Photojournalist Camera?

[wharrison]

Littleman:

You made the following statement:

"I'm looking to get a professional 35mm camera that I will be able to use alot and hold onto for a long time."

I forgot to mention another reason for suggesting a Leica rangefinder. And that reason is that they rarely make anything that becomes outdated - they try to think into the future - for want of a better term.

For example, the old 135mm Hektor F/4.5 was first designed for their screw mount Leicas. With a screw to M-mount adapter that old lens will not only fit on any older or current "M" rangefinder and bring in the correct viewfinder frame, it will do so in milliseconds and without any reservation.

I can't think of any other photographic manufacturer whose equipment can be still useful over a very long period of time.

Just in case you wanted to know. . . . ;>)

Bill

 

[Karalee]

Rangefinders dont have to cost leica money either. I picked one up for 20 bucks - so you figure thats a 40 yr old camera, if you bought a new or near new one, how long do you think it would last

 

[thebeginning]

^good point. You can pick up some older leica rangefinders for 300 or so on ebay. I'm thinking about it in the future.

 

[usayit]

man.. someone really sounds like a Leica Sales rep... ;-)

I absolutely love Leica's and I will most likely add one to my collection of cameras some day. Rangefinders in general are still great on the "street". A canonette and yashica serve me quite well. However, I still wouldn't recommend one in the original poster. The number reason... cost. Leica's are very expensive and so are the lenses. Its a very well known name with big $$$ attached to that name. It brings attention as well as worry of theft and loss. This is especially true to a new photojournalist on the run. Leica's are very nice but simply put... it doesn't fit ~all~ the poster's criteria as it seems there is a certain comfort with 35mm SLRs.

Also.. I do know there are older less expensive ( relatively ) used leica's out there.. how are they with rain and mosture resistance?

I was extremely fortunate to find a photographer who sold me their 1v for a good price ( he was in the process of financing a pro-digislr ). I highly recommend the camera. Its extremely quick in almost all situations. My major complaint towards it is the weight. Its not a light camera and adding a battery grip just makes it worse. I would not recommend the grip just carrying a spare battery as a fully charge battery seems to last a while. I chose the used 1v over a new eos 3 for a number of reasons but I still would recommend you handling both. The eos3 is significantly lighter which is a good enough reason as any.

If I'm looking for a compact 35mm slr for an unobtrusive quick shooter on the street, the extremely compact K-mount pentaxes from the 70s and 80s with the 40mm "pancake" lens fits my needs.

 

[santino]

I can't think of any other photographic manufacturer whose equipment can be still useful over a very long period of time.

Hasselblad's V System
M42 mounted stuff (Voigtländer still produces a M42 SLR called Bessaflex)
Most new Bessa cameras use the m39 mount (but it's "the" Leica mount )

Leicas are great (rangefinders) but IMO they can't provide you enough speed for real fast shooting (sure, you can get the M winder but the 1V is 10fps and super fast AF). Leica rangefinders are for camera lovers, real collectables of superior quality and timeless design.