[Leica] Cameras Real Pros Use

[billcpearce at cox.net (Bill Pearce)]

AS someone who has been a professional since the early seventies, I can tell 
you that film Leicas were always the very most expensive, and always sold in 
stores that resembled jewelry stores. This business isn't news. There may 
have been a time when Leicas were affordable to pros, but that time was the 
forties and fifties.

-----Original Message----- 
From: jon.streeter
Sent: Friday, November 30, 2012 8:52 PM
To: Leica Users Group
Subject: Re: [Leica] Cameras Real Pros Use

I do have existing Leica glass, though in Henri-sized quantities.  Of 
course, my attachment to my M6 goes way beyond photography.  Had I not 
dallied in the camera store where I had gone in a rush solely to buy bulk 
film the day I wound up caving in and buying it because after all, Leica was 
having a sale on October 10, 1998, I would not have encountered the 
ravishingly beautiful woman whose eyes suddenly and unexpectedly met mine in 
a window of opportunity that lasted only a second and changed my life in 
that instant and who has been with me since that day.   Can a Nikon or Canon 
do that?  Well, can they?

Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone

----- Reply message -----
From: "John McMaster" <john at mcmaster.co.nz>
To: "Leica Users Group" <lug at leica-users.org>
Subject: [Leica] Cameras Real Pros Use
Date: Fri, Nov 30, 2012 6:07 pm


If you have existing Leica glass things are different, especially if you can 
afford but do not choose to buy a FF digital Leica.

I did comparisons with my M9 and 35mm Summilux asph FLE/Noctilux f1.0 and 
D800E with Zeiss 35/2 and Nikon 50/1.2 to show to a friend who had just 
bought an D800E (with Zeiss primes) and was raving about it. He is now 
looking to buy a Leica (as well)......

john

> -----Original Message-----
>
> John,
>
> Who's talking about starting from scratch?
>
> I'm sitting here at my desk next to a cabinet full of M-film cameras from 
> M2
> to M6 and around a score of M lenses I could well use on a FF-digital 
> camera.
> Even though I could easily afford the new M or the new M-E, I have no
> intention of blowing so much cash on an overpriced camera with a number of
> features I don't even want.  Even the basic M-E has a Leica charisma 
> markup
> of around 30 to 40% factored into the price.
>
> The last new Leica M I bought was the first model M6 Titanium that came 
> out
> at the same time I had a moderate windfall, and even the paint flaked out 
> of
> the name engraving within the first week of buying it - it was sent in to 
> Leica
> and returned with a totally new top deck and a repair sheet that said they
> replaced the shutter brake and readjusted all manner of other things
> - not exactly what I would expect from a brand new camera.
>
> Bring out an alternative that offers the reliability that used to be 
> promised
> and fulfilled by Leica - and seemed to disappear after the M4 - and I'll 
> buy it
> like a shot.
>
> Cheers
> Douglas
>
>
>
> On 01.12.2012 01:49, John McMaster wrote:
> > If, starting from scratch, you cannot afford a full frame digital Leica 
> > body
> then I doubt you will be able to afford many Leica lenses from the past
> quarter century.....
> >
> > john
> >
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >>
> >> If Leica glass is the clincher,  it also shows that the first other
> >> brand to turn up with a full-frame digital camera (maybe even
> >> exclusively) for M-mount Leica lenses (like the Voigtl?nder Bessa and
> >> Zeiss Ikon cameras for film) is going to make a killing if they have
> >> prices much lower than what Leica demands and acceptable build quality.
> >>
> >> Even at "M-system entry level", Leica prices most potential users out
> >> of the market from the word go.
> >>
> >> Cheers
> >> Douglas
> >>
> >> On 30.11.2012 20:47, Frank Filippone wrote:
> >>> Forget all the stories about reliability, as we still use the Digi-M
> >>> because it uses Leica Glass.  And, as amateurs, we can tolerate the
> >>> reliability problems....
> >>>
> >>> It only shows that you need a backup camera.  If you use N or C
> >>> cameras, a backup, even a lower model or older model,  can be bought
> >>> in most countries, and even if you do pay more than you want or buy
> >>> a film camera, it will be cheap, relative to what it would cost in
> >>> an emergency to buy a new M9 in some Podunk location, if possible at
> all.
> >>> And therein the problem for us Leica fans.. we MUST bring a backup
> >>> camera with us....  Mine is an M6TTL.  I carry 4-6 rolls of film and
> >>> figure I can always buy some form of C41 film or even B+W no matter
> >> where in the world I am.
> >>> The backup stays in my luggage for the trip.  Not in the camera bag.
> >>>
> >>> Frank Filippone
> >>> Red735i at verizon.net
> >>>

_______________________________________________
Leica Users Group.
See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information

_______________________________________________
Leica Users Group.
See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information