Larry Chen
Automobile | Last Updated: April 4, 2024
I normally don’t like showing off my gear, but with film it’s different. I am proud of what I shoot and I really want more amateur photographers to pick it back up.
Released in 1984, the Leica M6 is not much of a performance camera. It barely has any features and there is quite a lot to learn due the rangefinder system. The advantage however, is that you can use the best manual focusing lenses in the world on this body. The version I use was manufactured in 1998.
I am a firm believer in using my equipment hard, so as beautiful as it is, my Leica definitely gets used and abused. This is also why I choose to shoot with Voigtlander lenses. They make some of the most unique lenses in the world and they specialise in the M-mount.
I use three lenses:
Voigtlander 12mm f/5.6 – Currently the widest 35mm lens in production that is not a fisheye. It’s impossibly sharp, and even though it has a slow 5.6 f-stop, it’s perfect for those nice wide-angle pans. It’s super-easy to focus as well and you can practically set it to infinity and shoot away most of the time.
Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 – The second lens in my film camera arsenal is the one that practically never leaves the body.
Voigtlander 75mm f/1.8 – It’s not quite long enough to be a portrait lens, but 75mm is a great focal length for some trackside pans. From f/2.0 on, it’s super sharp. Shooting anything longer than a 75mm is quite difficult on a Leica.
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