I'm a lifetime Nikon user, 35 years but I bought a Leica Q3 resently to get the feel... I'm fucked.. It's not only the feel and workflow on the camera but also the images that come out of it. So beautiful and sharp. So your next topic should be "Dear John: how do I tell my spouse that I really need a starterset of 1 camera with one lens for $ 15.000 (to begin with)"😁

I was shooting Leica R & M series and Hasselblads back in the 90's, shooting weddings, manual everything... it's just the way it was. Not even the ability to chimp the image on the screen! Of course that all changed and I was full on Canon, 1DS/2 etc, then added the M8, M9. Had a break for 12 years and back now on the M11P... I love them. And purely for the "enjoyment" factor as you say. I have to add though, In the last couple of weeks I acquired the Hasselblad 907X CVF100. That... is the BEST camera I have EVER used. The image quality blows the Leica away... For me, owning both leica & Hasselblad is the ultimate combo!!!

Interesting view and great points. Focusing is easy but does take practice to be quick. I never thought I'd be a Leica M shooter and people said it's very different and it's going to slow you down and auto focus is better. All good points but for me it's about the process and I actually enjoy not only the size, weight but being purposeful with shots.

Back to the M9 when I bought it there was no camera around that could deliver as good results. But today a lot has changed. I think that in terms of IQ, Leica is not superior as it once was. But the ergonomics, quality and feeling of holding a Leica are unmatched by any other manufacturer.

Just got my first Leica, an M9 and omg im in live with photography again. After 10 years as a pro wedding photographer id lost any joy in personal work. Now every morning im thinking where can i go today to get some shots. 😊. Btw about the diopter, i need reading glasses and to make sure i got the right magnifying leica one i took a pair of reading glasses and made a push fit magnifier.

First let me say that I am not a professional photographer. I am in my 70’s and my photography is strictly for my own enjoyment. Your explanation for owning an M is the best that I have seen. I shoot with an M262, I love the experience. I also own a Q2 and that is a great camera, but there’s just something about the M that makes me want to go out and take photos. One thing that you did not mention is that in certain situations, you can zone focus with the M. Zone focusing has helped me in more then a few instances. Thanks for the videos.

After years of wanting an M I finally pulled the trigger on an M10R. Completely maxed my budget out but It's a camera that will be everything I need for many many years. The M10P would have been amazing as well, but with the used prices being so similar, I went with the R to feel more future proofed. I only did this because of how good the third party glass is right now; so now I get to learn the system right away instead of prolonging the purchase to keep saving for Leica glass. I picked up a TTArt 50mm 1.4 after watching a couple a/b's to the 50 Summilux. I think those results were what eased my mind on waiting to save for "better" glass. I'm a hobby shooter, so I don't need dual card or internal. I also never shoot video, thats what my iPhone is for. So an M makes sense that way. I love photography, and most modern digital camera companies have completely forgotten about us. I'm using a Canon 6D as my daily driver. It's full frame, has wifi (which the 5DIII doesn't) to quickly get pics onto phone (completely changed my workflow for the better), incredible low light performance, and cheap. Cheap cheap cheap. Paired with quality glass, or even using my original 50mm 1.8, the output is beyond what any prosumer needs. And with everyone and their mother jumping over to mirrorless now, the L series EF glass deals right now are crazy good. Last point, value retention. I've yet to find any other brand hold it's resale value like a Leica has, in case you get cold feet or it's not for you, you'll break even and have essentially enjoyed a free rental.

I love your real, balanced and down-to-earth perspective.

Excellent input. I just got an M5 and it's the first time with an M camera. So exited to try this system.

Nice to be passionate about your tools! Nice video..thank you for sharing

Nicely said. I have the M11 mono and the Q2. Love em both.

Thanks for posting. I have an M6. Love the experience of using a range finder.

When I was younger, and holding still was less of an exercise in concentration, I routinely wandered about with the 50mm f/0.95 Noctilux seemingly glued onto my M and had no issue with focusing. I use the Summilux lenses on my M11s now and, just as stated in the video, simply slow down and concentrate on focusing as well as remaining still. No problem. In fact, it’s part of the pleasure of the experience 😊

Agreed. Manual focus is more intuitive on an M for me. No second guessing. Love the distance marked lenses, the form factor, the simplicity, the image quality, the dials and the history. An M240 or an M10 can be had for significantly less bought used or when trading in gear. Cheers!

Great video and I agree with 99% of what you say. The point you make about not moving is of course correct for the vast majority of subjects BUT when photographing a person/headshot who is moving backwards and forwards then don't try and re-focus but move in the same way so the distance is the same as when you originally focussed the camera.

