What to buy?

I've thought long and hard about this, and its time to take the digital plunge. Better late to the dance than not showing up at all.

I'm a many, many decades Lieca shooter. I have a sizeable investment in film Leicas/accessories that will likely be buried with me. I would go with a digital Leica, but, being retired, the required investment is simply not in the budget.

At any rate, I'm looking for a digital range finder style body without a lot of features. I'd like to keep the price for a body below $1500. I'm primarily a landscape and people working image chaser.

Mountains of articles have been written about what to buy. But, I thought with all the excellent photographers posting here, someone would have that nugget of advice that points me in the right direction.

Thanks for any advice!

Dang, you put a dollar limit on it...

Take a peek at the Sonys. Their a7II Alpha mirrorless looks interesting to me. It's full frame (e.g. The sensor is approx the same size as a 35mm slide), has very good resolution at 24 mega pickles, internal image stabilization, and a good reputation. I suspect this is the same sensor that Nikon used in their D3x. ISO is 100 to 25,600.

I'm a Nikon guy, but Sony, Canon, and others are all nice. Spend money on your lenses, but you already know that...

The Sony a7 bodies seem to be right up there with Nikon 810 for full frame. But glass is pricey and limited. Fuji has an excellent collection of fast lenses on APS-C sensor with well regarded rendering and colors. XE1 XE2 and XT-1 allow for interchangeable lenses with rangefinder style bodies with real knobs for shutter speed and aperture rings on most lenses. MF can be enjoyable with split screen or peak focusing. I love the retro look and functionality. That said, the menus are daunting and it paid to read the manual and watch YouTube videos to really learn the system. You could put together a kit within your budget.

My wife's Nikon takes good pictures. She bought it a while ago, it's a D5300. It was inexpensive, relatively anyway. I've been very impressed with it. If we were buying a new camera, it would be a Nikon...D5500 or D7100 or whatever the newest equivalent.

On the other end of the spectrum, I carry an Olympus TG3. I've dropped it, kicked it, had it underwater, you name it. About the only thing I haven't done is light it on fire...and I won't, at least not on purpose. It takes very good (no, not in the same class as my wife's Nikon) point and shoot pics at a fraction of the cost.

Thanks info gents!

Yes, the majority of the budget will go to glass.

Look for a good used D700, great camera and excellent high ISO performer.

Stalking Light said:

Look for a good used D700, great camera and excellent high ISO performer.

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I made the mistake of selling both of my D700s. It's still my favorite!

Wandering Sagebrush said:

I made the mistake of selling both of my D700s. It's still my favorite!

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I sold mine too and wish I still had it.

Advmoto18 said:

I've thought long and hard about this, and its time to take the digital plunge. Better late to the dance than not showing up at all.

I'm a many, many decades Lieca shooter. I have a sizeable investment in film Leicas/accessories that will likely be buried with me. I would go with a digital Leica, but, being retired, the required investment is simply not in the budget.

At any rate, I'm looking for a digital range finder style body without a lot of features. I'd like to keep the price for a body below $1500. I'm primarily a landscape and people working image chaser.

Mountains of articles have been written about what to buy. But, I thought with all the excellent photographers posting here, someone would have that nugget of advice that points me in the right direction.

Thanks for any advice!

Click to expand...

Many good choices. I'm partial to mirrorless systems (Fuji, Lumix, Olympus and Sony). They all have rangefinder style models with the capability of using your old Leica lenses with an adapter. Lumix and Leica have a close working relationship (see http://www.soundimageplus.com/soundimageplus/2015/8/3/panasonic-and-leica) which might appeal to you. The Lumix GX8 is an outstanding camera that even features the Leica symbol on the front. Some landscape photographers will roll their eyes at the micro four-thirds format but objectively it has proven to be very capable, as has the APS-C format.

Another approach you could take is to get a used Leica M8 that would fit your budget. What it lacks in specs it may make up for in familiarity.

On the micro 4/3 front, I have a Lumix GH3 in addition to my Nikons (D800's and D4s). The GH3 is a great little camera and I use it a lot as a carry around and hiking setup. I have lenses to cover a wide range of focal lengths, and even my 100-300mm (200-600mm equiv) is easy to hand hold.

I don't consider it a complete replacement for my full frame cameras but it's easy to have handy and a lot of times photos are more about the camera you have with you than the cameras you own.

Thanks gents!
Thx for the info Charlie; I'd looked at teh 4/3 format but just didn't seem right for me.

I'm looking for a Excellent used D700. Prices seem all over the spectrum.

Advmoto18 said:

Thanks gents!
Thx for the info Charlie; I'd looked at teh 4/3 format but just didn't seem right for me.

