Has Leica alienated photographers?

[helen.HH]

to my mind
it's Quite Simple

If you WANT to be Alienated , you will be
it's Your Choice , A Decision one consciously makes




There is lots of Leica Gear at affordobale prices...
barnacks, older M's,beautiful retro glass
I once bought a Summar from 1938 for $100.00
here on RFF with absolutely no issues

So No need to be Alienated and Bitch... surround Yourself with what You LOVE 😀

Enjoy all the Great Gear in the World, whatever the Company name is
make yourself HAPPY ... it's contagious

 

[Godfrey]

to my mind
it's Quite Simple

If you WANT to be Alienated , you will be
it's Your Choice , A Decision one consciously makes

There is lots of Leica Gear at affordobale prices...
barnacks, older M's,beautiful retro glass
I once bought a Summar from 1938 for $100.00
here on RFF with absolutely no issues

So No need to be Alienated and Bitch... surround Yourself with what You LOVE 😀

Enjoy all the Great Gear in the World, whatever the Company name is
make yourself HAPPY ... it's contagious

I wish there was a Like or Thank You! button on this site... 🙂
Thank you, Helen!

G

 

[mpaniagua]

to my mind
it's Quite Simple

If you WANT to be Alienated , you will be
it's Your Choice , A Decision one consciously makes




There is lots of Leica Gear at affordobale prices...
barnacks, older M's,beautiful retro glass
I once bought a Summar from 1938 for $100.00
here on RFF with absolutely no issues

So No need to be Alienated and Bitch... surround Yourself with what You LOVE 😀

Enjoy all the Great Gear in the World, whatever the Company name is
make yourself HAPPY ... it's contagious

+1 Tottally agree.

 

[robert blu]

to my mind
it's Quite Simple

If you WANT to be Alienated , you will be
it's Your Choice , A Decision one consciously makes




There is lots of Leica Gear at affordobale prices...
barnacks, older M's,beautiful retro glass
I once bought a Summar from 1938 for $100.00
here on RFF with absolutely no issues

So No need to be Alienated and Bitch... surround Yourself with what You LOVE 😀

Enjoy all the Great Gear in the World, whatever the Company name is
make yourself HAPPY ... it's contagious

Great, thanks Helen !
robert

 

[jaapv]

I'll ask my Sony and Nikon cameras I don't think they feel neglected...

 

[______]

Maybe it is not Leica but Leica users that alienate photographers from Leica.

 

[brennanphotoguy]

Maybe it is not Leica but Leica users that alienate photographers from Leica.

I think you might be on to something.

 

[SaveKodak]

Maybe it is not Leica but Leica users that alienate photographers from Leica.

Yup. The elitism, the smug confidence, the dogma, the vulgar display of wealth. The income distribution chart above illustrates why many might feel a little resentful. Some may debate the merits of that resentment, but not the cause.

 

[zuiko85]

When this thread was introduced I really wanted to run down to a costume store, get one of those alien masks and post a self portrait with the mask on and holding my lone Leica, a M4-2. (I think that is why ET is visiting earth anyway, local Leica prices on their planet are really insane) But I was too busy at the time. It's been an interesting slog through the comments though. I can't claim to be a *REAL* Leica user, I just dink around with mine and prefer my OM or Pen F set up for 35mm. (Pen F, now that is a real postage stamp sized negative.)

 

[jaapv]

Yup. The elitism, the smug confidence, the dogma, the vulgar display of wealth. The income distribution chart above illustrates why many might feel a little resentful. Some may debate the merits of that resentment, but not the cause.

A Leica Special Edition + Noctilux is part of the American Dream - don't you knock it..😀

 

[CameraQuest]

Folks,

Express your views in a respectful manner, without personal attacks.

Stephen

 

[______]

A Leica Special Edition + Noctilux is part of the American Dream - don't you knock it..😀

An interesting European view of the American Dream. I am pretty sure most Americans don't know what a Leica is, much less a Noctilux.

I thought this was a telling comment about yourself from your website:

"Photography has a long tradition of gentlemen-photographers, who don’t depend on their art for a living."

