A journey from a £250 Nikon to a €6600 Leica M11, proving that sometimes the best way to cure a gear addiction is to hit the concrete wall at the end of the universe.
I have the M6 body w a 50 MM Summilux F1.4 lens. All the gear I will ever need. I don't own a flash, filters, or tripod. I use only one kind of b+w film. 1 speed. That's it for me. Focus in your mind on what you are photographing and forget the rest. Eventually, the camera becomes an extension of your arm, and the fear is gone. It is a great feeling.
I sold my ‘M4 and 35mm lens to finance buying a ‘x100v. Where I live we have no access to film processing and scanning so my ‘M4 kit was a brick except for my teaching purposes. I find the ‘x100v menu unnecessarily complicated and the manual even worse. But. When I just use it as I have used my M4 kit in the past, I find it as a worthy replacement for my Leica kit in the past. I am not in the financial position to buy Leica digital kit at the moment or in the near future.😎📷😎John Robinson
You've had an interesting journey, and these are absolutely great tips. I'm currently using Fuji and don't plan on switching because I know gear isn't the bottleneck. :)
Nice pictures, I had the same starting camera too!
I like the Fuji / Nikon ones most - Fuji / Street is just right. And Nikon's beach has the right colours - more and more, as I look through newer cameras / pictures - the colours are more "digital" less real.
Have you been able to reconcile the 6 rules/principles - some of them feel contradictory?
Thanks for reading. I agree Fujifilm gets something right about colours in their digital cameras. It's funny that you mention liking the colours from the Nikon, I remember at the time I edited the photo using Flickr's web-based photo editor and committed the cardinal sin of editing the JPEG, not the RAW, but if people like it, that's all that matters.
That said, I agree that modern cameras have a more digital look, but I attribute this more to modern lenses rather than the cameras. If you adapt vinatge lenses to modern cameras then this isn't such a problem. I think lenses these days have become incredibly sharp and perhaps too "clinical" for our eyes.
Finally. In terms of the the rules/principles I don't think there's a contradiction between them. I tried to make the overall point: 1. Buy fewer, higher-quality items that serve a purpose or enrich your life. 2. Avoid mindless consumption while prioritizing meaningful experiences.
P.S. yes it's Stromboli erupting, and taken from the island of Salina.
Leica M11: »Is it worth it? No. Would I buy it again? Absolutely. It’s a very nice camera.«
Very nice. And a very nice text.
Had an M6 for filmstills (because it is so still ;-) and many different filmcameras as Nikon FM2s, Rollei35, Linhof, selfdesigned pinhole cameras and, and, and . . .
For me the camera as a tool has to be easy to manipulate, reliant, good quality - but in the end it's only your imagination, intuition, experience, curiosity, openness - even with a crappy camera you will shoot great photos - you have to have the look ;-)
I 100% agree with this. Cameras are tools, it's nice to have ones that you like, but the person using them is what makes the image above everything else.
Inspiring read Ari - guess that aspect (inspiration) came from your Mum? All good thought provoking stuff - about a lot of stuff! Nice one, well done you - I agree with your comments, not necessarily the final product - perhaps I am not there yet? Robin
Thanks Robin for sharing and I'm happy you enjoyed it. I suppose a good amount of the inspiration did come via my mum (apple doesn't fall far from the tree...). One thing I maybe should have emphasized more is that which camera appeals to you is obviously going to depend mostly on what you use it for. Leicas are terrible cameras for most use cases but for documentary/street photography, they're incredible tools.
Great read, Ari. Thanks for sharing. You know the route I’ve followed quite well as it is similar to yours. Hitting the concrete wall was somehow a blessing.
Always wanted a Leica but it’s more about the ‘heft’ of the thing than the image for me. Have a perfectly good Sony RX100iii which has taken some good images (more by luck than skill). Had a Contax G which certainly had the ‘heft’ but film is just too expensive. One day I will return to my favourite tho’ - Ricoh GR
Those are all wonderful cameras, and the thing I notice between then (despite the heft) is that they're relatively compact. For me, that's the more important thing if I'm going to be using it day in and day out.
Well you got me thinking and I went and found my Fuji X100 that I’d dropped and futzed the LCD. For some reason at the time this equated in my mind to it not working at all. It now has tape over the LCD as the EVF is perfectly fine and back in service - forgot how much I like it.
Great post, Ari. I've shunned the lure of the Leica so far, but remain addicted to my Contax, which I suspect does the same thing. At least on terms of how it makes me feel, and by extension, how I think and shoot. Keep writing buddy, great stuff and as usual wonderful images.
Thanks, David, I really appreciate the feedback, and it's lovely to have encouragement when I'm just starting. I did notice from Instagram that you have the Contaxt G2, right? It's a camera I've been tempted by many times, and those lenses look fantastic.
I've got the G1, which does the same thing as the G2. Only with the G2, you get shutterspeed of 1/2000, the G1 gives you 1/1000. But you said it, it's really about those Zeiss lenses. They're freaking incredible (and will go on both bodies). I will never move away from this setup.
I would love a Leica but am happy to make do with my old Canon 40d for now. It's bulky and a bit on the ugly side but I'm kind of attatched to it. It was my first proper camera, and although I've tried a few others I keep coming back to it!
I have the M6 body w a 50 MM Summilux F1.4 lens. All the gear I will ever need. I don't own a flash, filters, or tripod. I use only one kind of b+w film. 1 speed. That's it for me. Focus in your mind on what you are photographing and forget the rest. Eventually, the camera becomes an extension of your arm, and the fear is gone. It is a great feeling.
