Resurging interest in Leica rangefinder cameras? Fad or Trend? All aboard or waiting for the next big thing?

 

It may just be the way the algorithms present stuff to me personally but I've been noticing more and more "influencers" on YouTube, and even a few well known and long-tenured photographic blog writers, (myself included) are creating and presenting more content about Leica Q and Leica M series cameras than ever before. Some of it can be tied to Leica's recent product announcements of the Q3 and the M11 and M11-P cameras but those are hardly mainstream, mostly unaffordable by vast swaths of photo enthusiasts, and made in such limited quantities that taking possession of one is as hard as being able to afford one.

Last year's announcement of the re-introduction of the M6 film camera has had the effect of increasing the prices and decreasing the availability of most previous film, "M" cameras and has also led to an increase in new lens models from inexpensive Chinese makers as well as established Japanese companies such as Voigtlander. The overall affect being a steady rise in the price of good, used Leica M cameras and lenses and a tightening of availability for new product. Unlike many companies that sell hundreds of thousands of a single model product Leica seems to be in no particular hurry to ramp up production. Of the nearly eight billion people in the world in 2023 only about 10,000 of them will be able to acquire a current, new Leica M11. That's all Leica will make this year. A fraction of a fraction of an audience. And given the hand work and expertise required to make some of these cameras there is even reasonable doubt about their ability to scale up.

There were always two reasons voiced for buying an M camera in the past. One is that some people, after experiencing the process of shooting with an optical finder and a rangefinder, come to understand the subtle advantages and want to shoot with that kind of product. Lucky for Leica that they are currently the only company currently making a full frame digital or 35mm film rangefinder camera with interchangeable lenses and an optical viewfinder. And a real, optical rangefinder.

The second reason many people give for using or wanting a Leica M has to do with the idea that Leica's lenses are better than lenses produced by other camera makers. With a few exceptions; perhaps a lens like the 50mm f2.0 APO lens for the M, lenses from other makers are catching up or have caught up with those from Leica in 2023.

So why the renewed excitement for the Leica M? Speaking for myself I have to be honest and say that it's all about sentimentality and nostalgia, coupled with an uptick in spending power which sometimes comes with age. After all, most of the expenses of raising a family end at a certain point --- college is paid for, mortgages are over, compound interest has been kind, etc. --- There is a window between the expunging of many of life's routine expenses and the drop of income in retirement that's a sweet spot for finally acquiring a few of the luxury items you always wanted but were averse to spending needed cash on.

But I tend to be (somewhat) frugal. I felt the desire to get a digital M camera because I had used M film cameras extensively in the analog days. I've used M3s, M2s, an M5, an M4 and three different models of the M6. I used mostly lenses ranging from 28mm to 90mm and have (and still have) fond memories about shooting with the system. So, I wanted a return to the experience of using an M but without the added fussiness and daily expenses of a film camera, or the outrageous cost of a new M11 digital camera, so I bought a very well cared for M 240 camera, used, for around $2800. It serves its purpose. It's fun to shoot with and fun to have sitting in front of me on my desk. A reminder of some of the most fun days of my career. But I would hardly recommend a Leica M camera to anyone who just needs a full frame camera with good lenses, in order to pursue a photographic project in modern times. 

Digital cameras with EVFs are much easier to learn. Much more precise to use. And much, much less expensive than getting tangled up with Leica digital rangefinders. Knowing this won't stop us sentimental types from wanting one but after I re-acquired an M I have had to deal with the disconnection between an optimistic and happy memory and the reality of both my aging capabilities ( mostly a need for either diopters or a need to wear glasses. And while wearing eyeglasses dealing with an attendant inability to see the full frame of a 28mm lens bright line, etc.) and also the heady progress other camera makers have made; at least in catching up or exceeding the M series for sheer image quality. Said quicker = the M is a quixotic and fashionable camera but in no conceivable way is one the magic bullet for photos, the absence of which is hampering your ability to perform. It's just not. You might "like" the process of using one but you won't be held back if you don't have one in your bag. 

