Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1996/10/05
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I am 56. I have owned Leica equipment since 1980, when I bought an R3. My brother gave me a IIIc about then, and I had a collector/user phase for a while--had a IIIg with a set of contemporary lenses. But I bought an M3 and an M6 when it first came out, and was converted to the newer optics, so cashed out the screwmount stuff. Today I have an R5 and an R6, as well as the M6. I didn't buy Leica because I always wanted it when I was younger, or something; I just loved the obvious quality of construction and the beauty when I first became acquainted with it. Cyclists have a term for people who prefer old-fashioned equipment, and reject innovation: "retro-grouch." It seems to capture what the question you asked is after. I don't think I am one, though I somehow haven't converted to another SLR system despite Leica's tendency to trail at a safe distance behind in SLR innovation. I suppose I am better heeled than the average (I've been a college professor and Dean), but, as someone pointed out, you can often buy Leica, use it for a few years, and sell it at a profit. I did that with the screwmount stuff and the M3, so I have managed to keep my expenditures and sales in a kind of equilibrium for a while. All these updated R lenses and the R8 do pose a problem, though! Charlie Charles E. Love, Jr. 517 Warren Place Ithaca, New York 14850 607-272-7338 CEL14@CORNELL.EDU