Today’s Post by Joe Farace
“Leica, schmeica. The camera doesn’t make a bit of difference. All of them can record what you are seeing. But you have to see.”—Ernst Haas
On a previous Film Friday post, I asked all of you to help me decide which of three different 35mm film cameras to purchase. Your overwhelming choice was the Yashica FX-3 and I ended up buying a Yashica FX-3 Super 2000 and 35-70mm zoom lens that were in perfect cosmetic condition. Unfortunately it didn’t work. The reality was much like buying a clean-looking BMW with 200,000 miles on the clock; dangers lurked. It’s not your fault though, it was all mine.
I gave up on the camera because the cost of replacement was cheaper than the cost of repair and sold it “as is.” I replaced the Yashica with a Contax 167MT (with optional P5 battery pack) and Yashica 50mm f/2 lens and other than being a little heavier than I remembered, it has performed perfectly. Since they were made by the same company—Kyocera—and around the same time, go figure.
How I Made this Shot: I made this photograph last winter when Mary and I were on a PhotoWalk on a path that started near a local Starbucks. The image was shot using my original Leica M6 TTL with 50mm f/2 Summicron-M lens and shot on Kodak Ultramax 400 color negative film. Exposure unrecorded. The film was processed and scanned by The Darkroom, which is my go-to mail order lab, especially for my black and white film (and my color negative stock sometimes as well.I
Like a Leica
Which brings me to my question: I’ve been saving my pennies for a new (used) film or digital camera that’s different from the DSLRs and mirrorless cameras I’m currently shooting. I thought long and hard about getting one of Fuji’s GFX medium format cameras but while I can barely afford a used body, I can’t quite swing the added cost of a lens for it, a situation that’s plagued me with some of my past Hasselblad film body purchases.
Then there is Leica. I’ve owned a Leica M6 TTL for more than 20 years and also own a beautiful M-mount Zeiss Ikon SW with a Zeiss 21mm f/2.8 T* ZM Biogon lens and optical viewfinder. These two are my “forever cameras.” Even when used, Leica cameras, especially their rangefinder models, can be expensive, partly I think because they’ve become fashion statements in some social circles. Some Leica models are relatively affordable, in Leica terms anyway, when purchases used. An M8 body, in good condition, seems to run $2000-2500 depending on where you buy it—Japan or the USA.
The Leica M8
The M8 was Leica first digital rangefinder camera and was introduced in September, 2006. The M8 has a 10.3-megapixel CCD sensor that was made by Kodak. The sensor is APS-H size measuring 18 x 27 mm and producing a crop factor —I hate that term—of 1.3x. This is the same size sensor as my beloved EOS 1D Mark II N. (I was so sad when I sold that camera but it was just sitting there depreciating into dust.) The M8’s Kodak KAF-8300CE FFT-CCD sensor is now beloved by many shooters of older digital cameras because they believe it produces the most filmic look.
Like that hypothetical high-mileage BMW, to go back to that analogy, these cameras were not without their problems. It’s relatively old, almost twenty years old so there’s some normal wear and tear that happens whenever a camera gets used over time, even a Leica. Then there is the occasional moiré or color shifts that can occur when photographing artificial textiles that some M8 shooters think is a small tradeoff for the overall clarity and detail that’s said to be produced by this CCD sensor. Then there is “the myth.” According to many, including Adam at adaminsights.com, Leicas “are built to endure the rigors of professional photography. These aren’t cameras to be coddled—they’re tools meant to be pushed to their limits.” I am a sucker for this myth, which brings me to…
My question for you: With my new focus on shooting film, should I spend a huge chunk of my camera budget on a Leica M8 or should I rethink the whole digital Leica idea and focus instead on a film-based SLRs such as Canon’s F1, especially that Lake Placid Olympics model that I can’t get out of my head? Your opinions are seriously appreciated. Click CONTACT and let me know what you think.
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