I like working with manual focus lenses but I can do that equally well with any number of cameras. I routinely use M rangefinder lenses on Leica SL camera, the Panasonic S5 and also the Sigma fp. All with good results. When I use, say, a 50mm f2.0 Voigtlander APO lens with an M to L adapter on an SL2 body I suddenly remember how nice it is to compose and focus through a nearly six million dot EVF. And how much easier it is to focus at slower shutter speeds because of the steadying power of in body image stabilization. And how much I appreciate the very high shutter speeds that allow me to use old, manual glass (and the new stuff) in full sun, at wide apertures, and without the need to carry around ND filters. 

After using the frame cropping feature in the Q2 I've become a convert to the idea that a single focal length lens can become a multi-focal length lens when used on the right camera. Basically, any camera that supports high resolution and the ability to set a crop mode. And to see the results of that crop mode in your finder.

Lately I've been using the 47 megapixel SL2 with a Voigtlander 40mm f1.4 lens. It's the same lens I used last  year on a shooting trip to Vancouver, Canada. Only now instead of carrying two lenses (a mild wide and a mild tele) I've started putting the 40mm on the SL2 with a Leica M to L converter and switching back and forth between  using the 40mm focal length in the full, 35mm mode and then, when I want tighter crops, switching the camera's mode to APS-C and making use of the VM lens as a 60mm. Two focal lengths in one and quite a small package. I do the same with the 50mm. Using the APS-C mode to convert the 50mm to a FOV of 75mm. For one recent project I used the 90mm Sigma f2.8 lens with the crop to give me a wonderfully compact 135mm lens. I can't do this with a digital Leica M. If I want two focal lengths I have to carry two lenses. 

Or I have to remember how I wanted something cropped and wait to do it in post. Which is very unsatisfying for me. You, of course, are perfect and will remember your intention of exactly where to crop --- right down into the micron level. 

As far as a nostalgia for a film M camera goes it's really an area in which I no longer have any interest whatsoever. The whole idea of buying, shooting and processing film leaves me cold. My shooting style has changed a lot. I love being able to work a situation from lots of different angles and with lots of different moments. Lots of potential images vs 36.... I hate the idea of having to send out film and wait for it. And there's no way I'd even consider having to put in a home darkroom and deal with that mess again. It's a time and a way of doing things that have long passed into the mists of time for me. 

If you "need" to slow down --- often listed as an advantage of shooting film --- buy some tiny capacity memory cards and shoot enormous, uncompressed raw files. That ought to slow you down enough. But if you are pining for the thrill of getting to the end of a roll of film and having to rewind and reload as you are watching aliens land their spaceships in your front yard I would say that you are misguided. The idea of wanting to go back to film strikes me as being as logical as pining for a return to cooking with Margarine. Or heading out for a night on the town with a bottle of Boone's Farm Apple Flavored Wine. Or going out in the morning to adjust your carburetor. Or getting a hair weave. Or breaking out those Dingo Boots. 

When I am asked by anyone who is getting interested in photography "what camera should I buy?" I never suggest a rangefinder or a pricey Leica. My go to recommendation is nearly always first to master a recent model iPhone and only then, if you still need "better" to consider something like a Panasonic S5ii and a really nice, standard zoom lens. Maybe a Sigma 28-70mm f2.8, or something similar. 

Why? Because in competent hands few if any people will see a difference between that and an $8,000+ Leica and it will mostly be easier to learn and easier to use. 

The people who gravitate to Leicas should understand what they are getting into. And, like a good spy, they should have an exit strategy for every (buying) situation as they enter a new space. Just ask Henry White, a long time Leica M user. He'd tell you the same thing. ...when he's not busy stuffing plastic explosives into his M4 body..... (excerpt from the novel, The Lisbon Portfolio). 

I love my M 240 but probably not for the same reasons you might. And certainly not of the same reasons a collector might. It's all about time travel back to the 80s and 90s for me. So, of course your mileage ---and your position on your "timeline" will vary. 

The wiser entry point for a Leica experience? The Leica Q, Q2 (sweet spot) or the Q3. Master one of those and learn why you like it and then you'll be better able to decide about joining up with the M Leica cult. Funny that most who write about them don't own them. Journalistic disconnection....

this is not the first time I've written about M series cameras and likely not the last. I love em. But not for any logical, economically wise reason. Caveat Emptor.