What is it with the magnetic Leica attraction?

[telenous]

What IS it about the Leica name that makes grown men do irrational things like lust for an 8 year old Leica M8 when they have a perfectly fine R-D1x that they love?

There is just SOMETHING that Leica is putting in the water that makes rational thought impossible when it comes to ownership.

I have an Epson R-D1x that I dearly LOVE and it's giving me great images. I love everything about it, and yet I've spent the better part of a morning (from 1:30am, I get up early) to now (4:15am) surfing the threads pertaining to M8 worship.

What IS this sickness that Leica can, and does induce???

They are the right sort of camera for certain applications. Being "right" means you've got the equipment side of the photo equation out of the way. But that doesn't explain the "irrational" part you talk about. To my mind, the following does:

I think it must be all those glory photographers who used the Leica cameras before us that makes us think the brand will bring to us the glory they seemed to have. HCB, Winogrand, on and on. Glory by association......

The history of a brand is important, all the more so when it is full to the brim with success stories. From the young lad wearing the football shirt of his favourite player to the roadie to the grown up leaving a yard sign of support for a candidate long after a succesful election, there is such a thing as basking in reflected glory. It's common human behaviour and an innocuous one at that, insofar as one doesn't become completely delusional about their own achievement or that of others with the purpose of boosting their identity. I am sure Leica is aware of all that, certain ads suggest so (sometimes quite unsubtly).


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[Tijmendal]

Let me get on topic here (weird, I know...), but for me it just feels... right. Just the other day I caught myself - for the first time - feeling some sort of weird obsession with my M('s).
I don't care much for Leica as a brand. The R's, Q's, X's, S, SL, T and whatever other lines there are, are undoubtedly incredible cameras, but for me, the Leica M is something special.
The other day I showed my (new to me) Leica MP to my classmates and I felt a little ridiculous explaining that I dished out so much money for such a 'primitive' camera, even though I got a ridiculous deal on it.

 

[Oscuro]

I want to know more.

Sorry for the late reply - I was...uh, busy...

 

[David Hughes]

From the UK's 1946 report into how Leicas were made: "In the assembly of the shutter fast-range escapement one component after another was tried till one was found that worked in a fairly satisfactory manner and then various minor alterations were made to it by filing, and in some cases, a light tap with a small watch-makers hammer... "

Regards, David

 

[Oscuro]

From the UK's 1946 report into how Leicas were made: "In the assembly of the shutter fast-range escapement one component after another was tried till one was found that worked in a fairly satisfactory manner and then various minor alterations were made to it by filing, and in some cases, a light tap with a small watch-makers hammer... " Regards, David

Ah. There you have it. Whack something ferrous often enough with something else ferrous and, often as not, presto! It's magnetized. Inherently then, due to material, process, and er... Leicas are magnetic!

 

[Roger Hicks]

From the UK's 1946 report into how Leicas were made: "In the assembly of the shutter fast-range escapement one component after another was tried till one was found that worked in a fairly satisfactory manner and then various minor alterations were made to it by filing, and in some cases, a light tap with a small watch-makers hammer... "

Regards, David

Dear David,

Ah, you have a copy too. Apparently it's quite rare and valuable now. Fun, innit?

Cheers,

R.

 

[johnf04]

Looks to me like a well used, what we call "pillar cock spanner" Downunder.

I'd say you're right. Newer versions are still available.

 

[Chromacomaphoto]

There's just something so funny about this thread, how it started, where it has ended up and 'blokes' in general. I'm enjoying it immensely but I'm not sure if the OP is entirely satisfied. 🙄

 

[David Hughes]

Dear David,

Ah, you have a copy too. Apparently it's quite rare and valuable now. Fun, innit?

Cheers,

R.

Hi,

FWIW, when I typed it I wondered how long it would be before the internet turned it into a report about the crude methods used by FED and KMZ because, as we all know, Leitz would never have done a thing like that...

Regards, David

 

[David Hughes]

What REAL MAN isn't interested in tools?

Hi,

Trouble is; real men don't need/bother with instruction books...

Regards, David

 

[David Hughes]

Hi Chromacomaphoto,

You must blame Leica because, as the opening post said, " ...the Leica name ... makes grown men do irrational things... ".

'nuff said?

Regards, David

 

[citizen99]

Being a bit reluctant to abandon the topic swerve 😉 ...

Looks to me like a well used, what we call "pillar cock spanner" Downunder.

... I'm too late to claim the prize for first identification, but I've got one somewhere, and I *used* it once 😀 .