Leica Film Cameras sales increase ten fold in 8 years

[Whitten]

The Q series is made for travel, street photography. Tourist hotspots tend to be in cities, like Paris, Florence, NYC etc...
No I'm not surprised you don't see many Leicas, but it's notable that in cosmopolitan cities with large numbers of tourists, most people are taking 'snaps' with cell phones, not even digital point and shoots.

 

[JohnGellings]

The Q series is made for travel, street photography. Tourist hotspots tend to be in cities, like Paris, Florence, NYC etc...
No I'm not surprised you don't see many Leicas, but it's notable that in cosmopolitan cities with large numbers of tourists, most people are taking 'snaps' with cell phones, not even digital point and shoots.

It's been notable for 10+ years that the average Joe uses a cellphone. That still doesn't mean Leica isn't selling 10x as many cameras.

 

[Archiver]

I always amazed when people say they don't see Leica in the 'wild'. I constantly see film and digital M's on the street here in New York, and even while visiting London. While some are of the 'dentist' variety almost all seem to be legitimate photographers of one sort or another. Just recently I was sitting waiting for my son outside a coffee shop in London, and took out my Monochrome to take a shot and three guys descended on me all having film of digital Leica's.

Sometimes I think that the typical Leica user is just more discrete on the street and goes unnoticed by many.

Joe

I'm curious what a 'dentist variety' Leica user looks like. When the M9 is around my neck I'm usually in a black bomber jacket and black padded knee work pants because I'm working. Or I'm in faded jeans, black boots or sneakers, a hoodie and a padded vest, maybe a worn denim jacket. On rare occasions I'll be in a suit for an event.

As for Leica doing so well, good for them! Prices are out of reach for many photographers these days, but the success of the brand means more interest in photography as a historical artform and a modern capturing of the times. 11,000 M bodies per year is awesome, it doesn't even count the SL bodies which seem very popular, too.

 

[Guth]

Itt nincs ilyen. I can't remember the last time I saw anyone with an actual camera, film or digital. Maybe sometime last year. Now, with fall colors, I'd expect someone to be making photos. Being in a large Pacific Northwest metro area, I don't exactly live in the middle of a desert, yet I may actually find more photographers there.

Are you not in Portland? I haven't gotten out very much at all over the past few years, yet I've still seen other photographers around town on numerous occasions. They typically tend to be younger than myself, often much younger and are quite often using film cameras. It is rare to see others using Leica M cameras, but it does happen. Somewhat ironically, the one time I saw someone using a M6 TTL like my mine was earlier this year and I didn't have my camera with me at the time. (Not all that surprising as the truth is I only carry a camera with me when I am intentionally going out to shoot, otherwise I rely on my smartphone to grab random snapshots.) But I still struck up a conversation with him and we wound up having a nice chat about photography and some of the local Portland resources for photographers.

I'm curious to know if you have connected with any of the local photography groups on meetup.com? I just recently joined the Portland Analog Photography group and am thinking about joining in on some of the outings that they put together.

 

[Whitten]

It's been notable for 10+ years that the average Joe uses a cellphone. That still doesn't mean Leica isn't selling 10x as many cameras.

Never said Leica wasn't, just commenting on the general absence of actual cameras around the many cities and countries I've visited the last few years.

 

[JohnGellings]

Never said Leica wasn't, just commenting on the general absence of actual cameras around the many cities and countries I've visited the last few years.

For tourists, I think many are left in people's bags and taken out during certain times. People are afraid of getting robbed and things have been worse everywhere over the last few years. Not everyone is, or cares to be, a street photographer ready in a split second.

 

[mfunnell]

FWIW (probably not much) I was having lunch at the QVB in Sydney (a bit "tourist central", or adjacent) on Saturday, and saw two different ladies taking photos with Leica digital Ms (not sure which ones, as I couldn't get a close look) - both in chrome (another "FWIW"). Not a trend I'm guessing, but data points at least. (Also: not film.)

...Mike

 

[jszokoli]

I'm curious what a 'dentist variety' Leica user looks like. When the M9 is around my neck I'm usually in a black bomber jacket and black padded knee work pants because I'm working. Or I'm in faded jeans, black boots or sneakers, a hoodie and a padded vest, maybe a worn denim jacket. On rare occasions I'll be in a suit for an event.

As for Leica doing so well, good for them! Prices are out of reach for many photographers these days, but the success of the brand means more interest in photography as a historical artform and a modern capturing of the times. 11,000 M bodies per year is awesome, it doesn't even count the SL bodies which seem very popular, too.

When I said 'dentist Variety' I'm referring to the stereotypical wealthily hobbyist who is more interested in buying the 'best' camera that they can without really caring if it really fits their needs. Typically wearing a just released absolutely mint camera and lens hanging around ones neck would be the look.

