Do you like the Leica Red Dot?

Do you like the Leica Red Dot?

  • Yes. It adds Style. It's a Leica After all!

    Votes: 158 52.1%

  • No. People see that Red Dot and they get scared.

    Votes: 145 47.9%
  • Total voters
    303
Was shooting down in Maldon Essex UK last year07.Two guys about60/70 years of age walking past, one to the other.."whats sort of cameras are they?" "Oh there 'proper cameras'.. ..their Leica film cameras, I recogonise their shape".." Oldies then" said one "No" the reply came ....."just the best".
I had taped over the red dots on my TTLs(both with the new anti reflection viewfinders fitted) And he was right.......the best.

parsec32 on flickr
 
Last edited:
This thread is funny as hell. I'm waiting for my new M6 and it has this RED DOT smack in the middle...
I think it makes the camera look elegant and striking. What I'm worried about is being out on the street with something that tells potential thieves it's a Leica...so I'll probably start with taping over the white lettering.
Has anyone found potential theft to be a problem? Kind of like wearing a Rolex, I guess, but they have to get close enough to see the brand name...
And, by the way guys, I'm a female reporter, so I do tend to notice a lot.😀
Mary
 
I think most thieves are into Nikon & Canon (or whatever) DSLRs, not old rubbish like Leica. I know I would be. 😉
 
As a logo i love it, classy & simple, just keep it off my camera! Peel it off with a scalpel, stick it on the sports pages of the news paper and zapp it with matt black spray paint. Once it´s dry you could rubb it with a nail file if you wanted to recover the leica letters in crome, other wise just glue it back on...
 
If it is the red dot that makes you take such great pictures, I could learn ot like it! Otherwise, no, I do no like it though it is not a matter of "scaring" people. I just think it is not necessary and detracts from the simplistic, understated, nature of M cameras. OTOH, your pictures.... Wow!
 
All my M bodies are without the red dot. Many people like the simplity of Leica, the red dot is stylish, but not everyone's teaste. I personally will not get a MP with a red dot, so i voted for Dislike it.
 
hear hear! your index finger DOES cover up the leica dot on the m4-p. i noticed that last night when I was taking vanity shots (just got her yesterday afternoon).

all valid points, though. personal pref. after my 'first encounter' fun, I taped her up. no "leica" no "m4-p" no blood stain... just the leitz on the top.

where i'm shooting it's not much of a concern, but i like the look of it all black too..ooooooeeeeee, sexy as hell.


ditto damaso, pretty to look at indeed, i still see it in my mind,, a rare bird..
 
I have heard people suggest that the "red dot" serves no purpose but is only there for decoration and vanity. This suggestion is extremely offensive and ridiculous.

Unknown to almost everyone the red dot is on all the Leicas camera from the earliest Barnacks to what we have now. In the older cameras where the dot is not visible. (You will find it actually imbedded in the casting of the camera body. ) On later cameras it is actually visible which is a cost saving measure.

This "red dot" is in reality a photon molecule discriminator (PMD). It actually zaps inferior photon molecules before they hit the lens. This is why those silly bunnies who remove the "red dot" from their camera take such crappy pictures. You will have noticed that earlier cameras alway take the better pictures because the PMD was not removed.

These PMDs are made in extremely small quantities but it so happens I have a few. These are designed to be placed on lesser cameras like Nikons and Canons etc. To make life easy I'll be glad to arrange mortgages on certain homes or some exclusive properties.
 
The red+black combination is garish and reminds me of Nazis.

Red and chrome doesn't remind me of Nazis. It's just ugly. Maybe it reminds me of an old supermarket logo (Acme?).

I've had two black M7s. On the first one, i briefly flirted with black gaffer's tape. Eventually, i just painted the dot black. On my second M7, a friend was kind enough to give me a real black dot. It's a beautiful camera, without The Big Zit.

The script logo IS stylish. The red dot is too often an unfortunate component of Leica ownership. It bothers me much more on the M6/M7 than on the R8 or CM, though....

Is there really anyone who thinks an M6 is more beautiful than an MP?
 
reasons for the dot?

reasons for the dot?

With so many well reasoned objections to the dot why does Leica persist in using it? For a company that does so little advertising, why does it need a garish red dot? Perhaps that is the reason there are so many MP buyers - they want simplicity, reliability and NO DOT.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom