Leica

Sharing my reflections and experience about why a photographer who has had Nikon film and digital cameras of all categories, and about 40 Nikon lenses total, suddenly bought a Leica and is absolutely thrilled about it.

Fast Lenses

  Why, being a Nikon user for more than 14 years, did I choose Leica? Since the beginning of my career, I've dreamed about fast lenses. Like Canon 50mm 1.2 or 85mm 1.2, or the manual Nikon 50mm 1.2, and still my dream is the Nikkor 58mm f/1.2 Noct-NIKKOR. Perhaps going forward, I really hoped that Nikon would finally start producing something special for natural light lovers. I bought all Nikon G, D and AIs series lenses, but didn't find anyone that satisfied me. I haven't seen good sharpness on any Nikon or Canon lens at open aperture. The closer the lens is to f/1.0, sharpness, contrast, quality, details decrease and "haze" and aberration appear.  It's like buying a powerful car but at higher speeds the power isn't there.

   Going forward, with the new Nikon 58mm f/1.4 I understood that my hopes to get something quality and faster than f/1.4 were gone. I felt that Nikon optics try to satisfy sports photographers. I was positively surprised by the Sigma Art series, from which I use 50mm, 35mm and 20 f 1.4 lenses. These are actually my lenses that I also use for advertising photography at f/1.4, however for reportage they don't work because this series is very slow, especially in darkness. I still hope in the future for Nikon's new lenses that have FL (fluorite lens) and PF (Phase Fresnel) elements, because with these lenses Nikon replaces large and heavy lens elements optically, therefore it's possible to physically create lighter and smaller lenses with the same physical parameters, thus there's hope for faster lenses. I waited for many years and decided I've had enough waiting! I started researching what is on the market that could satisfy my specific desires. One thing was still missing - the best fast standard lens with fullframe sensor and a camera that isn't large and is suited for everyday carrying. I wanted to find a camera that would serve me for everyday photography - family photos, frames I notice on the street, everyday life, people I meet and communicate with. To always have something very quality by hand, both in terms of photos and the camera and optics themselves. I researched until I came across the Leica brand.

Medium Format

    Who needs f/1.4 or f/1.0? One of the applications is to separate the subject from the background. Maybe then it's worth taking medium format, which one of you could afford? Medium format would logically be the next step after mastering Nikon. At one point I took the Mamiya digital medium format system! Very good for studio, portraits and nature, but bad ISO, slow and imprecise autofocus that works even worse in dark conditions, camera size didn't satisfy me. Digital medium format is good for slow work where there's no rush. You won't take medium format on your shoulder for everyday use. It's a purely slow work instrument that costs about 50,000 euros. I enjoyed it. Didn't satisfy me. Sold it.
    But if someone wants to enjoy ultra quality and medium format, but with DSLR sizes, then Leica offers medium format cameras that are smaller than competitor cameras - Leica S system. I myself would love to try this system, maybe I'd find satisfaction there, but need to save money for this thing.Digital Alternatives