I have a M11, love the experience. Started again with film about half a year ago on a Canon 650 I inherited a while back. I shot a couple of rolls, enjoy the experience in addition to digital, so I ordered a M-P last week. This decision made a lot of sense as I can easily use the same lenses on both bodies, and I deeply enjoy the rendering of Summilux & Summicron lenses and their differences.

At least a video not blaming spending an amount for a Leica. I am a range finder shooter for decades and pulled the trigger in 2012 for an m9. I still use it today. True other systems can produce similar or better results, no one is a true digital range finder. The Leica bodies have the best ergonomic for me. Only the Ricoh Gr3 made me pause a bit but I came back to my Leica build quality at 5he end. Just my opinion.

Back in my film only days, I primarily owned and used a Leica M6 rangefinder and Nikon SLRs I used 21/35/90mm manual focus prime lenses on the Leica. I used 14mm to 1000mm manual focus prime lenses on the Nikons. In the digital era, I tried to use two Leica M10 digital rangefinders but tbey were not as reliable as my film rangefinder.

Had Sony A7ii, A7iii, A7iv and am on the A1 now. Got myself an old Leica M-240 just for joy. The colors of the Leica are jaw dropping, I simply cannot get close with the A1 which has the best colors of all Sony imho - the Leica Sensor's just unmatchable, and I'm talking about shooting raw, not even trying the built-in jpeg-conversions

I found myself moving more when I shot on leica M bodies. Especially weddings (processional and recessional). Get close to focus and try to match the subjects speed. I’d slightly adjust as I did that too. Like he states, practicing distance with your finger is key

How you feel about your Leica is how I felt about my Olympus... but now it is how I feel about my Z50's... in fact I sold my Z5''s to have the lightest system for my Z mount glass... in fact my Z50 is lighter than the Olympus I had! Side note, I shot weddings with a K1000! Always enjoy your insights...

Wise words. I grew up with film rangefinders (Ricoh 500G and, ultimately a Mamiya 7) but only recently returned when buying a Leica M11. My holding technique is poor after years of having IBIS and your tip of going from f4 to f1.4 is a great idea I’d never thought of. At the moment I get better pictures with my Q2 than my M11 so I’m still on the fence deciding whether the M is for me or not. I don’t shoot everyday and I’m alternating between M11 and Q2 so I probably need to commit to using the M11 more often. First world problems!

@kaskophoto Well put, thank you. Being fairly recent to leica in general and the m in particular (less than a year), outside of the smile that the build quality and ergonomics bring to my face each and every time, I think the more intentional, considered, and yes *slower* pace has been my favorite rediscovery. Well, well worth it! Kept and still enjoy the z8 for certain situations (faster subjects, longer or shorter focal lengths, or video), but the m11p is absolutely my first choice, when I have a choice. Second choice is a q2, and if neither of those are the best choice then the z8 ... which I still *love* using. So all happy choices tbh, but the leicas bring extra smiles. Yet ... I *still* would like an integrated EVF with zf style mf assists on an `m12`!

My eyesight is quite bad too. I am maxing out diopter adjustments on my cameras, and cannot see anything without reading glasses. Somehow it does not stand in the way of focusing with m cameras (and getting holes in targets at the shooting range for that matter). Weird how brains work that way. I would not claim that any kind of critical focus is faster this way comparing to even my super slow gfx50sII though!

I am 74 and have been using M for 35 years. Not a problem for me unless the subject is fast-moving.

I've been down the full Leica M road twice .. NEVER EVER again ... lost a fortune on the gear M240 and M11 ... could rarely get an unposed shot ... it's Camera Jewellery at its best ... but output is nothing more than average when you take the price into account ... ITS NOT EASY TO FOCUS A LEICA IN LOW LIGHT ....

I shoot an M1 and without a rangefinder, it feels instinctively. The ergonomics, top notch Should you get an M? Could a pianist play Chopin on a Yamaha synthesizer? Yea, but it’s not the same interface experience as a grand piano.

Is manual focus through the box in the viewfinder precise enough to resolve 61MP wide open for people without perfect eyesight? I know many people don't care, but suppose you care?

Argee 100%. But I don't think Laicas are so expensive. I bought my first M (240) used four years ago in mint condition. So far I've probably lost about 800 € of its value. I don't think that is so much of a great camera in four years. Now I have three M’s and a SL. The great thing is I can use M lenses in SL too. I love shooting with the M as it makes me think much more because I am not be able to see the end result in the viewfinder. And I think that is a great thing.

Yes, Leicas are fun cameras to own and use. I use the M's. I started with manual focus, too, and no rangefinder. The M body rangefinder is easy. It is like sailing, you can learn in half a day and spend the rest of your life trying to be proficient. Fun.

