[Leica] A Knight in Shining Armour is moved to defend the Maiden ofSolms

[s.jessurun95 at chello.nl (animal)]

> Speaking personally, I don't have any problem with what I have always
> considered to be the world's best camera being fine-tuned to my personal 
> preferences whilst continuing to be a most elegant and beautiful camera.
>
> Leica has always been an aspirational product for those of us who don't 
> earn our living from photography, and the high cost only serves to 
> reinforce that perception. That was as true in the 1950s as it is today. 
> There are any number of cheaper alternatives which, for 99.999999% of the 
> pictures I make produce results which are indistinguishable. But I choose 
> to spend my hard-earned money on something which is, indisputably, a 
> product of the highest quality and performance.
>
> And there are some film dinosaurs, like me, who do not consider digital 
> image-making to be an advance, but rather something which threatens to 
> destroy the hobby I have loved for 50 years and which I hope to go on 
> enjoying. It surprises and disappoints me - a confirmed lurker - to find 
> that I have to defend film-based photography in many quarters these days, 
> and that I feel moved to defend Leica cameras on a user list devoted to 
> them - though 'devoted' certainly doesn't seem to match the mood of the 
> moment, if you'll excuse the pun!
>
> I do not expect others to share my views nor do I seek to persuade others: 
> I simply feel the need to express them in the current
> climate.
>
> Richard

Well i guess most feel like you as do I.
Many people who argue against the M camera admit that they cannot afford the 
cost of film so they cannot be at the cutting edge of professional 
photography can they?
I know for sure that film is not dead in areas like fashion were 8 shots a 
day is a lot and why should it be?
If you look at the strong points of the M system what do you find.?
The best optical performance for 35 mm lenses below 100 mm,s
A body with a styling that mirrors it industrial design.
If form follows function then it,s hard to beat.
Wasn,t it Philip Starck who called it one of the top industrial designs 
ever?
Film outperforms digital sensors in many areas and has the potential to 
allways outperform digital sensors in principle until the days that true 3d 
imaging will be available.
It,s small and your grand dad,s model will do fine today.
Also there is nothing wrong with snobbery or posturing .
All animals do it it,s part of survival.
If your nice plumage can get you  the great hens why would you not want to 
wear them?
Most things really don,t change that much.Consumers are just tricked into 
thinking that they do.
Take computing. devellopments comes in major steps offering more then a 10 
fold increase in performance .
Like when you use shorter wavelengths for lithography .For the next steps 
you know you need many years of industrial research and the occasional 
breakthrough in science.In the mean time you can keep the masses happy for a 
doubling of performance for enough years to get you the money you want for 
the next step.
Those people at Leica are obviously doing just that researching the next 
significant step.
Btw does anyone know if the digital back for the R has TV out?
Have a rather big nose.
best
simon jessurun
amsterdam