Dear Leica: You win

I feel "cooler" walking around with my Olympus OM1 but I just love using my M2. Just sayin'.....
Pete
 
CK Dexter Haven said:
. . . I've owned six Leicas in the past ten years. . .
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Why?

I mean, I could understand (1) An older M (2) a newer M with meter (3) M8 (4) M8.2 (5) M9, but even that would be quite a lot in 10 years.

All right, I have (1) M2, bought so long ago I've forgotten (2) M4-P, about 1980 (3) MP c. 2002 (4) M8 (5) M9. That's 5 Ms in maybe 40 years. I also have the IIIa I bought in 1969 or so but I don't think I've bought another screw mount in well over 30 years.

As for disliking comments about Leicas as jewellery, I'm sure you'd be delighted if someone looked at your choice of (say) shoes; sniffed disapprovingly; and said, "Only witless peacocks buy those."

Cheers,

R.
 
Roger, I think you prove CK's point (There's no need to be sensitive).

Why on earth would you be offended by somebody who looked at your shoes, sniffed disapprovingly and said 'only witless peacocks buy those'?
 
CK Dexter Haven said:
is ridiculously annoying, though to see so many web comments like:
• "don't be jealous...."
• "...if you can't afford one...."
• "a Leica distinguishes me from the rabble...."

Frankly, those attitudes pushed me away as much as other reasons. I just don't want to belong to that 'club' any longer.
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Where do you see this nonsense?
 
To (mis)quote Groucho Marks:

"I wouldn't join any club that would have me as a member". Not strictly true as I've belonged to a few clubs down the years but I don't believe in buying anything unless it "works" for me.

I owned and disposed with an M6 a few years back. However, almost immediately that I traded it, I missed it. Why - because of the pictures I took with it. I loved my old Summicron, the modest size, the quiet, assured click of the shutter, the build quality and the general feel of the camera. It still amazes me that the Leica engineers never worked out that the more common film loading mechanism is infinitely easier and quicker than the fiddle required with an M6 but I still love the Leica bodies and lenses.

Not a fashion statement or a "me too" purchase - just a way to get the best photos I can make.
 
I think that anybody who bought a Leica with a view to impressing others would be doomed to disappointment as the vast majority of Joe Public doesn't know an M4 from a Nokia phone. Most of them would probably think you were just too poor to afford a "real" (i.e. digital) camera. I think I've only ever seen one bloke obviously recognising my M4 and he was sporting an M9. Maybe there should be a motto: Be inconspicuous - get an M.
 
AndySig said:
I think that anybody who bought a Leica with a view to impressing others would be doomed to disappointment as the vast majority of Joe Public doesn't know an M4 from a Nokia phone. Most of them would probably think you were just too poor to afford a "real" (i.e. digital) camera.
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While my cameras do get recognized on occasion in NYC (it is a huge place with tons of people), even by attractive ladies saying "Nice Camera," these instances still only happen about 10 times a year.

The too poor thing has got to be true... since DSLRs are the most recognizable "Pro" cameras.

I remember being in a Lomo store here in NYC (8th st) and an older man saw my Leica. He said to the lady behind the counter something to the effect of " wow, you must really like his camera compared to all the ones in this store."/// She was kind of snotty after that to both of us. lol. I had to explain to him the Lomo philosophy a bit.
 
Do people really wear their cameras as jewelry? I only started shooting 6-7 months ago so many of you guys are more experienced in this regard, but I haven't heard of Leica until then. Before that, I thought this world was Nikon or Canon, and everything else was for people who couldn't afford one of those.

I've seen a few Leica's but whenever I see one I think "that guy loves shooting". The Leica shooters that I've seen tend to dress more or less normal. I feel that any film metal camera just gets as much attraction to the non-photographer croud.
 
sig said:
Roger, I think you prove CK's point (There's no need to be sensitive).

Why on earth would you be offended by somebody who looked at your shoes, sniffed disapprovingly and said 'only witless peacocks buy those'?
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You mean you LIKE bring called a witless peacock?

You must be a great deal thicker skinned than I. Or, indeed, than most people.

Cheers,

R.
 
Roger Hicks said:
Quite. But there are some people who are not susceptible to rational argument.

As the old saying goes: "My mind is made up. Do not confuse me with the facts."

Cheers,

R.
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That old saying made me grin as I've not heard it for a while.

Mind you, there are whole industries that depend on the smoke and mirrors of self-deception: much of the art world, top management, politics in general and it would probably be rude not to mention the EU. At least with photography you can more or less say, "What you saw and maybe visualised is more or less what you got (if you remembered to take the lens cap off)".
 
Roger Hicks said:
You mean you LIKE bring called a witless peacock?

You must be a great deal thicker skinned than I. Or, indeed, than most people.

Cheers,

R.
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I still believe most people would not care....

A lot of people think Leica is a fashion statement, Leica owners who say it is not, is not going to change that. With the pricing Leica have + the Hermes editions there is no way that is going to change.

So when somebody tells you that Leica is a Prada bag, enjoy it, ignore it, nothing you say/wish for will change it.

Then again, with my shoes, maybe I am a peacock, but to be honest, I do not think I care.
 
When I think about it with the history of Leica and photojournalism, a tool to show the bad things in the world and change it for the better. If you worry about people calling a Leica camera a fashion statement you are probably as shallow as a filed down tea spoon....

And to top it worry about other peoples opinion about your shoes, not over sensitive at all.
 
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