Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1996/12/30
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]At 09:55 AM 12/30/96 -0700, you wrote: >Someone used the phrase "The Leica of..." when extolling the virtues of >something he felt was a world class item. It's funny how these cameras have >become iconic to us in that we hold them up as a standard of quality. > Sadly, I don't think "The Leica of...." will work with the public at large. I have used Leicas in many public settings, and virtually every non-photographer I've talked with has never heard the name. (My favorite experience was about 15 years ago when I photographed a pro tennis tournament using an R3 Safari, which was painted "NATO green." Quite a few people asked me about it; not one had ever heard of Leica.) >It seems that there are fewer and fewer items that we can point to today >and say, positively, "this is the BEST that the world has to offer.". Not to >get completely off the beaten path but what happened to our sense of >quality? Why doesn't the world expect more from the things that we buy? > >When I try to explain my choice of cameras to people who ask, the light just >doesn't come on for most of them. I try to explain the magic of owning >something that is made so well and they don't get it. If it doesn't say >"Craftsman" they couldn't care less, does anybody follow what I'm saying? > Yes, certainly. I think, however, that when it comes to cameras metal feels higher quality than plastic, and mechanical feels higher quality than electronic. This is kind of like the difference between polished brass headlamps on an old car and the current plastic, body-color jobs. Hand craftsmanship still seems the best. So we all enjoy, I admit, "fondling" our Leicas (Oddmund, where are you?). This may not, however, relate directly to improved function--a current Japanese computer controlled automobile engine with plastic valve covers functions very much better than the old British engine with beautifully machined dual carburetors. It comes down to one's definition of "The BEST." Having said all that, someone once asked me to bring her things that I loved in order to know more about me. I brought her my M6. She, who had never shot anything but plastic point'n'shoots, got the point instantly. It's just one of the finer things in life! Happy New Year--Charlie Charles E. Love, Jr. CEL14@CORNELL.EDU