I sold my ‘M4 and 35mm lens to finance buying a ‘x100v. Where I live we have no access to film processing and scanning so my ‘M4 kit was a brick except for my teaching purposes. I find the ‘x100v menu unnecessarily complicated and the manual even worse. But. When I just use it as I have used my M4 kit in the past, I find it as a worthy replacement for my Leica kit in the past. I am not in the financial position to buy Leica digital kit at the moment or in the near future.😎📷😎John Robinson
I had an X100V for several years and it's a fantastic camera. I agree about the menus though.
Carrying a M11 to the beach isn’t the best idea, now you can go for a second hand Leica XU typ 113 😝
Not like I was dunking it in the Mediterranean... was worth it for the Stromboli shot.
Guess so, but sand and salty air are the opposite a camera needs.
You've had an interesting journey, and these are absolutely great tips. I'm currently using Fuji and don't plan on switching because I know gear isn't the bottleneck. :)
Fujifilm is a good place to be at. You’ll save money and won’t be held back at all. Thanks for reading 🙏🏻
Nice pictures, I had the same starting camera too!
I like the Fuji / Nikon ones most - Fuji / Street is just right. And Nikon's beach has the right colours - more and more, as I look through newer cameras / pictures - the colours are more "digital" less real.
Have you been able to reconcile the 6 rules/principles - some of them feel contradictory?
PS: The First pic, Is that a Volcano going off?
Thanks for reading. I agree Fujifilm gets something right about colours in their digital cameras. It's funny that you mention liking the colours from the Nikon, I remember at the time I edited the photo using Flickr's web-based photo editor and committed the cardinal sin of editing the JPEG, not the RAW, but if people like it, that's all that matters.
That said, I agree that modern cameras have a more digital look, but I attribute this more to modern lenses rather than the cameras. If you adapt vinatge lenses to modern cameras then this isn't such a problem. I think lenses these days have become incredibly sharp and perhaps too "clinical" for our eyes.
Finally. In terms of the the rules/principles I don't think there's a contradiction between them. I tried to make the overall point: 1. Buy fewer, higher-quality items that serve a purpose or enrich your life. 2. Avoid mindless consumption while prioritizing meaningful experiences.
P.S. yes it's Stromboli erupting, and taken from the island of Salina.
Leica M11: »Is it worth it? No. Would I buy it again? Absolutely. It’s a very nice camera.«
Very nice. And a very nice text.
Had an M6 for filmstills (because it is so still ;-) and many different filmcameras as Nikon FM2s, Rollei35, Linhof, selfdesigned pinhole cameras and, and, and . . .
For me the camera as a tool has to be easy to manipulate, reliant, good quality - but in the end it's only your imagination, intuition, experience, curiosity, openness - even with a crappy camera you will shoot great photos - you have to have the look ;-)
I 100% agree with this. Cameras are tools, it's nice to have ones that you like, but the person using them is what makes the image above everything else.
Inspiring read Ari - guess that aspect (inspiration) came from your Mum? All good thought provoking stuff - about a lot of stuff! Nice one, well done you - I agree with your comments, not necessarily the final product - perhaps I am not there yet? Robin
Thanks Robin for sharing and I'm happy you enjoyed it. I suppose a good amount of the inspiration did come via my mum (apple doesn't fall far from the tree...). One thing I maybe should have emphasized more is that which camera appeals to you is obviously going to depend mostly on what you use it for. Leicas are terrible cameras for most use cases but for documentary/street photography, they're incredible tools.
Great read, Ari. Thanks for sharing. You know the route I’ve followed quite well as it is similar to yours. Hitting the concrete wall was somehow a blessing.
Thanks Hanno! I had a feeling this might strike a chord. Cheers to hitting the concrete wall!
Always wanted a Leica but it’s more about the ‘heft’ of the thing than the image for me. Have a perfectly good Sony RX100iii which has taken some good images (more by luck than skill). Had a Contax G which certainly had the ‘heft’ but film is just too expensive. One day I will return to my favourite tho’ - Ricoh GR
Those are all wonderful cameras, and the thing I notice between then (despite the heft) is that they're relatively compact. For me, that's the more important thing if I'm going to be using it day in and day out.
Well you got me thinking and I went and found my Fuji X100 that I’d dropped and futzed the LCD. For some reason at the time this equated in my mind to it not working at all. It now has tape over the LCD as the EVF is perfectly fine and back in service - forgot how much I like it.
Great post, Ari. I've shunned the lure of the Leica so far, but remain addicted to my Contax, which I suspect does the same thing. At least on terms of how it makes me feel, and by extension, how I think and shoot. Keep writing buddy, great stuff and as usual wonderful images.
Thanks, David, I really appreciate the feedback, and it's lovely to have encouragement when I'm just starting. I did notice from Instagram that you have the Contaxt G2, right? It's a camera I've been tempted by many times, and those lenses look fantastic.
I've got the G1, which does the same thing as the G2. Only with the G2, you get shutterspeed of 1/2000, the G1 gives you 1/1000. But you said it, it's really about those Zeiss lenses. They're freaking incredible (and will go on both bodies). I will never move away from this setup.
Excellent - I got there with a used M6, also after a couple of detours. Never looked back.
Nice! I bought a used M6 in August and I just know that this will be my "forever camera."
I would love a Leica but am happy to make do with my old Canon 40d for now. It's bulky and a bit on the ugly side but I'm kind of attatched to it. It was my first proper camera, and although I've tried a few others I keep coming back to it!