    Leica is very good but also very expensive. I started analyzing Leica alternatives. I stopped at the mirrorless digital camera Sony Alpha 7. Mirrorless cameras give several advantages related to physics. Their lenses are closer to the sensor plane because there's no mirror mechanism, therefore lenses are smaller and better quality, and manufacturers can produce faster and better lenses than what's possible with SLR cameras. Also on these cameras you can mount any lens using adapters. Of course they will only work in manual focus mode, but still there's a system with incredible potential for lens choice.
    Sony Alpha 7 series cameras are very good with modern sensors and newest technologies, but their autofocus, in my opinion, lags behind monsters like the Nikon D5. Manually focusing with Sony Alpha 7 is convenient, but only for posed photos, therefore reportage, and especially in low light conditions, is complicated to focus. Sony Alpha 7 series has available lenses like SLR Magic 50mm T0.95 Hyperprime Cine Lens, which is very close in quality to Leica NOCTILUX. Or Mitakon Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95 PRO, which is much more affordable in price. Both lenses would satisfy the desire for a fast standard lens. Only focusing could be done via LiveView.
    It seems one could take Sony and find the appropriate lens, but after deeper research I concluded that this combination won't give minimal quality and satisfaction photographing with it. My goal was to find the best that's available in the world for this topic to never return. I didn't want to find a cheaper alternative or any compromise. Nikon Df     When Nikon Df came out, this camera thrilled me. About such a camera I dreamed to carry along and use for my private needs and if necessary also photograph something for work. The biggest plus of this camera is that people perceive this camera like an old manual film camera. Therefore it's easier to photograph on the street, in big stores and other public places. Ideal for streetart and travel. In my experience with this camera, never has anyone come and forbid photographing. Whereas carrying everyday Nikon D600 or D750 or D800, store guards and negatively oriented people have come and forbidden photographing with it. Unnecessary conflict situations arise that distract from the photography process. It seemed like a dream camera appeared, but the lenses still didn't live up to the ideal. Having taken Nikon Df, there's a feeling of holding a plastic thing, even though from the side it looks very good. Over time the silver color scratches off revealing gray plastic underneath. The product isn't made to last long.
    Another confusing aspect is if we take any Nikon FM series film camera, which is also fullframe, and compare with Nikon Df, the question arises why Nikon couldn't "put" the Df camera into the Nikon FM body? Because Nikon FM is quality, classic, visually attractive, long-lasting and smaller than Df. If such a camera appeared on the market, I would be ready to purchase it even for 2-3 times higher price than Df. I still hope that after several years a Df2 will appear that will come closer to my desires. Perhaps, that Nikon will release such on their 100th anniversary in 2017. Nikon Df has the Nikon D4 sensor, which is very good, but the autofocus module is from the cheapest D600 camera. In simple terms - you get a Ferrari with an economical 1.6 engine!
   

Leica History

    What is Leica? First, Leica is the only remaining historical brand from the beginning of cameras. Leica's history is very rich with its rises and falls, but to understand Leica's essence, you need to get acquainted a bit with its history. Around the 1910s cameras were large and heavy, used in studios or for trips for posed photos using a tripod. Slowly smaller portable cameras started appearing, but these were more prototypes that disappeared just as quickly. Leica since 1849 had been producing microscopes, and was known as a very good optics manufacturer. Around 1913 they released the first rangefinder camera. Rangefinder is a type of viewfinder where the photographer frames and focuses from a separate window. With this approach Leica opened a new page in photography history, when people could take a small camera along on trips and document everything they saw around. Many photographers were skeptical because they believed in 35mm film format, because it was too small compared to large studio photo apparatus. But it wasn't only about quality, but about the breadth of application, and thanks to Leica, people saw the world in photos because it could be easily taken anywhere before the camera wasn't there. Only after approximately 10 years did Nikon and Canon copy Leica's rangefinder cameras producing cheaper alternatives. Around 1940, Canon and Nikon switched to SLR cameras, because that gave the ability to see through the viewfinder exactly what the lens and photo film sees. That was a huge discovery with both pros and cons. Around this time, Leica developed autofocus but didn't believe that anything like that would be needed by users and sold the patent to the Japanese. Leica since its beginning has been in first place in camera quality and still Leica masters receive for service 50-year-old cameras that only need oiling and they work like they would with Nikon and Canon film cameras.

 

Leader's Path

    Leica from a camera leader and new path became over 100 years an exclusive brand that still produces cameras based on handwork and quality. Many could argue that computers and robots produce lenses and cameras much better and more precisely. As an example I can mention Nikon 28mm f 1.4D and Nikkor 58mm f/1.2 Noct-NIKKOR lenses that were made by hand and still are legendary and their rendering hasn't been surpassed by any modern Nikon lens. Nikon and Canon have oriented toward profit, they produce what is in demand, but such exclusive things like lenses with f/0.95 are not profitable to produce because such lenses will be approximately 3 times larger, heavier and more expensive than f1.4 lenses. Leica is the only manufacturer that historically wrote one of the most significant events that influenced how we photograph today - Leica showed that a camera can be light and small, and suited also for everyday use not only for professionals. Over the years, Leica, due to its principles, transformed into an exclusive brand. This in parallel could be compared to expensive wristwatches or exclusive sports cars that are produced in small numbers with special approach and service. This is one of the reasons why Leica is so expensive. I was pleased I hadn't held anything so quality made. Leica is a brand and product that can be passed down to children as inheritance. They position their product as a long-lasting asset that will serve for decades.
    Leica camera historical tree:

