The Guardian's Sarah Lee extols the M-E

I wonder how many in the "a camera is a camera is a camera" camp even bother owning one. Wouldn't they be just as happy with their cellphones?

The whole fixation with "just the image" seems to me as much an affectation as believing that an RF somehow makes you a lithe and stealthy street photo ninja.
 
I harbor suspicions that if a young hotshot male photographer had made similar comments about his new M9, the ratio of praise to criticism on RFF might be larger.
 
The point is she is a pro and she got a Leica and she is working with it and loves it. She identifies its advantages. And she is writing this piece for a major newspaper. So she did a little homeowrk, although not much as she seems to put the M system a decade older. She is so uninitiated into the cult that she laments the need to buy a second hand 50 Summilux ASPH.

I was stopped in the street by a lady professional in her 50s who noticed my chrome M9P. She hoped it was just an M2. She had a backpack on, her D3 and two lenses, and was almost in tears at the size of the full frame digital Leica. Older men working with cameras lament the weight and bulk of FF DSLRs too. This young woman is way ahead.
 
Where was the reference to the "magical" or "mystical" qualities of Leica in the article?

Clint Troy said:
The idea that a rf is magical and mystical is really a myth.
Yes, there is the hcb aura just the same as wearing one glove makes us dance better (michael jackson).
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I don't know if I agree. If it had been a dude & not an apparently attractive young woman, I suspect the article might not have attracted any attention @ all.

semilog said:
I harbor suspicions that if a young hotshot male photographer had made similar comments about his new M9, the ratio of praise to criticism on RFF might be larger.
Click to expand...
 
I think its funny how she says that she could ONLY afford a used 50 1.4 asph. probably one of the best lenses in the current line-up and if she's into 50 rather 35 then the best choice for her...
 
I don't get it either anymore, as much as I like my M9 I don't think I could justify buying another digital M when Leica is so far behind other camera manufacturers. £5000 is a lot too pay for old technology. Now that fuji has got into the small high quality camera market, new xpro1 with two free lenses is cheaper than the price I paid for my last Leica lens.
But maybe other photographers get more out of there Leica digital Ms than I do....
 
.................."Playing devil's advocate, I must say that the M-E is not the best camera I've owned in low light (the ISO promises more, but I wouldn't be happy using it over 1250); the screen on the back is a lower resolution than the one on my phone; the buffer is achingly slow; and since Leica glass is so expensive, I could only afford one lens – a secondhand 50mm ASPH f1.4.
Yet despite all these negatives, the M-E is the most pleasurable camera I have ever used."


..i really want to know if ribbed condoms work :confused:
 
Thanks for the article. I enjoyed it and following other links I saw this http://gu.com/p/4vpk4/sbl which is also quite an enjoyable read..

I don't have experience with the M9 so I cannot say how great it is. But I did get seduced by the Leica mystique and acquired an M240, a 50mm f1.4 ASPH and a few other items ;).
Anyway, I don't know if I got seduced, drank the kool aid or what, but I am enjoying my Leica experience a lot! It's not the easiest camera to use or the most versatile, but I've captured wonderful images with it.
 
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