hello.

i live in Central NJ and i am VERY interested in acquiring a Leica M. i'm still arguing with my 7 other personalities ;-)

my style of photography calls for available light WITHOUT tripods as much as possible...which usually translate to shooting WIDE open...

i have a Nikon SLR and shoot primes EXCLUSIVELY...i guess the idea of using a Leica may be more appropriate for my style of photography.

thing is, though: i've NEVER even held a Leica. i can't see myself buying something that i have not even tried (even used)!

what's my point?

do you guys know any information on renting one here in NJ?? i would pay a reasonable amount to anyone who would let me use their leica for a week just to see if it's for me...and get this itch out of my system already!

thank you.

-- Dexter Legaspi (dalegaspi@hotmail.com), October 30, 2001

Answers

Dexter

I know that Fotocare rent them in NYC (212) 741 2990, fotocare@ix.netcom.com, 136 West 21st Street as does (I think) Lens and Repro, (212) 675 1900, 33 West 17th Street.

In central NJ I suspect you will find it difficult to rent a Leica, but I don't know.

-- Robin Smith (smith_robin@hotmail.com), October 30, 2001.

thank you for the information. this would be very helpful.

-- Dexter Legaspi (dalegaspi@hotmail.com), October 30, 2001.

Try Fishkin Brothers in Perth Amboy. They are suposed to be a Leica dealer.

-- Brooks (bvonarx@home.com), October 30, 2001.

i tried Fishkins. they don't rent Leica...

-- Dexter Legaspi (dalegaspi@hotmail.com), October 30, 2001.

A difficult one! I took almost one year to really feel the Leica was me.I already had a full slr system,Pentax.I had sold my 4x5,definitely not me.I traded it for a slr 6x6 which was pure junk.The store swapped it for a new Leica M3 back in 1967.We are still together.So renting may not be the answer...it takes time to get with this camera.You will not need all the lenses.I use the 50 and a 135mm.The 35 and 90 were stolen and never replaced.I have alternative and real cheap solution. Purchase a used Canonet 45mmf1,7 or as I have just done a Konica with similar lens.The meter and auto is shot,dead,finito but all speeds ok and lens and rangefinder OK.Cost C$20.oo!!!!It will give you the feel of Rngfdr.Weight, size and quiteness similar NOT same as my beloved Ziggy.After all these years...M3 has name!If you are both brave and foolish sell all your Nikons and buy an unused and untried very special camera...

-- jsason gold (leeu72@hotmail.com), October 30, 2001.

Dexter; is your nikon system of the mecanical manual kind, or you prefer auto SLR´s, that can be a hard topic in your future desition, but if as you said you like available ligth and prime mostly wide angle lenses, I have no doubt the Leica is your system. The most beautiful image wide open.

-- r watson (al1231234@hotmail.com), October 30, 2001.

A difficult one! I took almost one year to really feel the Leica was me. ... [snip]

While I certainly understand and appreciate what you're saying, it's not necessarily the case that a Leica is a difficult camera to master. For me, learning to use a Leica was easier than an SLR.

-- Godfrey (ramarren@bayarea.net), October 30, 2001.

Try Bergen County Camera. Last time I checked they do rent Leica. It's one of the more 'Leica Friendly' places in NJ.

www.bergencountycamera.com

Hope this helps!

-- Chris Shih (shih.chris@att.net), October 30, 2001.

With some careful price shopping, you can buy a used M6 Classic with one 50mm Summicron for around $1800-2000 in good condition. Use it for six months, don't abuse it, and you can sell it for the same amount you bought it-more or less. The same goes for earlier models.

Leicas are about the only camera (aside from a couple of Canon/Nikon pro models) where this is possible, because the used market is huge and prices quite stable as models change once in two decades or so and that too very slightly.

This is much more cost effective than renting a Leica for six months, about the length of time it will take an Manual SLR+prime user really get an insight into why it might work better (or worse) for them.

For me, a former heavy user of a Nikon FM and primes, the Leica actually works a little faster and better for portraiture, but less well for some types of landscape work, and much worse of course for macro. But my interests moved away from those kinds of subjects.

On the other hand, if all you want is a Leica for a week or so, you will get instant satisfaction by renting. But my bet is that it will still be less cost effective.

-- Mani Sitaraman (bindumani@pacific.net.sg), October 30, 2001.

Mani's suggestion makes a lot of sense, but only if your cashflow allows you to tie up 2000 for a while until you make your decision (assuming you want to part w. some of your SLR equip. to finance your new system). I personally had no problem or second thoughts shifting from SLR to Rangefinder, but it was because my very first camera was an inexpensive Ricoh 500G rangefinder. If you have no RF experience, the idea of using an old 1970's RF for a while is very good. The feel is worlds apart, but think of the cheap RF as a expression of the rangefinder concept, and if it agrees with you, a Leica M will be a luxurious step upwards.

-- Niels H. S. Nielsen (nhsn@ruc.dk), October 30, 2001.

Hallo Dexter,

if I would live in N.J. I would (perhaps) lend you a piece for a week or two. Some friends of mine who asked me for a similar favour during the last years ended up in getting a LEICA for themself later.

But beware: Such a short time might not be enough to work out all things you might want to know. It needs 20 to 100 rolls if film to get to know the system. So the suggestion of buying one and getting it rid later at a moderate (or hopefully) no loss is cute.

Best wishes and good shooting

K. G. Wolf

-- K. G. Wolf (k.g.wolf@web.de), November 01, 2001.

Hello Dexter, I was also looking to rent out a M6. I exquired the berger county camera. The rentals are like 60$ a week for the body and same goes for lens. So you are lookign around 120$ a week for renting. It makes more sense to buy it, I guess. Regards Arun

-- Arun (arunprasads@yahoo.com), February 21, 2002.