[Leica] Why in heaven's name

[Mike Johnston <michaeljohnston@ameritech.net>]

>>>If in real-world photography, using a camera and lens the way I'm
going to use it day in and day out, I will not be able to tell the
difference
between a photo taken with, say, a $2000 50 mm Summilux and a $300 50
f/1.4 Nikkor or EOS, why in heaven's name should I -- or anybody not
made out of money -- spend $1700 more for the Summilux?<<<


Dear me, here I'm going to be accused of inconsistency. But I actually
don't quite agree with the above either.

I think photography is subjective. Enjoying it is part of why we do it.

One of the virtues of the Leica is simply that it is so enjoyable to
use. One of the virtues of Leica lenses are that they are so pleasing.
They are beautifully built and perform wonderfully--usually, to get to
know one well is to appreciate it all the more.

I believe that people ought to do what pleases them most, not just what
is most cost-effective. Often, this includes searching out and acquiring
the most beautiful, most pleasing lenses.

I don't agree that you can do this "by the numbers," buying by the label
as it were, or based on snobbery; and I do believe that if people
presume to decide for others what's best, they sometimes do the
alternatives a gross misservice. Searching out and acquiring the most
beautiful, most pleasing lenses may involve making serious purchases
that really have no rational justification, or it may involve doing
something as irrational as exploring many options sequentially in the
service of delectation and connoisseurship (my own approach).I really
think this is okay. But if people are using lenses they don't think are
the best for them and their pictures, well, what a shame.

Life is short, and lenses are beautiful. Buy the lens you WANT, not just
the lens you need!

- --Mike