Leica owners are just showing off!

The only type of folks that comment on my rigs are butt crack rednecks (by the way everyone is a Democrat here so I guess they are, too)at the mall who ask me why they can't see the photo after I take it and when I tell them I am shooting film they ask me, what is that? And I tell them its the latest new thing. So in this case, I am the damn snob and rather proud of it.
 
Roger Hicks said:
Dear Doug,

The opposite, rather.

I often hear, "Leica owners just want to show off," but I've never understood how they are supposed to do this, and only very, very seldom have I met anyone who boasted about any brand of camera -- though our biology lab tech at school in the '60s was inordinately proud of his Praktica.

This is why I wanted to find out where these 'Leica snobs' are trying to impress people. Like you, I almost never meet any. Yes, I've occasionally met rich twits with Leicas (or Hasseblads, or Canons, or...) but (a) they'd be rich twits with any camera or with no camera and (b) except at camera clubs I've never seen anyone trying to impress anyone else with his camera.

Cheers,

R.
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I own a Leica Iii.. why? Because I enjoy using it. Simple really.

I bought it on a whim and at a fraction of the cost of my Nikon DSLR (which I use 90% of the time).
 
It's another kind of 'show off' that amuses me - like the man I encountered a year or so back, shooting architecture in the old part of my town with an ancient Zenith. He insisted on giving me a mini lecture on the foolishness of paying lots for a camera, and about how his was evey bit as good as my Nikkormat - all that was required, and that he had no time for camera clubs, because the idiots there could not understand this!.
Dave.
 
I've only met two other Leica owners in person and both of them were really nice guys. One of them might have been wealthy, his coat was nice, and the other one was an ex-newspaper shooter like me who just likes the little buggers. On the rare occasions when someone has recognized that I have a Leica, I'm always mildly embarrassed, because they probably think I'm a dentist. 😉
 
I was at a local Fall Festival, listening to a Scotsman in traditional garb playing the Bagpipes for a group of us. He sighted my camera, stopped, and came over to look at it. Told me his Father had always wanted one. The gentleman had at least 10 years on me, and suddenly I felt very old.

But he was impressed.
 
Don't get me wrong, I'm kind of proud of my Leica.. just that I have one and appreciate the quality of the thing 🙂

Showing off, well that would be silly, I prefer tshirts that are about to fall apart and my pants and shoes are often in worse state than what they send over to third world countries.. so who would I be kidding by showing off my camera 🙂
 
they're showing off to people who can't afford it, or can't justify the expense to themselves.

"being in the know" is also snobbish, and probably plays a part in covering up engravings and red dots with tape.
 
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Most comments about my camera are about how old it is. Most people assume my M7, M8, M9 are 30-40 years old.

The next most frequent comment I get is that it's small. Hanging out in a press pool with a bunch of guys carrying D3's and 1Ds', the Leica seems like a toy. A lot of them like it. But most would never get over not having zooms and manual focusing. I had a girl from the Daily News and a guy from the New York Times taking turns holding my M8.

The least often comment I receive is from people who actually recognize a Leica and ask how I like it.

The most insulting comment I've ever received was covering some benefit dinner and the official event photographer had a Nikon D3. While I, working for the paper had my Leica M8. Some guy asked me to take his photo. And then when the event photographer walked by, he said "wow, that's a real camera, you take my picture." Ass.
 
I was at an event with my M3 and Collapsible 9cm f4 Summicron. The official event photographer walked up to me, knew the Leica name, but asked about the lens. He liked it, thought it must be a "rare collectible". No- just old, and a great user.
 
I think most of us Leica users probably spend more time trying to be invisible with their cameras rather than showing them off. A lot of people apparently even tape over the name and any red dots🙂
I only personally know one other person who uses one, my mate Ben, a pro fashion (mainly) photog.
When people at work see me taking pics with mine they always ask when i'm going to get a new camera! does it take good pics they ask? Maybe a couple of the guys have heard of them but no one gives it a second thought.
The only person who recognised I was using one was the local newspaper photog at my son's school fete, who just said it was nice to see someone still using one. Apart from us on here I don't think anyone knows or cares what camera you're using. As far as showing off goes, I don't think even on here people are. We all know what they cost, there's a few on here with some nice expensive glass and some nice black paint M2's, 3's etc but I think when pics of gear or discussions on high end desirable stuff is posted it's always done as informative and as reference. We learn by our own experiences and through the information given by others. If I was (and i'm not) looking for say a Noctilux then I would ask on here for opinion as to which to try out. Does it then mean that those that reply through ownership are showing off by giving opinion? of course not. Even collectors are not usually show offs as they are actually only satisfying themselves by having desirable objects.
I remember a poster on here from Hong Kong who had a serious collection of Leica and some Nikon. Can't remember his rff name, sorry. Was he showing off when he posted pics of his collection? No, he was sharing his enjoyment and passion with a bunch of people who could appreciate it.
 
SOME Leica owners probably do try to show off their cameras when shooting or carrying them.

That just doesn't work too often because most people just don't recognize what a Leica is or recognize it as a status symbol.

