where leica fits into my world...

[back alley]

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.

 

[kshapero]

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.

 

[uinku]

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]

If it did happen, would it change your world that much?

not really...but new toys are so much fun!

 

[jsrockit]

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.

I think you should consider yourself lucky! From what I've seen, high priced lens buying can be a sickness.

 

[besk]

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.

 

[back alley]

I think you should consider yourself lucky!

i'm not unlucky...

 

[FrankS]

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.

 

[thegman]

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.

 

[thegman]

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.

I feel exactly the same, I've had M3, M6 and MP. Prices aside, the M3 is by far the nicest camera IMHO.

 

[mfogiel]

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.

 

[Godfrey]

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.

What I don't understand is why you need to make this public pronouncement of your valuation of a Leica.

 

[Sejanus.Aelianus]

What I don't understand is why you need to make this public pronouncement of your valuation of a Leica.

It's a public forum and he's making a public statement. It seems very reasonable to me.

 

[kshapero]

What I don't understand is why you need to make this public pronouncement of your valuation of a Leica.

That's what a forum is for: your very own respectful Hyde Park Soapbox. Here ye hear ye!😀

 

[back alley]

What I don't understand is why you need to make this public pronouncement of your valuation of a Leica.

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.

 

[VictorM.]

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.

 

[Speedfreak]

As he was leaving, he left 125.000 USD in tips.

Did you get some?

 

[back alley]

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.

 

[Steveh]

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!

 

[tbarker13]

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.