where leica fits into my world...

back alley

back alley

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i was going to call this where leica fits into the world but decided that was a bit presumptuous...

briefly...it doesn't!

more wordy?

i know that it's there but for me it may just as well not be there.
if i wanted to buy new gear (a rare treat these days) i just could not afford it.
i don't make enough of a salary to pay bills, eat and buy new leica gear...and i don't see any of those other things going away anytime soon.

if i wanted to stick with used gear then i really still can't afford leica!
a used leica 75/2.5 lens is about 4 times what a cv 75/2.5 lens would cost. i doubt that it is 4 times 'better'...and the way i treat my gear the cv does not have to be 4 times better built to survive in my camera bag.

an m9 would be most welcome here at casa back alley but i doubt that's ever gonna happen...no complaints...i was smart enough to get a good paying job but i chose to work in the not for profit sector and it really is not for profit;)
somebody has to do it...

so, when i read all about 7k lenses and digital b&w cameras it's interesting but not of my world.
i think this story rings true for many rff members.
 
It certainly does for me. I have old Leica stuff which I do enjoy, but I could be just as happy with all CV equipment. I am cool with folks having a $16000 one body (read M9) kit with lenses, but I am not in that world. Do I wish I was? Sure but I do not lose sleep over it.
 
It's a luxury good. It makes the photo-taking process more enjoyable for some of its users, but it doesn't make other cameras obsolete, either. You can choose if you want to buy into the markup or not; though on a site like this, it's very easy to get caught up with your peers who do own one (or two).
 
back alley said:
so, when i read all about 7k lenses and digital b&w cameras it's interesting but not of my world.
i think this story rings true for many rff members.
Click to expand...

I think you should consider yourself lucky! From what I've seen, high priced lens buying can be a sickness.
 
I could but I am not interested in the new stuff. I like the old stuff better!
Leica 111F, 50/3.5 and some used VC lenses.
 
Joe, I'm in a similar modest financial situation as you, and with 2 teenagers, but used Leica does fit in my world. None of the fancy lenses mind you, (even used). Certainly not M8 or M9, and no Luxes or Nocti's.
 
I think the M3 is an amazing camera, and M2 probably is too. But Leica as a company has no relevance for me, the stuff they make just does not appeal. If I were to shoot digital, Leica is not even on the maybe list, even if I were a millionaire. I see digital as a way to easily get weather sealing, focus peaking, and maybe do away with range finder issues like inaccurate framing, only having a limited number of framelines etc.

I love Leica cameras of old, they are iconic and work perfectly, sheer simplicity. I don't feel digital blends well with that.

And of course, in reality, I'm not a millionaire, and that money could be better spent travelling the world.
 
besk said:
I could but I am not interested in the new stuff. I like the old stuff better!
Leica 111F, 50/3.5 and some used VC lenses.
Click to expand...

I feel exactly the same, I've had M3, M6 and MP. Prices aside, the M3 is by far the nicest camera IMHO.
 
I have a good scanner and a decent printer, both bought a few years ago, while I was still employed. I also have a few cameras and lenses from that period, and I am not convinced I really need anything else. As long as digital does not challenge B&W film I haven't even got a mental problem about any of these new cameras coming out. As to the new APO Summicron, I can tell you , that even my Planar is an overkill for Tri X. I live in a funny place - if you have a mental problem, that you cannot afford a Ferrari, a helicopter, a mega yacht, you are reminded everyday, that there are plenty of those who can. The other week a chap from Pakistan made a party in a restaurant near by, and only the champagne bill topped 200.000 USD. As he was leaving, he left 125.000 USD in tips. This also does not fit in my world.
 
back alley said:
i was going to call this where leica fits into the world but decided that was a bit presumptuous...

briefly...it doesn't!

more wordy?

i know that it's there but for me it may just as well not be there.
if i wanted to buy new gear (a rare treat these days) i just could not afford it.
i don't make enough of a salary to pay bills, eat and buy new leica gear...and i don't see any of those other things going away anytime soon.

if i wanted to stick with used gear then i really still can't afford leica!
a used leica 75/2.5 lens is about 4 times what a cv 75/2.5 lens would cost. i doubt that it is 4 times 'better'...and the way i treat my gear the cv does not have to be 4 times better built to survive in my camera bag.

an m9 would be most welcome here at casa back alley but i doubt that's ever gonna happen...no complaints...i was smart enough to get a good paying job but i chose to work in the not for profit sector and it really is not for profit;)
somebody has to do it...

so, when i read all about 7k lenses and digital b&w cameras it's interesting but not of my world.
i think this story rings true for many rff members.
Click to expand...
What I don't understand is why you need to make this public pronouncement of your valuation of a Leica.
 
Godfrey said:
What I don't understand is why you need to make this public pronouncement of your valuation of a Leica.
Click to expand...

it's what i do...have you not been paying attention?

i doubt highly that it will have much impact on leica...not as much as it's had on you, i suspect.
 
I have used Leicas... the bodies and lenses I've mostly wanted...bought as cheaply as possible and, in some cases kept forever. I don't really think I'd feel better or take better pictures if I stopped eating, moved into a tent and bought the latest Leica equipment.

But then, I don't have a car and some of the other stuff some people consider essential.
 
i am more talking about today's leica...in the digital world as that is my world these days.
the m8 and m9 digitals of the day.
 
I've given up Leicas since I realised (after 3 M6s and an M8) that I liked the idea and the look of them more than I liked using them. Financially I could afford to buy an M9 and a couple of new lenses without too much pain but somehow it seems wrong to me to spend so much on camera equipment, and I don't think I could bring myself to do it - although the "it's later than you think" thread did make me ponder for a while!
 
When I shot with Leica film camera/lenses, I really felt like I was using a modestly superior product to the Nikon SLR gear I also used.
But when i moved to digital, I just lost that feeling. I'd shoot with an M8 alongside a D300 or D700. When I'd compare the images from the shoots, I could never really say that one was markedly better than the other. (except in the case of high ISO, where the Leica was sadly inferior.)

So I started phasing out my Leica gear a couple years ago. Today, the cost of re-entry to that market is just - in my opinion - ridiculous. Obviously there are people who see the value there. I don't.

If I had the time to shoot and develop, I'd pick up a film M and satisfy my Leica craving that way.
 
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