[Leica] Leica for a non-Leicaphile

[William Davis <wishda@weblnk.net>]

The Leica M first came to my attention when I went looking a quiet,
non-fixed lens 35mm camera with fast lenses for low-light work. I did
not, and to be quite honest still do not, have any use for the Leica mystique.

I am not rich. I take pictures for money and am occasionally in
situations my cameras may not survive. I needed a tool, not a piece of
jewelry. 

I looked at the Contax G2, but rejected it because I did not trust a
camera where I could visually confirm focus and I needed fast lenses.
The damn thing is also louder than my F5.

Next I looked at the Hexar. I liked it, but I needed something with
interchangeable lenses. That said, I was still tempted until I realized
that the shutter speeds only go up to 500. That was not acceptable.

So I came back to Leica because, for someone with my needs, it was the
only game in town. I looked at the M6 and almost bought one until I
learned about the CL. It accepted the lenses I intended to buy, was
small and I could get it repaired by Leica (the main reason I did not
buy a CLE instead). So I bought one a couple of weeks ago.

The reason I did not buy a M6 was that it offered me little that the CL
did not. If Leica were to introduce a version of their camera with
modern metering. I have to work fast in situations where the light
changes rapidly and the subjects move so I do not have time for a camera
without metering. Nikon manages to put out several consumer level
cameras with advanced metering, so I imagine Leica could handle it.
Aperture priority would also be nice. If the CLE could do it more than a
decade ago, you'd think Leica could handle it.

Leica has a nice niche. It's the only game in town for fully
professional rangefinders. The lenses are great, but since most of my
work reaches the public on newsprint, it's not really an issue for me.

That said, if some other company released a cheaper camera that met my
needs without making me sacrifice to much in terms of quality, I would
buy it and sell my gear to the collectors. Call me a philistine, but I
am a first and foremost trying to make a living.

Professional photographers made the Leica name. From the Magnum
photographers to the few pros who still lug around an M6 for that
special occasion, they are an integral part of the mystique.
Professionals still use Leica, but I do not believe that we are the
target audience for the products any longer. It would be a shame if
someone lured us away forever.