[Leica] M8 Article in LFI

[pklein at 2alpha.net (Peter Klein)]

I think B. D. is correct about high-end goods and status. It's how a lot 
of things are sold.  The way I look at it is that the status seekers make 
it possible for the goods to exist.  So then I can later buy them used for 
a price I can afford.  :-)

"Snob-appeal marketing" opens up the whole can of worms about a consumer 
society whose values are largely determined by the incessant drumbeat of 
marketing. "You are what you buy," Keeping Up With the Joneses, and so 
forth.  It's a false god which is worshipped by far too many of both the 
haves and the have-nots.

But pity the hapless Leica owners who simply uses Leica because it's the 
best photographic tool for him or her--for whatever reason.  Every so 
often, they are going to be set upon by a scold who looks at a high-end 
label as a cue to vent their rage at a "fat cat."  Or one who believes 
that the Leica user is blinded by brand loyalty to the fact that the 
latest DSLR "will do everything and more than the Leica does, for far 
less."  For examples of both, see the Leica forum on Photo.net any day. 
And sometimes even here.

That's one reason why I cover the Leica logos on my cameras with black 
tape.  I don't want anyone to assume I am:

A. Filthy rich and therefore responsible for poverty and racism, or
B. A mindless status-seeker with more bucks than brains,

. . .and proceed to hassle me for said crimes against humanity. Or try to 
rip me off.

I just want to take pictures, unobtrusively with the camera that has 
proven best for me.  And yes, I do have pride of ownership of "something 
that is exquisitely well-made."

People who recognize a Leica M without the logos visible are more likely 
to be non-thieves and non-hostile (I think, I hope!). I'm happy to have a 
pleasant chat with photography afficianados of the latter stripe.

--Peter "I bought 'em used" Klein

B. D. wrote:
> It is certainly true that there are people who buy high-end goods for
> the sheer joy of owning something that is equisitely well made. But most
> of such products are sold as status symbols to people who feel the need
> to show off their bank statements.