Voightlander

    Getting acquainted with the Leica brand, I understood that for me the most appropriate would be the Leica M series. Leica M is a rangefinder type camera. Not wanting to buy an expensive Leica camera right away, because rangefinder is something new for me. Therefore I purchased a cheaper alternative - the Voightlander Bessa R3 film camera. Many could recommend the Fuji x100, but these are all hybrids, aka cameras with an electronic viewfinder that's not a true rangefinder or with a crop sensor. A true rangefinder is optical, not an LCD screen in the viewfinder. Hybrid cameras have poor viewfinders, there's no ability to focus very quickly and in darkness they're slow to use. Therefore, to at least try a rangefinder and understand if I could live with this type of camera, I bought this cheaper film alternative. After more than a year of photographing, I actually got to like rangefinder type cameras. These cameras allow you to look at photography differently, opening new possibilities.

    Rangefinder type cameras allow you to see what's outside the frame, therefore you can ideally frame the image or wait for the ideal moment. There's no mirror mechanism that for a fraction of a second closes for the photographer the view, therefore you have contact with the subject the whole time. With a rangefinder, you see the frame and what's happening around it the whole time. It's also possible to minimize. The fast large lenses slightly enter the frame, also the parallax physical property slightly complicates framing subjects that are very close to the camera. Lenses and cameras are small because there's no mirror mechanism. The cameras themselves are quiet and non-intrusive, which opens new possibilities for photographing.
    I started saving for a digital Leica. For photos to differ as much as possible from those I photographed with Nikon equipment, I needed to take the most expensive lens - Leica NOCTILUX-M 50mm f/0.95. This lens in people's opinion is called the dark armored knight, because this lens's light power is unique - with it you can photograph at night handheld and get wonderful frames.
    I purchased the Leica M (type 240) digital camera and Leica MP 0.72 film camera, which allows changing between the same lenses. Additionally Leica film cameras don't fall in price, they always remain in demand. I hope these film cameras to leave to my children!

Leica M

    Leica M is the series that includes Leica's rangefinder classics and modern technologies. The Leica brand tries to hold onto classic values, for example, Leica M is a film camera outside, but with modern insides. It appealed to me with its size, quality and ability to quickly and precisely focus in darkness. Focusing happens manually, but having practiced I found that I can focus faster than with my Nikon D5, and especially in extreme conditions, in complete darkness it's possible. Leica has one of the quietest shutters in the world. Photographing with Sony Alpha 7 series I was annoyed because it's as loud as an SLR camera. Another interesting fact I found comparing Sony Alpha 7 with Leica M. In many tests, when the same Leica lens is put on Sony and Leica, from the Leica camera photos have less aberration and sharpness is better. This is explained by the fact that Leica has a specially built sensor that's specifically made for Leica lenses. Both are tuned to each other to get a perfect image. In the photo industry I've always encountered that competing lenses work much better than other manufacturers' lenses. That was one of the reasons why I stayed away from Sony Alpha 7 and SLR Magic 50mm f/0.95 Hyperprime Cine Lens purchase as a cheaper alternative.

    Leica isn't the best camera in the world! It's special because the manufacturer pays attention to absolutely different things than Canon or Nikon. As an example I can mention the Leica NOCTILUX-M 50mm f/0.95 lens, which is the fastest in the world, which still is available new and still is being produced. This lens is a model for other manufacturers how lenses should be produced. And that refers to f/0.95. Of course it's not perfect at f/0.95, but compared to any other lens's rendering at f/1.4, this lens is head and shoulders above the rest. Nikon's fast lenses are a compromise between price, lens and image quality, but Leica is not a compromise manufacturer. They try to give their users the very best.

