OP...I'd be happy to leave Leica if their was a Japanese alternative. Starting with the M3 I have always loved Leica. In the 1970's I also added Nikon F and a SWC to my stable. Leica has always been my fav.
But the digital Leica company is run by new schoolers that cater to camera fondlers. Maybe they need this direction to keep in biz. It has no appeal to me. I shoot my cams and don't fondle em.
But the digital Leica company is run by new schoolers that cater to camera fondlers. Maybe they need this direction to keep in biz. It has no appeal to me. I shoot my cams and don't fondle em.
tunalegs
Pretended Artist
I thought Rolls Royce went bankrupt and got bought by Volkswagen...
In any event, who knows? Maybe Leica will become the "swatch" of cameras. I'll also be excited to see if the Russians will make any "real" Kravitz edition Zorkis, honestly.
kbg32
neo-romanticist
I have had my BP M9 since they came out. The only brass I see is on the on/off switch, the top left corner where it rubs from pulling it in and out of my bag, and completely around the edges of the base plate. I carry it almost everyday.
Jack Sparrow
Well-known
This has been posted here several times before. You just heard of it? It made quite the stir. 
Travis L.
Registered Userino
Now you can buy a factory brassed Leica and keep it next to your Gibson custom shop relic guitar while wearing pre distressed jeans... Never have to leave your couch.
sc_rufctr
Leica nuts
Rolls Royce never actually went broke but they came close. They sold off the aircraft engine division and now BMW owns R-R. Bentley was sold to the VW group.
The new alloy bodies are made in Germany. They are shipped to England for final paint and assembly.
Meanwhile R-R is doing well and emerging markets like India, China and Russia take a big percentage of their production. (Last year they sold 4,063 cars)
As far as this camera is concerned. Nothing surprises me anymore. :bang:
So they'll sell a few and Leica will make some money!
But at the end of the day they need to sell cameras to stay viable.
sc_rufctr
Leica nuts
And that's about it... Meanwhile Diabetes and heart disease is rampant in The West.
We all really need to get out more.
ruby.monkey
Veteran
We know. It's been posted absolutely bloody everywhere, including RFF. So has the Gibson analogy.
Will Hasselblad *please* release another monstrosity so we can change the subject?
Will Hasselblad *please* release another monstrosity so we can change the subject?
FrankS
Registered User
BLKRCAT
75% Film
Pete B
Well-known
I'm quite happy for Leica to make what they want designed by whoever if it brings in money for R+D so they can sort out a decent digital option. Without a good digital body, the value of our M lenses will plummet.
Pete
Pete
MCTuomey
Veteran
I think the camera looks great. As noted by others above, it's not like distressed look consumer goods haven't been around forever (noticed the other day that the outdoor clothier Filson has begun selling well-worn looking versions of their new stuff). I'd rather avoid the poseur connotations and have my gear reflect my own patina of use, though.
Monochrom
Well-known
Yes...it can...
Yes...it can...
Can it get more ridiculous?
I remember one Simpson´s episode...barney gomez was dressed like a baby and said "Can I get lower than this?"...then came a blizzard and his diapers blew away.
It´s quite kitsch this LK camera...are all going to have the same usage pattern? Does LK pre uses each one before selling it? How does he rub the camera, gloves, feet, during a concert, party?
How about a pre used rolls royce? Perhaps even pre crashed!
Pricier and sophisticated!
Very funny
Yes...it can...
Can it get more ridiculous?
I remember one Simpson´s episode...barney gomez was dressed like a baby and said "Can I get lower than this?"...then came a blizzard and his diapers blew away.
It´s quite kitsch this LK camera...are all going to have the same usage pattern? Does LK pre uses each one before selling it? How does he rub the camera, gloves, feet, during a concert, party?
How about a pre used rolls royce? Perhaps even pre crashed!
Pricier and sophisticated!
Very funny
Roger Hicks
Veteran
Dear Pete,
Stop being so reasonable, and jump on the same tired bandwagon that always starts rolling whenever Leica makes a camera that some dimwit thinks they shouldn't.
Cheers,
R.
Out to Lunch
Ventor
It's not about 'dimwits', which on the Lenny K issue include the owner of this site and very many RFF members, including myself. It's about bad taste. If you need bad taste to finance your business then you are, as the French say ''up **** creek without a paddle''.
Roger Hicks
Veteran
Dear Peter,
Bad taste? A matter of opinion. To me, the signature is the bad taste, not the finish. And even if it is bad taste, who cares? I'm not going to buy one. Why slag off those who do? There's an old English saying, "it's no skin off my nose".
Cheers,
R.
Colin Corneau
Colin Corneau
My sense of humour really hopes Leica is shipping these future shelf queens (and let's face it, most of these will never leave the box, much less make one image) without anything inside the camera shell...just an empty metal box with a lens on it.
Mojo
Established
It lacks the spirit (and life) of the naturally brassed bp's. It is like using a knock-off.
FrankS
Registered User
Let's take a step back from the moral outrage for a moment. What's the history of these Leica special edition cameras? Do they appreciate in value over the long run if not used and kept in collector condition, like a bar of silver? An insurable asset. Sometimes rich people aren't dumb.
rscheffler
Well-known
I don't really care. It doesn't diminish the capability of the core M system.
As for ridiculous Leica LE cameras... the many gold plated ones come to mind. But I guess with those, the point was that everyone would know it's a 'special camera' that cost the owner a lot of money.
As for ridiculous Leica LE cameras... the many gold plated ones come to mind. But I guess with those, the point was that everyone would know it's a 'special camera' that cost the owner a lot of money.