God's way of telling you that you have more money than common sense

[Photo_Smith]

Of course they can. Think about it. Why is any copyist necessarily good?

Cheers,

R.

They can of course but it doesn't have to be so; a great product is a great product.
There is very little originality in this world some of the best ideas are adaptations of others originality.
Copying and adaption can bring something new to the table for later generations, and something good copied doesn't have to be bad in fact in can be good.
Jony Ive has many wonderful designs to his credit, to insist the contrary just seems like design snobbery or sour grapes.

 

[Crazy Fedya]

It also says on the bottom of the camera, that Marc Newson helped Jony Ive design it. Is it Leica K-01?

 

[3rdtrick]

I was tempted to bid on the camera but the moire is just awful...

 

[Roger Hicks]

They can of course but it doesn't have to be so; a great product is a great product.
There is very little originality in this world some of the best ideas are adaptations of others originality.
Copying and adaption can bring something new to the table for later generations, and something good copied doesn't have to be bad in fact in can be good.
Jony Ive has many wonderful designs to his credit, to insist the contrary just seems like design snobbery or sour grapes.

Not at all. There are three separate arguments here, two logically unassailable and the third a matter of opinion.

First (and unassailable), merely because SOME derivative designs are good, it doesn't mean that ALL derivative designs are good. This is the classic omitted middle.

Second (and equally unassailable), even if someone has produced good designs before, it does not mean that his/her subsequent designs are necessarily good.

Third, this is a derivative, self-indulgent, not-very-good design. This is admittedly opinion but it's something I've studied quite closely -- which is why I continue to pay my subscription as a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA). I claim no special expertise for getting in -- to be honest, they'll take just about anyone who is recommended by a Fellow in good standing -- but I do claim that I probably pay a bit more attention to design than many people.

Cheers,

R.

 

[thegman]

Groundbreaking...maybe not, but let's remember what computers looked like before the iMac came out...

Yes, you could look at computers made by Silicon Graphics, the 20th Century Mac, even IBM made some very austere minimalist designs. Many very beautiful computers came out before the iMac, the iMac just made good looking computers visible in every day life.

Jony Ive is a very good designer, but more importantly he worked for a company which had the balls to actually ship those designs. I do think that recently Jony Ive's work has become like Philippe Starck's, a parody of itself. It seems to me that Ive is wasting his talents on tweaking his (very good) designs rather making anything new.

I think the Jony Ive Leica borders on hideous, and Philippe Starck's yacht needs to be scuttled.

 

[leicapixie]

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137136

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137136

This is now 3rd thread of the super priced Werra.
Honestly that's all i see.
The Revenge of the DDR.😀
another person had a photo of a Werra to back his claim
It's awful. it's horrible.
I care not a feather who designed it..
I hope Leica really are "donating" it for a good cause.
What do the people get/charge for organizing?
Oh Braun products "looked" good.
Their quality in usage leaves a lot to be desired..

 

[redisburning]

Excuse my ignorance, but who the hell is Jony Ive? Let me guess: He's dating Miley Cyrus.

did you try google?

 

[zuiko85]

Really? $500K?

In this whole sad planet how many would have the means to even consider this?

2000?......4000?.....Worldwide?

I don't know, perhaps those figures are too low but it's got to be a fairly small demographic.

 

[Keith]

The camera's not really that bad. Some of Leica's limited edition specials look worse IMO ... I remember a white M8 that made me cringe.

It's a bit bland but I don't mind the shape ... and the money is going to a good cause.

 

[Takkun]

Jony Ive is a very good designer, but more importantly he worked for a company which had the balls to actually ship those designs. I do think that recently Jony Ive's work has become like Philippe Starck's, a parody of itself. It seems to me that Ive is wasting his talents on tweaking his (very good) designs rather making anything new.

I think the Jony Ive Leica borders on hideous, and Philippe Starck's yacht needs to be scuttled.

Agreed on all points; I think accusations that Apple's design-oriented products are snobbish is more accurately leveled towards a certain sector of their customers rather than the company itself. I think a lot of us can agree that haptics and aesthetics are an important part of an otherwise utilitarian device; after all, isn't that one of the draws of a Leica body?

But again, I think he's kind of achieved a sort of 'do-no-wrong' superstar status at this point in his career.

All that aside, I think it's an interesting design overall. Not my favorite, and not the best, but interesting. A bit too Braun inspired (I have mixed feelings about iOS 7, particularly the icon redesigns).

I'm normally a curmudgeon about design updates on products, but I like the fact that it's a fresh take on the classic M design. While I personally think the M is a beautiful machine aesthetically, I don't understand the violent opposition from deviating from it.

Then again, this is from someone who owns an M5 and thinks its a far prettier machine than most cameras I've encountered. So shoot me.

 

[peterm1]

More like God's way of telling you that you that your taste is in your a...hole. Ugly Ugly Ugly. Yuk.

As they say money can't buy you happiness..........but it sure as hell can buy you buckets of bad taste.

 

[willie_901]

There are plenty of beautiful examples of pre-Intel 8086 computers. They were, for the better part, designed remarkably well with a great deal of thoughtfulness within the constraints of current technology for their purpose.

We have a very different concepts of beautiful.

 

[gb hill]

Really? $500K?

In this whole sad planet how many would have the means to even consider this?

2000?......4000?.....Worldwide?

I don't know, perhaps those figures are too low but it's got to be a fairly small demographic.

Rush Limbaugh will probably get one. He loves anything to do with Apple.

 

[gb hill]

Right, but that doesn't mean any future designs are good.

The genius behind Apple did pass away so I agree with you.

 

[Bille]

Genius isn't being the first with an idea, sometimes people get influenced by great design and then refine and redefine.

"A genius is a person who displays exceptional intellectual ability, creativity, or originality, typically to a degree that is associated with the achievement of unprecedented insight."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genius

We are all inspired by everyone, no problem, but I rarely call "genius".

 

[Frontman]

Funny, when I was young I often exchanged words with Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. The Apple factory used to be located in Garden Grove, and the building I worked in was shared with Apple.

The "genius" in Apple has been their marketing more than their products. Steve Jobs was a shark, and was entirely committed to conquering the world (figuratively-speaking). The designs played some part of the success, but had Apple products looked like Sunbeam toasters, Steve Jobs would have marketed them successfully.

I remember Steve Jobs meeting guests and investors on his doorstep, every single day. He was a machine, but I was too young at the time to be impressed by his hard work. He would never have spent $500k for a camera, unless he thought it would help his business.

 

[Rogier]

You guys misunderstand that this is not about the camera but about PROJECT RED.
Not the red dot but a contribution to help the fight against cancer.

 

[Major Tom]

We have a very different concepts of beautiful.

*shrug*

 

[jsrockit]

Ok, can we say personal computers right before the iMac? hahaha... and what does God have to do with this camera?

 

[paradoxbox]

it's for charity. you guys bashing this are a real great bunch.