Stephen
 
Leicas, almost no more (for me)

Leicas, almost no more (for me)

Hi,

After having m3, m4, m6, m7, iii-f and iii-g, i just kept the latter (the best one), i´m better off with the minolta cle and zeiss zi than with the Ms.

Only because it`s digital i purchased an M8.

Many times, ladies asked me about my camera bieng a leica, but at the same time other kind of people, less charming, left me in peace with my cle and zeiss.

Bye
 
swoop said:
Most comments about my camera are about how old it is. Most people assume my M7, M8, M9 are 30-40 years old.

The next most frequent comment I get is that it's small. Hanging out in a press pool with a bunch of guys carrying D3's and 1Ds', the Leica seems like a toy. A lot of them like it. But most would never get over not having zooms and manual focusing. I had a girl from the Daily News and a guy from the New York Times taking turns holding my M8.

The least often comment I receive is from people who actually recognize a Leica and ask how I like it.

The most insulting comment I've ever received was covering some benefit dinner and the official event photographer had a Nikon D3. While I, working for the paper had my Leica M8. Some guy asked me to take his photo. And then when the event photographer walked by, he said "wow, that's a real camera, you take my picture." Ass.
Click to expand...

That's what 99,99% of people and photographers think... A real shame sometimes...
 
My opinion is very few people buy a Leica to show off, but perhaps there are some... (They are not on RFF...)


And those buying a Leica because they know -as good photographers- it's a great camera and also a very durable one, are just a few too... (They are on RFF...)


What I think -but I may be wrong- is that a certainly more crowded category is that of those amateur photographers who never became good from a technical point of view, those who never made outstanding photographs with cheaper equipment, so they buy more expensive gear trying to get better images... (They're all around...)


Honestly -no cinism here- I respect all of them (because we all like good photographs and nice cameras) even those snobs who shot just three rolls in 30 years with their M3, M6 and MP, and almost never used their M8 and today feel happy with their M9... In the other hand, about those making great photographs with any camera...I love them!


Cheers,


Juan
 
Show off ?

Yeah, so what ? 🙂

When we have something we care, we can use it the way we want... For me, it's to use it and having fun. But, anyway, very few person in Montreal knows what is that black and chrome heavy thing around my neck...

I'm not impress when I see another Leica, it's just curiosity...
 
Years ago when I worked at a serious camera shop, there was a much greater difference in equipment between the haves and have-nots. I used a Pentax and a Rolleiflex, both purchased used, after a lot of saving, or many small payments, truly in the middle when most people really shot a few rolls a year with a Brownie.

There were a number of well to do folks, and others who craved the status of owning the most expensive equipment, and I knew several who carried Hasselblads and Leicas as accessories , almost always in their never ready cases around their neck. Some sported a Minox on its chain.

They rarely shot any photos, certainly knew little about photography, and some formed clubs where they would shoot the odd roll of a model hired for the club, essentially for the opportunity to see a nude woman.

Since, there certainly has been an explosion overall in serious interest in photography, with the cost of very good cameras and lenses dropping relative to folks' incomes, allowing almost anyone to obtain results limited by their talent, not equipment.

Lots of those early expensive cameras came back to the shop as trade ins years later, often in the original boxes, never used and shutters slow.

Today, there are so many cameras everywhere, the status symbol camera of note to most people might be the iPhone. ;-)

Average people today do not even recognize what we appreciate as classic gems, especially if it does not record video and download MP3 files.

Through all of this, the pros of journalism and commercial photography danced to their own tunes, a very small percentage of the whole of popular photography by the masses, who most likely would see a significant investment in a camera as an excessive waste of money, and truly did not want a camera they had to "set".

Regards, John
 
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John, I too worked in a serious camera shop, in my case part-time in the mid-1960's. I'm put in mind of one youngish man who benefitted from a sizable inheritance, so he drove various fancy cars, dressed well, and fancied himself a photographer. With the best equipment of course, and I could sympathize with that, as then one is talent-limited rather than gear-limited.

He was perceptive enough to see his results were not up to expectations with the current kit, so he would trade the whole thing in on, say, a Hasselblad kit with the right selection of lenses and accessories, all in a nice fitted case. He would shoot with it, get guidance from the store owners who were both pro-level photogs, but ultimately the kit didn't suit him and he'd trade it all in on, say, a complete Leica M kit. And so it went, and the store made a pile of money from him. He liked the best, and swaggered a bit over it, but sadly the gear never brought the joy he was after.

He was a pretty decent guy; the most annoying were the USAF aircrews from the airbase who came in to "shop" and get expert suggestions on what gear would suit them best, and get to handle it at leisure. Then a few weeks later they'd stop in and tell us what a great price they'd gotten that very gear for on the latest trip to Taiwan or Tokyo.
 
Erm, I bought a Leica because:

1. It was a confirmation to everyone that I was serious about photography and that I was going to do it till the end.

2. It was the first big thing I spent on with my own earnings; I was saving for at least half a year.

3. When I take photos, I never tell people which camera I use. If they do ask, I just say "oh, and SLR or a rangefinder"

but it's just the same as those who spend loads on super long lenses and very expensive digital stuff and shove it at your face (especially amateurs) and go "HEY LOOK I HAVE A DIGITAL CAMERA IMMA PRO NOW INNIT".

Not.
 
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