Ralph Gibson MP = Hideous?

[Turtle]

Hi,

I cannot fathom the burgundy/red/purple leather. It looks hideous to me. I mean, regardless of whether you are into ltd edition cameras, this one is plain ugly to the point of hard to look at let alone feel comfortable in use. Despite the very limted run there still seems to be loads about I would guess because it is so ugly. Mr Gibson states the matt black finish is because it does not attract attention....and then goes for a ripe raspberry leather...why of course that is so stealthy.....

Just wondering what you think. Had he gone for a 'differen't colour such as dark navy blue leatherette I am sure they would have sold more, but no matter how much you like the idea of an angled rewind and the matt black finish...and the 35-50-90 only framelines (and even the silly lack of a preview lever so you are 'more in touch with the internal mechniasm of the camera' - s******) the colour just cannot be ignored. Ugly as sin and nausea inducing.

Maybe I am just not arty. Your thoughts!????

T

 

[ywenz]

What is so special about these special edition cameras? There's only so much you can customize on the M bodies.. paint color, leather covering... what else? Oooh special screws are used on the HCB edition.. WOW!

 

[SDK]

It's gross, black chrome and Burgundy vulcanite. Dégoûtant!!! Sale!! Gauche!

And I think it's a dumb oversimplification of an MP, stripping away useful features, while making the camera stick out like a crushed thumb. How on earth could you use this on the street without attracting undue attention?

 

[Turtle]

I should add that it costs only a little less than the MP3 LHSA SET which also lacks the 28,75 framelines but is in a tasteful package and includes a 50 1.4 summilux which is a tad more useful than a Ralph Gibson signature. So, even if you are into Limited editions why enyone would go for the Gibson model over an LHSA MP3 set (available for $6K in a number of locations either new or as demo) I cannot fathom. Oh, you would have to put up with the annoying preview lever though wouldn't you? People joke about various silly Ltd editions such as the Danish wedding, but this Gibson model has to set the standard for bad tase and cynicism. If I really liked the idea of a camera with no preview lever and thought its omission was worth a few $thousand I would buy an a la carte just to be sure I did not have to look at that leatherette. I would still be mad however.

 

[peterc]

How on earth could you use this on the street without attracting undue attention?

You're assuming it's made to be used. I see this as a collector thing. Only a few are being made (50 seems to be the number I remember) all signed with documentation etc. These are cameras made to be displayed (in this case hopefully in a dark room) in a glass case to prove what a coinoisseur of fine photographica the owner is.
IMHO: a waste of good engineering and parts when a plastic copy stamped out in China would work as well.

Peter

 

[Grober]

Ralph came off as grumpy with a dash of "I don't care what you think of me" when he led a master's class for 15 or so of us Leica-M users five years ago. Our local weather didn't suit his likes nor was he inspired by anyone's work except one young man who stayed up ALL night to process and print that day's work.

Despite his scratchy demeanor, I have not forgotten the lessons learned that day and have noticed changes in the way I now see from before.

Thanks, Mr. Gibson.

Here's back at you: "And I don't care what you custom M looks like, either."

-g

 

[Uncle Bill]

I have seen pictures of the Gibson M body and the big question is: Why? I never got the whole ltd edition Leica M body other than its another way to part someone with more more money than brains from their cash.

Give me a regular black paint MP any day of the week.

Bill

 

[xayraa33]

How about a Jim Marshall edition Leica M?
a pre beat up black paint MP with an angled crank rewind.
Perfect for photographing aging rock stars of the late 1960's

 

[Bryce]

Are they selling? That's the question...

 

[mpt600]

This reeks of desperation, which in turn makes me wonder what Leica were thinking of. Reminds me of Triumph motorcycles, who, in 1977 released a limited edition T140 Bonneville "Silver Jubilee". It was a pushrod twin competing with Japanese DOHC fours. Four years later they released the T140 Bonneville "Royal Wedding". It was the same pushrod twin competing with even more advanced Jap DOHC fours. It's a shame, abd rather sad. Beat up Leica's look the best anyway, not tarted up "collecters items".

 

[aad]

This reeks of desperation, which in turn makes me wonder what Leica were thinking of. Reminds me of Triumph motorcycles, who, in 1977 released a limited edition T140 Bonneville "Silver Jubilee". It was a pushrod twin competing with Japanese DOHC fours. Four years later they released the T140 Bonneville "Royal Wedding". It was the same pushrod twin competing with even more advanced Jap DOHC fours. It's a shame, abd rather sad. Beat up Leica's look the best anyway, not tarted up "collecters items".

Hmm, which would be worth more today in decent shape, a T140 or a GS750? Or maybe a CB750K?

 

[Bryce]

AAD-
So what? Triumph was showing the world how to put a successful company out of business. Much like Leica was doing with the RG edition MP- failure to innovate. Leica is NOT doing with the M8, as long as they can sort out the bugs.
Other examples are the American auto companies. Continuing to blame their workers will continue to not help. Ford, GM, and Daimler Chrysler will have to engineer and build competitive products to survive.
Funny, last time I poked fun at the RG MP, nobody seemed to think it was funny. What's changed?
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27131&highlight=portraits-

 

[Gman]

I think you can figure out the general feeling towards this Gibson camera when you see the same dealer (who shall remain nameless) has been trying to sell the camera on ebay for the past several months.

Cmon RFF, no takers?

jeff

 

[Turtle]

You have to wonder if they have sold any at all. The angled rewind and decent matt black finish make sense but thats about it...

Its the sort of camera that 'Eddy' from 'Ab Fab' would wear as an accessory to go with one of her hideous outfits were she to attend a David Bailey hosted charity fashion ball.....

 

[Ash]

Definitely a collector thing. It would look good in the glass case alongside every other Leica ever produced, and there MUST be at least 50 people in the world (I'm pointing a finger at Japan here 😛 ) that want that in their collection for the sheer fact it's one of a limited number of Leica's. If I had the cash and the display case to hold every Leica and never use them, I'd get one to have the 'complete set'

 

[scottgee1]

Users vs. collectors

Users vs. collectors

I suspect only a tiny percentage of RFF members are collectors. The rest of us are users. Would we buy a car we never intended to drive to work? Of course not!

Users vs. collectors. Criteria are completely different. The twain does not meet.

my two lux worth/ScottGee1

 

[Ossifan]

If collectors subsidize users, is that a bad thing? Otherwise, yep, the RG is ugly, at least in my inconsequential opinion.

Cheers,
Alex

 

[physiognomy]

... and the big question is: Why? I never got the whole ltd edition Leica M body other than its another way to part someone with more more money than brains from their cash. Bill

I haven't seen the R.G. ltd ed, but at least a couple of 'signature' leicas I know of were produced to benefit a charity. There was a William Klein signature M6 sold to benefit Reporters Sans Frontieres & another sold for charity in 1998 with HCB's signature.

Peter

 

[netzspannung]

Slightly offtopic.. A couple of months ago a Gibson MP was stolen off some guy in Kiev, Ukraine - a notice is now circulating around the russian photo forums. It is not known whether that was a house robbery or he lost it in the street, but anyway... I pity the poor sod. If you come across a suspiciosly cheap one - well, you know what's going on

 

[rogue_designer]

Slightly offtopic.. A couple of months ago a Gibson MP was stolen off some guy in Kiev, Ukraine - a notice is now circulating around the russian photo forums. It is not known whether that was a house robbery or he lost it in the street, but anyway... I pity the poor sod. If you come across a suspiciosly cheap one - well, you know what's going on

That is for our comerades to reverse engineer and offer a festival green one from the FED plant.