    Compared to other cameras, Leica is small, offers convenience and discretion when photographing. People don't pay attention to you. In a situation where people have a hard time getting used to the shutter click, therefore people really don't understand that you are photographing. With an SLR camera, after each click someone pays attention to you. Leica's lenses are optically large. Color and tone transition is unique. Leica equipment is one of the rare things that is worth keeping for a very long time. Ordinary people will never understand this camera's potential - they'll think it's an old film camera, but in reality you get a much better image than competitor cameras.

Experience

    First experience? The camera, although small, is expensive, especially with the NOCTILUX-M 50mm f/0.95 lens. It's not as convenient to hold as Nikon D5, but somewhat more comfortable than Nikon Df in terms of handgrip, but still the heavy 50mm f/0.95 is the reason. With other smaller lenses you won't feel the weight and inconvenience. Photos are distinctive. They have crispness and spatial feeling similar to medium format. Photos don't need much processing. Nikon RAW files have a habit of needing to be freshened up a bit to get the desired effect. But when I worked with Leica RAW files, I started adjusting them according to habit and realized I had to put everything back to the starting position, because it was all already good. From Leica photos you get crispness, sharpness, clarity effect that the optics and sensor provide. Processing is only sometimes needed for lightening or darkening, because it's slightly hard to overcome Leica's auto exposure logic or centered exposure system.
    The only thing that doesn't satisfy me in Leica compared to Nikon, Sony or Canon is the Leica sensor's ISO performance. Other manufacturers' sensors are capable of giving cleaner photos at high ISO and larger dynamic range. If Nikon photos are forgiving and much can be recovered and Nikon RAW allows big mistakes, especially from Nikon D750, then Leica's sensor RAW isn't as forgiving, requiring much more care with precise exposure. My intuition tells me that with the end of 2016 or beginning of 2017, the Leica brand should release a new model or update the existing one with a more modern sensor. If there's a new model, it could be slightly smaller, closer to the Leica film camera, and with a more modern sensor, opening even wider possibilities.
    Leica photos much better preserve white balance and allow fixing it. In my opinion, Leica is ideal for posed outdoor photos. It handles sunny conditions well and even better handles soft diffused light, because the sensor/optics clarity very well extracts details. I've also photographed weddings with Leica, but you need time to get used to catching moments with manual focus. About Leica there's a saying - when you're young, you really want Leica, but can't afford it. Then when you're older and can afford it, you no longer have the sharp eyesight to use a rangefinder camera :). But that's not a problem because you can use liveview or purchase an external digital viewfinder :).
    I was pleased that Adobe Lightroom comes with the Leica camera.
    Sharing some everyday photos with the Leica M camera:

Leica in Latvia

    If there wasn't a Leica store in Latvia, I probably wouldn't have purchased it. Because of service, support and lens availability. Therefore I'm very happy that finally in Latvia there's also a Leica store, where you can view all models and test lenses. Responsive sellers can provide consultation and help choose the best model specifically for you. The best gift in my opinion is the Leica Q model. Ideal for everyday photography and will please anyone. www.balticoptics.lv

Where to Start?

    If you want to try Leica but don't have that much money to buy new, I would recommend starting as I did - with a film rangefinder. With Voightlander Bessa R, then by price comes the Zeiss Ikon and only then Leica M6, which can be found on eBay.
    Leica M6 can actually be the most popular among Leica film cameras because its price is the most affordable. And of course you can look at any other Leica model. Here's a brief explanation of how to choose a Leica film camera:
 

    If you're against film but want something stylish that reminds of Leica, you can start with Fujifilm X100 or Fujifilm X-Pro2, which unfortunately have crop sensors. If you want fullframe, as an alternative you can take Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1R II, but still I would recommend getting the Leica Q. Unfortunately both of these cameras aren't rangefinder class.
    If you want a true classic digital rangefinder camera that isn't extremely expensive, I would recommend Leica M-D. You can try to find a used Leica M9 or Leica M8, but their sensors might not satisfy you. You can also look at Sony Alpha 7 and with adapters try Voightlander, Zeiss or Leica lenses. If you want ultra fast lenses, the most affordable option is Mitakon Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95 PRO, but currently it only works on Sony.
    Recommendations are various, and each according to their desires and needs will come to their choice. The most important is to try!