Please note the OP is questioning whether "Photographers" are being alienated by high Leica prices.
He is not asking if Posers, Wannabes or Blingstars are alienated by high Leica prices.
This is an important distinction as today's Leica is arguably catering not to photographers but to this 2nd group thanks to such truly incredible
(a carefully chosen exact word) gifts from the photography gods as the Lenny Kravitz pre-brassed LEICA M-P 'CORRESPONDENT' SET...
I'm going to agree with these sentiments EXACTLY. My point has been to make the argument about Leica alienating "Photographers" specifically, per OP's original argument. Leica's heritage and cache has all been built on the work of the many professional photographers who used it's gear in the past. Their "street cred" is based on the work of iconic pros. That's why I've addressed the issue from the perspective of someone using Leica as equipment, rather than just an object of desire.
I can totally agree with Roger's argument that at their hearts, all camera brands are actually kept in business by selling to amateurs, as working photographers simply aren't numerous enough to keep anyone in biz. But I do think that the type of amateur Leica is targeting differs, because unlike Canon/Nikon/Sony, who sell stuff like the Rebel line which are aimed squarely at the mass market, Leica does not and will probably never have a product line you can find at your local Costco. Sure, Leica's point and shoots are relatively "accessible" but we all know that soccer moms and dads generally don't buy one of those to take pictures of Junior's birthday. They buy DSLR kits from one of the big names, or increasingly, use their smartphones. Leica clearly has its sights on more exclusive markets. All of which does pull its focus from the needs of actual photographers.
If I'm honest, the non-photographer in me thinks that a gold plated, lizard skinned camera is actually pretty cool. It makes me giggle to imagine a super eccentric billionaire with really weird eyebrows using one to take tasteful nudes of his many mistresses or whatever. And anyone who didn't think that the Jony Ive-designed one of a kind RED M wasn't a thing of beauty must have been blind.
😀 While I don't get the appeal in a prebrassed camera, I don't buy "distressed" jeans with holes, tears, and bleaching all over them either because the whole concept kind of escapes me. But I can totally concede that others might find this cool.
And whatever my opinions might be about these things, it seems to be working for Leica as a business model so my opinions amount to an uninformed, unqualified opinion about whether or not this is "right" or "wrong" for Leica as a brand. Come to think of it, unless any of us know how Leica's bottom line actually works, I don't think there can be anything other than our own opinions about the matter. I mean come on guys, they've got to pay for all those freebie M9 sensor replacements somehow. If a bunch of oil Sheikhs and Chinese billionaires are gonna help fund my M9's CCD, I'm totally OK with that.
😎
But that still doesn't stop me from feeling a little like Leica is giving me the finger just a little bit when it puts effort into its "fashion accessory" cameras. My rational mind knows that the situation isn't exactly that simple. But its just how I feel.