One of my best sports shots was with a M3, 135 lens, and visoflex at polo match. I focused on the "ball" before the player got there. Now the timing. All four horses feet were off the ground, the shaft of the mallet ws curved from the swing and the mallet head was in contact with the ball which was half smashed. Do better than that with perfect manual focus.

I just sold my M240 and I'm missing it already but I know I'll be getting a M10 or 11 in the future just didn't make sense to have all that money tied up in gear at the moment but it just feels different, like I really got that make vs take photo mindset when I was shooting a rangefinder

Thnx! I've been called " Shark Eye" as Messsucher Leica bodies had changed my "game". Have used K1000, Nikon FM2...couldn't get used to Canon's anti-clockwise lenses: no love there. Flare is in the the eye of the beholder, non?

I do and I don’t understand the two card thing. Yes, I’ve had a card corrupt but I realized that very quickly when I chimped an image and the camera froze. Took that card out and put in another card checked that it was working and continued on my way. Yes we took two bodies back in the film days but you wouldn’t know something was wrong unless the film actually jammed in the body or the back. Would I like a Leica M body, of course I would but I’ll stay with my EOS R’s to shoot sports and my Hasselblad V series cameras for everything else

All my words! 🤓

yes but a Leica III only

Like you I grew up with MF so it seems more normal to me than AF. I use the 1.4x magnifier most of the time. The rangefinder patch is unhelpfully small, especially with lenses over 50mm and in poor lighting. I only use the 35 Summicron Apo and the 75 Summicron Apo. I’d like two bodies but the cost is a bit prohibitive! One day.

I seriously debated the M11 system but ended up ordering the SL3. Wanted the ability to autofocus. By the way I gave my VW to my daughter 😁

I mean I get why the question comes up Leicas claim to fame is making true rangefinders there are no cheap alternatives to try . My vision is garbage I finally bought an M anyway and was floored by how simple it is .

Been using Leica M off and on since the M6 I purchased in 1994. I still have and use that M6. But I do not own any digital M anymore. One key aspect is missing from your enthusiastic pitch: the absolute necessity of maintaining perfect calibration between rangefinder and camera focus cam, and between camera focus cam and lenses. Those complex mechanical elements drift out of calibration. That is unavoidable. And the impact on images of even the most minute calibration drift grows more obvious every time Leica increases sensor resolution. It is compulsory to send M11 + Leica lenses for CLA and calibration at least every other year. And that takes at least a few months + money every time. There is no such service for non-Leica lenses. The digital M is therefore a constant source of FUD. The film M are much more tolerant because film is more tolerant of small misfocus. Especially if you stay away from high res low grain slide films. On top of that, the digital Leica M have systematically been very slow to boot and suffer from lag compared to DSLRs or latest generation mirrorless. A film M was faster and more reactive than any SLR, a digital M is painfully slower. Finally, digital Leica M have always been buggy. So many frustrating stories about the M11 for example, but every digital M I bought had to be sent back to factory soon after purchase (M8, M9 and M10). Never had that with any other brand. All in all, your pitch is fun and lively and passionate, but the reality of my experience is very different. Getting the rangefinder patch to coincide on a subject is the least of the worries plaguing digital M users.

Is this video old or do i have a deja vu? 🤔

It isnt like a digital camera. Master your exposure and film stock game, ditch the expensive SLR.

Nikon since 1986 ...

without watching the video and going by the title my answer is NO!! I have an M4 for sale if you are interested and a few lenses.

I often hear this idea of "you just point modern autofocus in the right direction and it gets the shot"... but that's not true? You have to manage autofocus or it simply can't understand what you intend the subject to be. That's the draw of the M system for me. I don't want to move a little spot focus point around an EVF or god-forbid a LCD when I'm trying to grab a shot quickly. Neither do I want to line someone up, lock on them, then start composing-- which feels like the absolute backwards way to work out a composition. With the M you guesstimate depth and lock it by feel before the camera even comes to your eye-- then tweak it (if you even need to) in a quarter moment because the patch tells you which direction you're off. This is so fast and easy with a bit of practice. But that's only when you want subject isolation. That's the true power of M bodies- you can just widen your depth of field and then focus is immaterial. The shot is in focus, period, 100% of the time. Autofocus can never offer that as a default. I totally get why people use modern systems and of course there are scenarios where they are superior... but I'm constantly baffled by this idea that Autofocus is by definition superior. Not that you're making that claim.. it just comes up SO OFTEN lol.

If your analogy is correct, you are paying Mercedes Benz prices for a Volkswagon when buying a Leica?

NO ! I tried a Leica M many years ago, I do not like range finders !

No