And to be clear, most of the Leica's I see on the street are being used, not slung around someones neck as jewelry.
Joe

 

[JoeV]

Are you not in Portland? I haven't gotten out very much at all over the past few years, yet I've still seen other photographers around town on numerous occasions. They typically tend to be younger than myself, often much younger and are quite often using film cameras. It is rare to see others using Leica M cameras, but it does happen. Somewhat ironically, the one time I saw someone using a M6 TTL like my mine was earlier this year and I didn't have my camera with me at the time. (Not all that surprising as the truth is I only carry a camera with me when I am intentionally going out to shoot, otherwise I rely on my smartphone to grab random snapshots.) But I still struck up a conversation with him and we wound up having a nice chat about photography and some of the local Portland resources for photographers.

I'm curious to know if you have connected with any of the local photography groups on meetup.com? I just recently joined the Portland Analog Photography group and am thinking about joining in on some of the outings that they put together.

Bill, ironically the more that time passes the more I see younger people!

 

[Richard G]

If I go to a the main art gallery in Melbourne I will usually a see a young woman with an Olympus OM3 or most recently a gorgeous Minolta SRT101. It’s one of those young women, or two, ahead of me in the queue to get my film processed too. I’ve never seen a woman with an M Leica. I also have not been out much in the last three years.

The last Leica I saw on the street was a young man on the tram with an MP and 28 Summicron. It has generally been middle aged men I see with Leicas. The Q has really penetrated my photographic group.

 

[FrozenInTime]

Last Leicas I notice here in Edinburgh were Barnacks, near identical IIIfs and 50 Elmars carried by two young chinese tourists. seen while queueing in the Newhaven harbour fishmarket chip shop ( which I presume has made it into some recent guidebook ).
During the summer in the old town, it is easy to spot at least one semi-serious M series user each day.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

In a world of 8 billion, people are surprised they don’t see a few Leicas? Tourist spots aren’t exactly the prime Leica spots either. We all know cell phones are popular with non-photographers. Leica is still a niche even if more popular this year.

I see people with Canon and else cameras regularly. Spots and not. But none with Leica.

 

[JeffS7444]

I see people with Canon and else cameras regularly. Spots and not. But none with Leica.

I think consumer-grade Canon DSLRs are the camera I see most often. Not Nikon, not FF, not mirrorless.

 

[Tuna]

I haven't seen anybody using a Leica this year. What do the people do with their cameras?

Erik.

I mainly shoot as a street photographer - unobtrusive and unnoticed. My Leica and I have probably taken your picture and you just didn’t notice me.

 

[Retro-Grouch]

I mainly shoot as a street photographer - unobtrusive and unnoticed. My Leica and I have probably taken your picture and you just didn’t notice me.

Maybe I did notice you, but thought, Oh, another dentist! 😉

 

[Saganich]

In Williamsburg I see many Leica's, in Bed Stuy not too many.

 

[Godfrey]

"Most people" are not photographers. Most camera owners are not photographers either, they're camera enthusiasts in the large part, and they make a few photos now and then. There's nothing wrong with being a camera enthusiast and enjoying the feel, the history, the look of a fine piece of equipment ... and likewise, there's nothing wrong with owning such things and not really using or carrying them that much. Photographers carry their cameras, whether Leica or not, when they want to make photographs. This might be often and on the streets if they like that sort of photograph, or it might be that they carry gear only when they have specific photographic goals in mind.

Leica has an audience which includes a great number of both photographers and camera enthusiasts. It's good to hear that they're selling more film cameras than they did in the past .. this makes sense as the statistics of film usage amongst both photographers and camera enthusiasts have been rising for several years and Leica is one of the very few manufacturers still producing a quality film camera. Certainly prices and sales volume for used film cameras have been on the rise for several years as well, but Leica cannot account for volumes of second hand Leica camera sales.

I'd love to buy a new Leica M-A but I question just what I'd be getting if I did that poses an advantage over my ancient M4-2. It's pretty much the same thing and my M4-2 is working beautifully. So I guess I'm not going to add to the statistic any time soon.

And all you folks who sneer at Leica for their special editions ... You don't have to buy one. Please don't, it won't make you happy. I think some of the special editions are neat, even if I've never bought one, and they do return good profit for the company, and pleasure for the people who like them. And the rest of you who sneer at Leica for their prices, well, eh? Sneer away ... again, no one forces you to buy one or want one or like one. If you're sneering out of envy for others who can and do afford them, like them, pay for them, well, that's your problem and not Leica's.

G

 

[Pál_K]

Are you not in Portland?

No, I left Portland in 1999. I live in Worsington state ...for now.

 

[Dpingr1]

Just to add in -- last time I saw a Leica M in the wild before this year was at the Women's March in DC in 2017. This year in NYC I saw two M6s -- different people, different times, different places, both under 30. That was good to see -- I hope it's a sign of the times.

 

[Richard G]

1. The thought that there might be a photo of me, taken by Tuna, is going to stay with me all day.

2. The only dentist I’ve ever seen with a Leica was my Dad, looking at the M2 and 50 Summilux he’d bought me when I was 17. He used Olympus OMs for work. My pejorative reference point for dentists was provided by the Australian art critic Robert Hughes in The Shock of the New, in a vivid rant about the consumption of art in some loud New York gallery strip trodden by “bus-loads of dentists from New Jersey in their Gucci loafers.”

My Dad had his shoes made in London. And he painted pictures with subjects.