I'm looking for a Excellent used D700. Prices seem all over the spectrum.

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You said you wanted a rangefinder style body but now you are wanting a huge, 7-year-old DSLR? The D700 was a good camera in its day but times have changed. Good luck.

Bigfoot said:

You said you wanted a rangefinder style body but now you are wanting a huge, 7-year-old DSLR? The D700 was a good camera in its day but times have changed. Good luck.

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The D700 is still a great camera. There certainly are better, but probably none that have a more loyal following.

Advmoto, if you can find a very clean, low shutter count copy, with a MB 10 grip, I'd pay perhaps up to $1,200. Two years ago I sold my last D700 for $1,500. It had about 10,000 clicks. The camera is rated for 150,000, but often goes much higher. You can pick up excellent manual focus AI S lenses for very little $$$. Flickr has a great D700 group for info on the camera.

Yep, I'd like a range finder style body. But, sometimes we have to compromise. I've been shooting rangefinders for the better part of 40 years.

My 1968 Leica M4 captures outstanding images. While I'd like to shrink the D700, sometimes we can't fit our wants into allocated dollars.

Bigfoot, if you have other ideas, I'm certainly open to suggestions.

In a perfect world, I'd have a Leica M Typ 246 yesterday. But at ~$7000 for the body, I would not eat for 12 months! Even a Ex++ Typ 240 is ~$4900 at Tamarkin!

Seems difficult finding a used D700 with a shutter count less than 50,000

Checking some of the databases, 70,000-100,000 seems to be about the normal shutter life for the D700. Of course mileage varies depending on how well it was taken care of...the big unknown in buying used.

B&H sells refurb D700s for ~$1400 but currently out of stock.

You might find a used D750 around. I have not used this body but it gets good reviews.

I suggested the D700 based on personal experience, I didn't mean to steer you away from rangefinders.

Advmoto18 said:

Yep, I'd like a range finder style body. But, sometimes we have to compromise. I've been shooting rangefinders for the better part of 40 years.

My 1968 Leica M4 captures outstanding images. While I'd like to shrink the D700, sometimes we can't fit our wants into allocated dollars.

Bigfoot, if you have other ideas, I'm certainly open to suggestions.

In a perfect world, I'd have a Leica M Typ 246 yesterday. But at ~$7000 for the body, I would not eat for 12 months! Even a Ex++ Typ 240 is ~$4900 at Tamarkin!

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There are several excellent rangefinder style cameras in your price range. I mentioned one, the Lumix GX8. The Sony a6000 is another. If using your existing Leica lenses is not a factor, the Fuji X100 series is a marvelous fixed focal length camera. I've rented the X100S and X100T and really liked them. Some photographers say the Fuji rivals the Leica at a fraction of the cost.

Thanks Bigfoot! I'm just not sold on Four Thirds format due to sensor size (17.3mm x 13mm) and reduced light transmission.

If I live in Baja for a year, camping on beaches and eating tacos de pescadoes, I can afford the Leica M Typ 240. At least that's the logic I'm floating by the wife.

Advmoto18 said:

Thanks Bigfoot! I'm just not sold on Four Thirds format due to sensor size (17.3mm x 13mm) and reduced light transmission.

If I live in Baja for a year, camping on beaches and eating tacos de pescadoes, I can afford the Leica M Typ 240. At least that's the logic I'm floating by the wife.

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Unless I shoot above ISO 3200 the micro four-thirds cameras do fine. Yes, full-frame sensors have a technical advantage but that rarely makes a difference (I do use a Sony full-frame for extreme low-light situations such as poorly lit events where ISO 6400 and above is required). In the last decade sensor, in-camera processing and lens technology have improved to the point that there is limited need for a larger sensor. If there was a great advantage to larger sensors then we would all be shooting medium format.

Note that the Fuji uses an APS-C sensor which is between micro four-thirds and full-frame. In the end it boils down to finding the sweet spot for the kind of images we shoot and which camera makes photography fun. Four times out of five I grab my Olympus E-M1 but I have to say that the Fuji X100 has a certain magic for general street and travel photography. The Fuji's film simulations for JPEG images are amazing.

You could try renting or borrowing different cameras to get a feel for what suits you. I have used BorrowLenses and CameraLens Rentals but there are many others. Watch for rental discounts which appear regularly.

I've just returned from a trip to DC where I only used a Fuji X100s for a week. I bought it used with only 1200 clicks for under $600. The low light performance of the APS-C sensor was fantastic, as is the 23mm f2 lens. I wasn't sure if I would be okay with a fixed focal length, but it was fine. For a semi serious travel camera, it's a lot of fun and the images are excellent. The only downside is poor battery life.