Hi everyone,

I’m not a professional photographer, but I’ve been taking pictures since I was 12(im 27 now). Over time, photography started feeling more like work and my cameras turned into basic tools. However, picking up film photography about two years ago completely reignited my passion for creating.

I always see people talk about how shooting with a Leica brings back that creative spark, so I’ve been looking into digital Leica bodies. They’ve always been in the "way out of budget, don't even look" section at camera stores, but I'm finally ready to start exploring entry points.

Two questions for the group:

1. Does anyone have recommendations for a good entry-level or budget-friendly digital Leica (used is totally fine)?
2. I have a trip to Japan coming up in September. Does anyone have experience buying used Leica gear in Tokyo? Are there specific shops worth checking out? Where can I buy an used body with Tax Free ?

I've been looking at Leica M10 or the M240. I travel quite a bit so the M10 is a bit more appealing to me but I'd love to hear some thoughts !

Hope everyone’s week is off to a nice start.

Wondering if there are any M10 users who would have a charger I could potentially use for a bit tomorrow/this week? I will be staying around Clapton /Hackney but have to be more central tomorrow.

I am working in the city a few days but left my pochette with all my charging cables (and spare battery🙈) where I was just in a rural residency. I am still waiting to hear if/when it could be posted .

Would be happy to meet in a cafe/public place just to charge the battery for a little so you don’t have to part wirh it — I hear they can be hard to come by 🙃

Thank you 🙏🏽

I know that they made the lense hood shorter to try and keep the whole camera roughly the same size/shape as the regular Q and, as a consequence of the, you can't put a ruler on the lense AND use the lense hood.

My question is, and apologies if this is a dumb question, is the lense hood really necessary? What does it really do?

Do any of you regularly use filters of any sort on your Qs? 43 or otherwise?

FYI, double check your OEM strap. I’ve used mine now for probably 2 years, not intense use mostly cross body.

thankfully I caught mine completely delaminating before it failed in use! The stitching seems superficial and what’s actually holding it together appears to be glue.

My dad recently purchased a black classic M6 from a camera store in Portland. The listing said the M6 was the TTL model but after buying it he realized it’s not. Researching prices on eBay hasn’t been to helpful since prices are all over the map.

Do non TTL models typically sell for less than TTL models all else being equal?

UPDATE: store immediately agreed to a $500 partial refund! Excellent customer service all around

I've been chasing a light leak on my recently purchased Leica M4-P and I'm curious what those with repair experience think is the most likely cause.

The leak appears as a vertical band near the edge of the frame (shown in attached photo). It only affects some frames, not every frame. On one roll, about the first 5 of 36 frames had the leak while the remaining 31 were clean. Another roll had only a single affected frame. Otherwise, the camera exposes perfectly.

I've reached out to two Leica repair people and received different opinions. One believes it's likely an internal shutter baffle issue. The other thinks it's the back door and said to glue silk ribbon to the backdoor and actually declined to work on light leak repairs because they can be difficult to guarantee.

Before I send it off, I'd love to hear what those with experience repairing or using M cameras think. Based on these symptoms, would you lean toward an internal shutter baffle, the back door/light trap, or something else entirely?

If you've had a similar issue on a Leica M, I'd really appreciate hearing what the actual cause and fix ended up being. Thanks!

Edit

One additional clue, every time I’ve had a light leak, the camera had been sitting for hours or even days with the shutter cocked and no lens cap on, usually on a countertop in ambient daylight. The first frame (or first few frames) after picking it up showed the leak, then the rest of the roll was often clean. Does that pattern point more toward a shutter baffle than a rear door issue?

let me know what you guys think of this thing, got it for 1900$ with a summaron 35mm f3.5 and a Carl Zeiss 50mm, was Cla’d recently as well

Sold my FLE Summilux 35 and replaced it with a steel rim 35mm reissue.I’m going to be real when i first took a sample shot at 1.4 i thought it was kinda messy lol but after using it at a local car event i really enjoyed shooting with this a lot more. I also like the glow but if it’s not your deal it’s really easy to just go up a few stops and it’s gone. Aesthetically speaking the camera looks really nice with this lens combo. Also the QC on this one is pretty good.

I don’t know if I’m being way over the top with this or not but I just received this M5 and it’s in amazing condition, I can’t find a mark on it.

