Me Leica
Back in the 1980s, when I first took up photography, the people with more money than sense bought Leica cameras. At the time, a lot of Leica's manufacturing was done by other companies under sub-contract - Minolta being the main one.

As a Minolta owner back then, it was a source of perverse pride that the innards of my relatively cheap camera were the same as those found in the hugely expensive Leicas. What a waste of money, I thought.

Fast forward 20 years and I find myself in the thrall of eBay, where film cameras are now ridiculously cheap - even Leicas. I couldn't stop myself. I'm now the proud owner of a Leica R5, a Leitz 28-70 zoom (manufactured by Sigma for Leica), a 70-210 (made for Leica by Minolta), a 50mm f2 and - my favourite item - a Motor Drive R that requires 10 (yes, count 'em: 10) AA batteries.

Back in the day (BD - before digital), I'd have been lucky to see change from two grand, but the whole lot cost me less than £700.

The outfit weighs a ton, being largely made of a revolutionary material called me-tal and has no autofocus, no custom scene modes, nor much of the other gimmickry found on today's snapshot cameras.

And you know what? I love using it, even with the minor faults on the camera and motor drive. The lenses, despite not being the German-made models, are pin-sharp and the sense of anticipation waiting to see how the pictures have come out is palpable.

I think the reason I like using the camera so much is because I know that, if I get a good shot, it's at least partly down to my skill and not to the programming abilities of the camera manufacturer.

The value of my kit has probably reduced since I bought it, but as I've no intention of selling (unless one of you makes me a good offer), that's largely irrelevant.
( Snappyuk gets BIGGER with free sample., Mon 8 Nov 2010, 8:42, 6 replies)

You'll find that its an appreciating asset
The prices of film kit are edging up on fleabag. Gone are the days when the site was flooded with high end kit. There are bargains to be had but they are rarer these days, as there are a lot of dealers on there now.Leicas are immune to a degree as they've always been expensive kit like Hasselblads.
If you want top price for kit (Especially. the workhorse stuff like Pentax K1000's) sell before the start of the school year. You'll find loads of students purchasing 35mm kit for class.
(Sir Tainley Barking Ezekiel 23:20, Mon 8 Nov 2010, 9:50, closed)

I used to work in a camera shop
We sold tons of Praktica MTLs and Zenit Es to the same bunch: new students. The supply of those cameras seemed unending, and was almost exclusively from men in their 50s trading in for a new compact or bridge camera.
Those were the days.
( Snappyuk gets BIGGER with free sample., Mon 8 Nov 2010, 10:16, closed)

I inherited a Practika SLR from my father in law. They don't make the batteries any nore so I had to have them custom-made by a specialist (I ordered two, to be practical).

Turns out part of the film drive mecahnism is borked so the pictures are terrible - but I have learned how to use a camera properly, so that a plus.
( Bootsthealchemist is barred from the Masterchef Facebook page, Mon 8 Nov 2010, 14:22, closed)

.
I'm not so sure about this same innards thing. My car is built on the same platform as a much cheaper and more popular make, but in fact it only actually shares about 20% of components. It sort of makes me chuckle when I read / hear about how the other car is 'practiacally the same car'. No, it's not . . . you bought the cheap one Dude . . . lol.

Talking of cameras, I have two Praktica cameras, which I inhertited somewhere, along with a big bag of lenses. I don't use them much now, but they take really good photos.
( Not Pineapple anymore, Mon 8 Nov 2010, 16:25, closed)

It was a closer relationship between Leica & Minolta
The Leica CL and Minolta CLE were effectively the same camera and the electronic and shutter units for the Leica R4 were the same ones Minolta fitted to their XD range of cameras.
Even now, Leica go in for "technology sharing". Their compact cameras are Panasonic Lumix models with a restyled body. The flip side of this is that most Panasonic cameras claim to have Leica lenses. They're probably manufactured under licence in China, but they still carry the Leica name. The key difference between the Leicas and their Panasonic equivalents is the price - the Panasonics are MUCH cheaper.
( Snappyuk gets BIGGER with free sample., Mon 8 Nov 2010, 19:52, closed)

I bought...
...tons of old rangefinders, which are my weakness.

People have got wise now, and old, good, film cameras are going up in value now. Far less bargains to be had now.

Although, you can now get the first generation of really good digital compacts for peanuts - got a Canon G5, a Sony dsc-v1 and some nice Olys for 50quid each. Nearly a grand new.
(inflateable, Tue 9 Nov 2010, 8:02, closed)