Noblesse oblige?

 

[jaapv]

Not about me,about Ansel Adams (Contax-medium format), Henri Cartier-Bresson, Paul Wolff and many others.

 

[Fotobot]

I voted "Yes I feel alienated" because I can't afford anything that Leica makes. I can't even afford a Leica battery or a Leica lens cap. If I were wealthy, I would vote "No" and I would buy everything that Leica makes. I used to own an M9, but it was an unwise credit card purchase.

 

[Brooklynguy]

to my mind
it's Quite Simple

If you WANT to be Alienated , you will be
it's Your Choice , A Decision one consciously makes




There is lots of Leica Gear at affordobale prices...
barnacks, older M's,beautiful retro glass
I once bought a Summar from 1938 for $100.00
here on RFF with absolutely no issues

So No need to be Alienated and Bitch... surround Yourself with what You LOVE 😀

Enjoy all the Great Gear in the World, whatever the Company name is
make yourself HAPPY ... it's contagious

Best comment! Thank you!

 

[Avotius]

After Leica used one of my photographs for their promotional materials without my permission they most certainly lost me, a former owner of 3 M bodies, as a customer. And now with how insanely out of reach their cameras are and the who "luxury item" aura they have developed around the brand....meh....I need tools, not fashion items.

 

[uhoh7]

I'm sorry, but the M series do not compete with the top end DSLRs, for output or price. that's simply not true.

If the form factor of DSLRs is something you have a genuine problem with, and mirrorless doesn't do it for you, or if you absolutely have to have rangefinder focusing, then Leica is the only game in town, I respect that choice, it's not my choice, but I respect it.

The question of whether Leica has alienated photographers isn't the question "has Leica alienated Leica users" it's "Has Leica alienated Photographers", and if you're not 100% tied to the rangefinder experience, the answer seems clearly to be yes.

No doubt the DSLRs are better for lots of things. Weddings, Sports, Video. But you think there is a DSLR set up which is going to beat M240+28 cron, or 35FLE, or 50APO or 75cron or 90aa or 135APO just in terms of image quality in an 8x10?

Ok you can take the D810 + 55 otus and compete, except then you have carry it LOL

The M240 is a certain type of tool, and for what it does there is nothing close at the moment you can buy off the shelf. There are some very new custom options for the A7r2 which we will start to see in the wild that will take M lenses to new heights, albeit without a RF, but with many features the M10 will not match. But that will still be an option taken by very few. Funny enough, it would be so simple for Sony to brand a custom r2 the ikon2, dump the filter stack, replace the base cover glass with BG55 push the sensor out a bit and get an incredible amount of attention. It's also possible to get that done if you know who to ask.

But I am loving the good sense to get back the M6 footprint, M10 will be a gorgeous camera.

 

[______]

This new all brass edition of the Leica M-P doesn't alienate me, but it does tend to underscore a certain narrative about who Leica sees as its intended customer base.

This pretty much goes hand in hand with the posting in another thread where a well-known member of RFF has announced the Eighth Annual Beauty Contest for cameras at the February meet-up.

 

[airfrogusmc]

This new all brass edition of the Leica M-P doesn't alienate me, but it does tend to underscore a certain narrative about who Leica sees as its intended customer base.

Yes for certain products but if those products give them the $$$ to be able to make cameras like the MM + the M 262 then rock on Leica. To me that's smart on their part. Make the stuff for collectors so they can make great tools for photographers. WIN WIN for everyone I'd say. Kinda like me working professionally so I can have the financial freedom to do my personal work.

 

[Godfrey]

All of these sorts of special edition cameras are pure marketing things to bring attention to Leica and have little to do with the photographic side of Leica Camera.

The fact that so many in the "photographer" community disparage them only means that they're being noticed, which means the marketing effort is well-spent. MANY people, even outside the photographic world, notice them as they are immediately a part of the collection world, which has little to do with the photography world.

The specials are produced in tiny little allotments and the development money spent in their direction is miniscule compared to what it takes to design an upgrade to the actual cameras they're based on.

G