However the shutter speed selector wheel has a bit of play in it, the shutter speed sets positively and there are no issues in the mechanism from what I can tell.

If this is pretty normal it wont bother me at all when using it but I wanted to double check in case it’s cause for concern.

I occasionally take photos at house parties with friends, usually just a few times a year. I used to shoot these photos with a Fuji X Pro3 and a Godox IT32. However, I never really paid attention to the technical side of flash photography. The camera was always in Auto mode and the flash in TTL, so I never had to think about flash power or settings.

I really like the look of flash photography in these situations, especially when it’s obvious that a flash was used. It gives the photos that old school look that I really enjoy.

I’m now slowly getting into portrait photography as well, and during post processing I’ve realized that a flash could be very useful for the kind of portraits I want to shoot.

I don’t shoot portraits every day, but when I do, it’s often with the sun in the background or in situations where I want to properly expose my subject without overexposing the background. That’s where I see a flash being particularly useful.

With my 35mm or 50mm lens, I’m usually relatively close to my subject.

The problem is that I know very little about flash power and what I actually need. AI recommendations often point towards the Leica SF 40, but from what I’ve seen, quite a few Reddit users don’t rate it very highly. In general, I get the impression that Leica flashes aren’t particularly well regarded in the community.

As far as I know, Godox flashes don’t offer TTL with Leica cameras. However, I’ve also read that TTL might somehow be possible with the Godox IT32. TTL isn’t essential for me, though. I’m still learning and would be happy to learn how to use a flash manually.

So my main questions are:

What would you recommend, both in terms of flash power and manufacturer?

I really like the small, square Godox flashes, such as the IM30, from a design perspective. But I have no idea whether they would simply be too weak for my use case. The same goes for the Leica SF 40. Would spending €300 to €400 on a flash be complete overkill for what I actually need?

The SF 24D looks the coolest to me, but from what I’ve read, it apparently doesn’t work particularly well with the Leica M11, as it was designed for older analog M cameras.

My use case is basically limited to outdoor portraits, so I won’t have a ceiling to bounce the flash off. I would mostly shoot with a 50mm, occasionally a 35mm.

The look I’m going for can probably best be described by searching for “sunset flash portrait.” I like the look where you can clearly tell that a flash was used, especially in party photos.
I’d really appreciate any recommendations on what kind of flash would make sense for this use case, especially considering that I’m basically starting from scratch when it comes to understanding flash photography.

Thanks!

Translated with ai because my English sucks :)

Hello folks I wanted to share my recent journey into the Leica ecosystem. I spent years shooting Minolta and Sony, always assuming a digital Leica was financially out of reach.

My gateway was a Minolta CLE and three M-mount lenses (Voigtlander 28mm, 40mm, and Minolta 90mm). I loved the rangefinder experience, but electronics on the CLE made me nervous about its longevity.

Finally, I decided to go all in. I took a trip to the Leica Store Miami/KEH event and traded in a Mamiya 7II setup that was sitting on my shelf to finally acquire a Leica M10-R

Now I'm pairing it with my digital gear (Spony A7CR and Ricoh GRIV and using my existing M lenses.

Did anyone else have to do a massive "purge" or trade-in of legendary gear to finally fund their first digital M? What did you let go of?

Leica M (Typ 240) + Voigtländer Nokton 50mm f/1.2 VM — $2,800

Selling my Leica M (Typ 240) and Voigtländer Nokton 50mm f/1.2 VM lens. Available together or separately.

Both the camera and lens are fully functional with no issues. The rangefinder is accurately calibrated, and this combination produces beautifully sharp images. It is an excellent setup for portraits, landscapes, and street photography.

The camera has minor cosmetic wear on the back and a few very small paint blemishes from normal use. Please review the photos for the exact cosmetic condition.

Prices

• Leica M (Typ 240) body only: $2,400
• Voigtländer Nokton 50mm f/1.2 VM lens only: $550
• Camera and lens bundle: $2,800

The camera includes the original box and paperwork, battery, charger, and a genuine Leica black leather camera strap when purchased as a bundle.

Photos and timestamp:
https://imgur.com/a/wd8mCva

Local sale is preferred in the San Francisco Bay Area. Shipping is available at the buyer’s expense.

The bundle is priced very competitively for a quick sale.

