Leica M: Not perfect, but I love it.
By Steven Jermaine
Hey Brandon and Steve, first thank you for keeping up all the hard work over the years. It’s been a pleasure to read and see the growth. Over the years GAS has led me to and through many cameras, such as the fuji x100, sony nex 7, sony rx1, nikon df, Leica m8, canon 70d, and etc But with the blessing of my wife my GAS was abated with the purchase of a Leica M240 and Zeis 50mm f2 lens. It’s my daily camera and goes with me everywhere. I purchased mine certified used from popflash.com and verified the two-year warranty with Leica NJ.
This camera I am sure everyone knows is amazing so I won’t have to go there. And yet, I am sure everyone knows it has its issues and as a person who has experienced it, I’ll touch on it a little. This camera has been sent to NJ for repair early this year for two months. That wasn’t a fun time as the rangefinder was out of alignment amongst other things. I purchased a Sony A6000 to hold me over (Great little camera).
Despite the issues I find myself still in love from day one. The camera inspires me to take it out everyday and attempt to create something. Some days I don’t make any images while others I shoot a whole lot. But it’s always with me and like you always say, that’s should be the camera you own.
Ok this is getting a little long but as for the images, these are test shoots and my daily musings around Washington D.C. I hope you enjoy them. Thank you everyone for your time. If you’re in D.C. and want to photo-walk around, don’t hesitate to email or dm on Instagram. I’m always looking for photo friends.
Best,
Steven Jermaine
@5amtoday
www.5amtoday.com
Great Shots!
Great shots! I understand where you are coming from as I recently sold all of my Canon gear to buy an M240 and 3 lenses. I love shooting the M240…just holding the thing gives me pleasure for the simple tactile sensation of handling it.
There are other cameras out there that might do a lot of technical things better but for me the Leica makes me want to shoot and take it wherever I go, and I can’t say the same about a lot of other cameras currently on the market.
Thank you. And it’s a hard thing to explain. It’s def. not the best camera on the market, but it’s the only one so far that I haven’t looked at and said “What if I sold it?” Like some of the other cameras that have went through my hands.
Presumably just the Zeiss 50/2 ZM as he states…
These shots are perfect examples of why the M240 and M9 are the best 35mm digital cameras in the world. Access to M glass but also Leica knows how to keep a cohesive thread between film and digital in their photo handling. Girl with pink lips is especially balanced in that way. You are an exceptional photographer, thank you for sharing.
Man John you’re one of my idols. You sir are an amazing photographer with a great sense of color and composition. That coming from you makes my day. Thank you. What are your plans for the Q you won, congratulations again!! You earned it!!
Hey Steven
I just realized you are 5am Today on Instagram! Thanks so much for the kind words, I really appreciate it. Really though, your portraits are spot on and should have a spot in LFI. I’m stilling waiting on the Q but looking forward to when it arrives. I think I’ll probably use it as my walk around camera. My real excitement is that I just got an S2. I’ve been wanting one since 2009 but never thought the price would come down to my level. then I saw the Leica store in Miami was selling SE 006s for 6k to make room for the 007. I didn’t get it together in time to buy one of those but got me wondering about S2 prices. Low and behold I found a mint S2 for 4k so I promptly sold my beloved M6 and my not so beloved lesser used lenses and snapped it up. After one day of use in already blown away by this camera even with using Mamiya lenses. It’s going to be hard to shoot with anything else! Your photos are one of the first to make me wonder about the M240. Ive been a staunch supporter of the M9 and CCD but looking at the color and tone of that portrait has me thinking;) I’ll see you on Instagram!
Man 4k for a S2….. I’m covering my ears right now. For some reason I was looking at that same camera… I don’t think I can convince my wife. We
ll def talk more on instagram, it’s the best place to reach me. I just realized that I didn’t mention that for the portraits there was some retouching done by me in photoshop. Color was slightly changed a little but I can email straight out of camera raws for you to play with. I can’t wait to see what you create with the S2. Could you do a write up for here?
Steven, thanks for the images. The camera is part of the story, can you indicate what lenses you used in these images?
Roger
I used the zeiss 50 f 2 on all these shots. It’s my only lens for the leica.
Amazing camera, excellent photography…ENJOY !!!
Thank you!!
I bought a second hand M240 a month ago. The seller had made less then exposures and put it back in the box: he couldn’t cope with it. A new M240 is 7.900 USD in Denmark. I paid 4.850 for mine. It’s only ten month old.
The M240 is more complex as the M8 and I’ve noticed problems with the alignment of the rangefinder too.
My standard lens is a Zeiss 50/1.5. Nice glass.
Maybe the alignment will be better when using a Leica 50/1.4 ?
Nice pictures !
I thought of that. When I tried the Leica Test Drive they supplied me with a leica 35mm and that lens was really sharp across the frame.
Not sure if you know or not but the Zeiss 50mm 1.5 is known for having pretty bad focus shift…so I would guess your lens is the issue not the alignment of the rangefinder.