Category: Leica film camera reviews
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Enter the Leica M4: Upgrading my Barnack Leica
I had been planning to upgrade from my Leica IIIf for a while; it’s a great camera but it makes taking photos a complicated process. First, cut the film so that it fits the camera, place it on the spool, insert it, wind it, only then select the shutter speed and realise a few shots…
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The minimalist Leica R6: Budget Leica or an overpriced SLR?
Leica is known for its legendary craftsmanship of cameras, but I don’t need to tell you that. Why do you think we all clamour at the idea of finding one amongst our grandfather’s possessions? It’s like finding the holy grail. While pretty much any camera from the M-Series is most sought after, most people would…
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I bought a Leica M3: Everything I need and nothing more
The Leica M3 is a camera I have lustered over since the beginning of my photography career almost eleven years ago now. Obviously, it looks absolutely beautiful as far as mechanical design and engineering go, and although you hear a lot of people saying the camera you use doesn’t matter, I actually believe it does.…
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Leica R6 Review; Like recommending an Aston Martin
The secret behind Leica’s R series is that their optical formulas for their SLR lenses are the same as their famous M mount lenses. A 50mm f/2 Summicron is made by the same people, with the same materials, in the same factories whether it is on an M6 or an R6. The R counterparts go…
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The Leica M3: 5 reasons why it’s the greatest camera ever
The Leica M3 doesn’t do anything that another camera can’t. In fact, by today’s standards, it is severely lacking in features that are normally considered standard. No light meter. No hot shoe. No autofocus. No automatic exposure. Limited frame line selection (50/90/135). 1/50 max flash sync speed… On paper then, one might ask why anyone…
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An in-depth guide to: The Leica M6 TTL
Made for only four years between 1998 and 2002, the Leica M6 TTL was the successor the 1984-98 Leica M6 and brought with it a couple of new party tricks: an ergonomically designed shutter speed dial and TTL flash metering. That huge shutter dial might not seem like a big deal today, in fact, you…
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An in-depth guide to: The Leica M6 (aka M6 Classic / M6 Non-TTL)
The Leica M6 — also commonly known as the Leica M6 Classic or Leica M6 Non-TTL — is a 35mm film rangefinder camera designed and manufactured by Leica in Germany between 1984 and 1998. The camera was the successor to the Leica M4-P, which was produced concurrently for the first two years of the M6’s…
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Learning to love a rangefinder camera: Five years with the Leica M6 TTL 0.85
In late 2015 I was hit by a taxi making an illegal turn and received three fractured vertebrae for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. When the mist cleared a second or two after I hit the tarmac, I found myself with my right arm aloft, still holding a new to me…
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So you want to shoot Fujifilm Instax? These are your options today
Fujifilm Instax covers a huge range of instant film and cameras created and sold since 1998. Over the past 2+ decades, while the number of other instant film options have dwindled to just enough to count with your fingers and toes, Instax has gone from strength to strength. In this article, I cover the history…
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Shooting the Leica M1: From 1960s British holiday camps to the streets of 21st century England
I am a great fan of the Leica M1, having first used this camera in the late 1960s as a camp photographer at Butlin’s in the UK. I can safely say that for me, it has everything necessary for quick shooting and nothing that you don’t need. So before I get stuck in, let me…
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A Day in the Life: London Street Photography with the Leica M6
This article is part diary, part camera review, part lens review, and part film review, all based around my average day-to-day exploits as a film-based street photographer and photojournalist in London.
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Compact camera mega test finale: 12+ high, mid and low-end 35mm point and shoot cameras head-to-head
One day, some time ago, I hatched a plan to do the biggest comparative test of compact film cameras that had (possibly) ever been done in the history of the human race. Surely it must have been done before? Well, not quite. Not as broad as the one you’re reading this very minute. This test…
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Expectations and anticipation: Shooting a Leica M3 for the first time
While my freshly shot and developed Tri-X 400 (using Kodak D76) is hanging up to dry, I would like to summarize some of my thoughts about shooting my new Leica M3 for the first time. I bought myself a double-stroke Leica M3 as a birthday present from a local seller who is also a member…
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Compact camera mega test: The annoyingly slow Leica C1
The Leica C1 was not on my list of ‘must-haves,’ but one came up cheap, so I thought I would try it. It is quite good in some ways, quite bad in others. It’s a Leica, which is obviously a big plus point for many people.
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Camera review: The Leica Sofort
It’s been sometime now since I won a Leica Sofort &
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