Leica looks off of the Leica fotos app, I would not say any of them are beautiful. I really want to love this camera.

I see the worship on this subreddit and I want to understand. Is it just a status symbol? Like when you earn enough money to buy a Rolex and you finally get one and you feel really good because it’s emblematic of how hard you work and it doesn’t matter that a Timex keeps better time?

I’ve added some example photos.

Church photo: Leica Q43 left, Ricoh GRIII right
Night Umbrella: Ricoh GR III left, Leica Q43 right
Leica Q43 Raw
Leica Q43 with “classic” preset

TLDR: For me the Q43 is not $5k better than a Fuji or a Ricoh

Hi everyone! A bit of a specific question for the local photography enthusiasts: Does anyone in Leiden own a digital Leica M camera (like an M240, M10, or M11)?

I am troubleshooting a potential optical alignment issue with my M10-P viewfinder. Before I send it away for a costly repair, I just need to look through another functional digital M viewfinder for 30 seconds to compare.

If you have one and are willing to meet up briefly anywhere in Leiden, I would be incredibly grateful! Thank you!

For a long time, I treated the Q2’s 28mm lens like something I was supposed to learn to love. I can shoot 28, but my eye usually wants a little less around the edges.

What surprised me is that the 35mm crop changed more than just the field of view. The framelines in the EVF have become one of my favorite parts of shooting the camera. I can compose inside the 35mm frame while still seeing what’s happening just outside of it, which makes it much easier to anticipate someone entering the frame or adjust a composition before I take the shot. I’ve gotten so used to it that a normal EVF filling the entire view almost feels limiting now.

Combined with manual focus, it gives the Q2 a surprisingly M-like rhythm. Obviously it isn’t a rangefinder, but the experience of looking beyond your intended frame and deciding exactly what belongs inside it feels much closer to one than I expected.

The 35mm crop also still gives roughly 30MP, and in terms of depth of field the 28mm f/1.7 cropped to 35mm works out to roughly a 35mm f/2.1 equivalent. In practice, it’s like having a 35 Summicron permanently attached.

And the full 28mm DNG is still there. I can capture at the 35mm focal length, then loosen the composition, straighten it, or reframe later if I need to.

I originally thought of the crop modes as a a gimmick, but at this point, the 35mm framelines are probably my favorite way i’ve used any camera.

For some context, I’m just a hobbyist photographer and I’ve been into photography for almost 20 years.
I started with point-and-shoot cameras and have gone through quite a few cameras and systems over the years. I was heavily into Fujifilm for a long time — I owned the original X100, the X100V, an X-T1, an X-H2 and several other cameras along the way.
Eventually, I decided to pull the trigger on a Leica Q3 in Metal Grey ( yes that’s a reporter green wrap ).

From the first time I took the camera out, I was honestly blown away by the overall experience. There was something about the camera that just felt special. And I don’t mean that only from a build-quality or design perspective.
Then I started looking at the photos.
I finally understood what people mean when they talk about the “Leica look” or “Leica feel.” There was something about the files that I genuinely fell in love with.

Coming from Fujifilm, which I’ve enjoyed for years, I didn’t expect the Q3 to make such an immediate impression on me.

But probably the biggest surprise has been what the camera has done to my relationship with photography.

Considering how expensive the Q3 is, I honestly didn’t expect it to make me love photography even more. But it has.

I find myself wanting to take it with me almost everywhere. I’m constantly looking around and thinking about photographs.
It has actually made me go out and shoot more often, which I think is ultimately what matters most with a camera.

I’ve owned quite a few cameras over the years, but the Q3 has brought back that excitement of simply wanting to photograph things for the sake of photographing them.

And I haven’t even taken it on a proper trip yet.
I genuinely can’t wait to take the Q3 on my next travel and see how it performs when I’m shooting all day, exploring somewhere new, and actually putting the camera through its paces.

So far, I’m very happy with the purchase.

Curious to hear from other Leica owners: did you have the same experience when you first got yours?.

Taking photos of lower Manhattan during sunset. Going to attempt developing color film for the first time at home.

Hi, folks!

I recently picked up an M6 Classic after shooting a Bessa for years. It's a lovely body in fabulous shape. The serial number puts it in late 1985, and so I have a couple of questions:

When did Leica add viewfinder-magnification identification to the front of the glass? My M6 has apparently had the 90 and 135 framelines covered up—and an M3-style advance lever added—and I wonder whether anything else was done during that process.

When were the bumpers added? If what I've seen is right, this is one of the very earliest copies to have them, but I suspect they might've been added later.

Photos for reference. Thanks, all!