THE LEICA M-A

So, apparently Leica decided to make a "new film camera" which was announced in Photokina awhile back. I was informed of this post by Japan Camera Hunter a week ago and couldn't believe that this was actually happening. Seems like Leica and Rollei are still producing these classics.

But I must confess that this isn't really anything new that Leica seems to be releasing these days. It's almost like the Iphone 6/6 plus which has the same features as you would get with a Samsung Galaxy. It functions like any film camera would. It still takes pictures.

The gimmick here is the fact that the camera is fully mechanical. No light meter, no electronics, no nothing. Just an advance lever, rewind knob, and a shutter. The way how a camera is supposed to be made am I correct? Exactly. But it's also the ergononmics that also bring out the appeal of the camera. Does this function like an M3 or does it function like an MP?





The thing is I already have a mechanically functioning camera. Two of them actually. This is the Canon 7. I sold a couple of lenses and a camera just to get this thing. It was already CLA'd when I got it. It took me a few years to get a proper lens for this camera (Voigtlander Color Skopar Pancake 35mm 2.8) and now it's one of my go to's for the daily. The light meter works like shit on this thing, so, I decided to cover it with some tape. I just use the Sunny 16 rule for all my exposure readings. I'm usually right 99.9% of the time anyway.






And here's another fully mechanical camera. The Olympus Pen F. This also took awhile to assemble as I got the body in San Francisco and the lens from KEH. The thing is that this camera is half frame so a roll of 36 becomes a roll of 72. Double than what you would get on a regular 35mm. This does not have any light meter what-so-ever so you had to buy those accessories elsewhere. It doesn't even have a cold shoe just like my Canon 7.

It's nice that Leica had developed a nice looking film camera for the public to have. Although the price tag will only be exclusive to the ones who can afford such a diamond it gives hope for the film shooters that film is definitely not going anywhere. It's a nice little kick and maybe Fuji would stop fucking around and start bringing back some film most of their fans love.

All in all I will never be able to afford nor have interest in something like this until I'm ready for it. For now the cameras that I have are the ones that will be used until they can't be used anymore, but I doubt that would happen.