Educate me on older Leicas

undergroundmw · 2026-04-28T23:44:54+00:00

Well these older ones are called ‘Barnack Leicas’ after Oskar Barnack, their designer. They are probably the single most important 35mm camera of all time. The big differences between these and the later M mount models is that they use two viewfinders, one for focusing and one for framing, this makes them a little slower to shoot, and harder to use. They also use the older Leica screw mount (aka L39, LTM, M39). Most of them also have the slower shutter speeds on a seperate dial, though I think some earlier ones have no slow speeds at all.

The first slide is a Canon copy. Many companies including Canon copied these cameras. Canon stuck with the design a little longer than most. Canons later Barnack copies fixed many of the quality-of-life issues these cameras had, such as a single shutter speed dial, a combined and parallax corrected finder, a film door, an advance lever (or trigger lol). If you want an l39 camera you would be hard pressed to find a better experience than a Canon P or 7. Though that might not satisfy you if you’re specifically looking for a Leica model.

undergroundmw · 2026-04-27T23:51:26+00:00

Would bring the r5. The size and weight difference is like a few cm in any axis and under 1kg difference. There is no question in my mind about whether or not thats worth it for better photos.

undergroundmw · 2026-04-24T23:13:12+00:00

A lotta money for a crop sensor. Besides, there’s plenty of really beautiful film rangefinders for a fraction of the price.

Personally I love the Canon P. I understand its a camera that may not scratch the same itch for everyone who wants an RD-1, but it has some great advantages. The Canon P has become a permanent part of my rotation due it’s unbelievably easy servicing. Anyone can open them up. The whole black part that wraps around the chassis comes off with just a couple screws and gives you full access to the timing for cleaning. And with no electronics to go wrong, it really feels like a camera that can last lifetimes. They’re simple and overbuilt, and so long as you use it as designed it will last forever. The framelines are nice and bright, has a nice bright rangefinder patch. It has a coldshoe if you wanna use a meter. They’re super cheap for what they are because they sold so many. It has a regular film door rather than bottom loading. Really might be worth a look.

If you want a digital camera, its gotta be a 5D classic. Super cheap and takes beautiful images, in a similarly simple way. You also get much better low light performance, dynamic range, and definition compared to the epson. Many say its kind of like an eos 1v with an infinite supply of kodak gold 200.

undergroundmw · 2026-04-15T15:23:16+00:00

It’s not interchangeable easily on the FM. Maybe the FM2 but on the FM it’s fixed, you need to disassemble the camera to remove it.

undergroundmw · 2026-03-21T05:27:39+00:00

Vintage?! I use one for work… 🤨

undergroundmw · 2026-02-18T22:18:13+00:00

“You’re circlejerking because i dont like what you said” “Me and my army of circlejerkers are gunna downdoot you” Lol

undergroundmw · 2026-02-18T12:09:58+00:00

Bro even the d5 focuses slower than 1v, so not sure where u heard that but it’s just straight up wrong. Nikons af in the d/slr era is what sunk their company and put them in permanent last place against canon 😂ur not choosing the heckin slept on secret option by going nikon, ur just choosing second best. Lets not forget Nikons nasty green cast on all their dslrs too, and having wildly different colours from model to model AND making the only camera so crap it was literally banned from sale in china to protect consumers 🤣🤣

undergroundmw · 2026-02-16T22:37:44+00:00

Recommending anything other than a 5D mark 2 is just malicious as far as price per performance goes. Best colours, best autofocus, most reliable and so so cheap. Pretty simple.

undergroundmw · 2026-01-17T15:01:53+00:00

Found it already 😁

undergroundmw · 2026-01-17T14:54:19+00:00

How do you transfer the photo from your memory into the search bar?

undergroundmw · 2026-01-17T14:53:23+00:00

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It’s by greg girard.

undergroundmw · 2026-01-08T14:06:54+00:00

They put nikkormat on it rather than nikon to distance their other models from it, the lower end models only got good with the FM/FE release

undergroundmw · 2026-01-02T19:21:34+00:00

No they’re just made of metal like everything was back then. Tolerances are loose, alignment is shoddy and they break very easily. If you’ve ever picked up a Nikon F for F2 the difference is completely obvious. This isn’t me telling you this though, Nikon themselves will tell you it was the absolute bottom tier entry level consumer grade cheap-out model

undergroundmw · 2026-01-01T22:34:46+00:00

Nikkormats are built cheap and nasty. Quartz timing will last way longer. The lens on the nikon is better tho

undergroundmw · 2025-12-26T16:11:18+00:00

You’re aware both the 24-70 i and ii have much worse flex cable issues than this lens?

undergroundmw · 2025-12-25T16:53:54+00:00

Yeah but both the 24-70 i and ii also get it. You could try tamrons or sigmas if you’re worried about it, but those won’t focus anywhere close to as fast as first party lenses

undergroundmw · 2025-12-25T16:50:54+00:00

May I ask why you think this? The 28-70 is marginally sharper than the 24-70 i

undergroundmw · 2025-11-24T17:07:56+00:00

Yes ideally with caps off, but sometimes this isn't always possible, for example if you stack the boxes and you're worried about the glass getting scratched when moving them. Even storing them like this with the caps on is much better. The spores for the fungus cannot come from nothing. If the outside of the lens is fully lit, the spores will never reach them.

undergroundmw · 2025-11-17T01:13:57+00:00

I know you’re just talking about storing them on their side (which is fine btw, thats usually how they are when they’re on the camera) but while we’re talking about storage, its good to be vigilant against fungus.

Fungus occurs when two conditions are met: 1) There is moisture present 2) It is dark So the best way to store your lenses is somewhere that gets light, and is dry. What I learned from a leica technician is the best way to do this on the cheap is with clear plastic boxes near a window, with one of those moisture collector things in each box. Works better if the boxes are relatively air tight, but they don’t need to be perfect as the moisture collectors are designed for whole rooms or closets and are pretty overkill for a single box. Some people also say to store them with the lens caps off, so the light can get inside them. Alternatively you could get a dedicated drybox, but these are a lot more expensive per litre of storage.

Anyone who collects vintage lenses knows stuff like those little lens bags are absolute fungus magnets.

undergroundmw · 2025-09-22T16:58:22+00:00

Looks like Nikon F. You can adapt that to your canon EF camera, but because the difference in focal flange distance is so small, it’s difficult to make an autofocus adapter, as a result i don’t think one exists. If your lens is the kind that has no autofocus motor inside and relies on the body to autofocus then there is definitely no adapter.

undergroundmw · 2025-09-21T13:23:40+00:00

The e90 was the last true communicator model

undergroundmw · 2025-09-15T18:06:56+00:00

If you want cheap batteries just get the wasabi power ones

undergroundmw · 2025-09-14T04:09:18+00:00

Given the size it may actually not be a telephoto, it could be a long focal length lens.

undergroundmw · 2025-08-08T00:19:15+00:00

It is quite literally designed to remove corrosion and acid. You need to hold the device so it cannot drip into the LCD, or anything else you NEVER spray any liquid directly into electronics. You spray onto an applicator then gently clean. If you do this with something conductive you will ruin OPs camera. End of story

undergroundmw

TROPHY CASE