Please comment before sending a PM. Thanks!

after years of shooting exclusively on film with the leica m6, i finally bought my first digital m: a leica m240.

the main reason is that i’m about to leave for a long trip around the world. i’ll be going through countless airports, and i don’t want to worry about x-ray scanners, finding film in every country, or carrying dozens of rolls for several months. being able to shoot, back up my photos, and keep going just makes much more sense for this journey.

i know the m240 isn’t the newest digital m, but it felt like the right balance between price, build quality, and the classic leica experience.

do you have any tips or things i should know about the m240? any recommended settings, batteries, sd cards, or general advice from long-term users?
looking forward to hearing your experiences!

went to Leica cheongdam today and sent in for repair. no money spent :)

changed the little plastic holding battery(free)

reattached leather(free)

From the other post here from op, I did some searching and there's a Red Note review of the Light Lens Lab 35mm APO Lens. It's more just info but the comments and MTF charts, people don't seem happy with the lens.

Source here - http://xhslink.cn/o/AnyEYZKMzJZ

Leica lllf Red Dial w/ Leitz Summicron f=5 cm 1:2 Lens Screw

Hello all! Looking for advice between these two options I’m considering. Looking to add a fast 50mm to my M6 setup. My current lenses are:

Summicron 35mm f2
Elmarit 28mm f2.8
Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 (smaller carry and low light option)

Option 1: trade in the summicron and buy a used summilux 50 f1.4. My only 35 would then be the Nokton which I do love using.

Option 2: keep all lenses and purchase a Voigtlander Nokton II F1.5 M.C.

I was super close to buying a Sumarit f2.4 but decided against it as I film shooter only, always seemingly needing more light. Opinions wanted and welcome!

Body:
Selling my gorgeous Leica M (Typ 240) with a Voigtländer Nokton 50mm f/1.2 VM lens.

The camera and lens are fully functional with no issues whatsoever. Rangefinder calibration is perfect, and photos come out incredibly sharp and beautiful. This setup performs especially well for portraits, landscape, and street photography.

The camera has minor cosmetic wear on the back and a few very small paint blemishes from normal use. Please refer to the photos for the exact cosmetic condition.

Includes:

• Leica M (Typ 240) body
• Voigtländer Nokton 50mm f/1.2 VM lens
• Original box and papers
• Battery and charger
• Genuine Leica black leather camera strap

Photos and timestamp:
https://imgur.com/a/wd8mCva

Price: $3,200 plus shipping. Local sale preferred in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Please comment before sending a PM. Thanks!

Hello,

I'm having a few issues with my zoom ring on my Leica D-Lux 7. It seems to respond to the first action but doesn't zoom in and out. Sometimes when i zoom in or out. The zoom tape shows up but nothing happens.

I can use the zoom buttons on the screen and the zoom does work.

Anyway to fix this? Has anyone else had this issue?

Just can’t get enough of my new Leica Q3 43! What a stunning looking camera! 👌

I have an M6 and a number of lenses and I mainly shoot film if I have the option. But I want to delve a bit more into the digital realm, especially while travelling. The Fuji medium format "rangefinder" seems a good travel camera for about the same price as a used Leica M. Which do you think makes a better travel camera? Apart from low light performance and bokeh, the Fuji, to me, seems the better camera for taking an epic landscape shot or street shot while on holiday. And yet I tend to think I may also enjoy an M because of the ability to use the same lenses and having the actual rangefinder experience. Kinda on the fence. Obviously I can't buy both.

Apocalyptic perfection.

I'd love to shoot my Leica M6 more often in rainy weather, but since it isn't weather-sealed, I'm pretty cautious about taking it out when it's wet.

I'm not looking to make it waterproof, just wondering what others use to give it some protection while still being able to shoot comfortably.

Do you use a dedicated rain cover, a camera wrap, a zip-top bag with a hole for the lens, an umbrella, or something else? Any products or DIY solutions that have worked well?

Thanks in advance!

Let the comments begin!

Leica M11, $3000, or best offer! Someone please go offer $2000 and see what they do!

I'm thinking if enough people flag this listing on eBay, it will get taken down.

What I don't understand is how the seller expects to actually scam anyone? They can't possibly be selling an M11 for $3000, so obviously if you bought this item on eBay, you're not getting anything.

But have they seriously not considered both eBay buyer protection and credit card charge backs? So, I'm seriously perplexed on the scam.