Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/03/14

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Subject: [Leica] The truth about the Leica M5
From: Martin Howard <mvhoward@mac.com>
Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 17:56:48 -0800

B.D. Colen wrote:

> What Leitz was unhappy with was the reactionary
> Leica buyers who didn't know what to make of the M5. Yes, it's bigger
> than the M4 was - but not by very much. The real curse of the M5 was
> that it had an internal meter - a very good one as a matter of fact -
> and the all mechanical Leica aficionados just weren't ready for the
> built-in meter at that point, nor were they ready for a "bigger" 
> camera.

You're missing the point, just as Leica did at the time.  Leica 
rangefinders are not rational choices.  They are emotional choices.  
The Leica M5 was, is, and always will be, an ugly pig, an aethetical 
abomination.  This is even more apparent because of the exquisite 
beauty of the lines of the old LTM cameras and their updated cousins in 
the M2, M3, and M4.  I don't care how damn good the M5 is as a camera, 
how great the meter is, or how insignificant the size increase is.  The 
fact remains: it's fugging uckly.

It's as though Porsche had decided to build a five-door estate version 
of the 911.

These days, of course, Leica has got the point almost too well: they no 
longer make cameras, only fashion accessories.  Take a look at Stephen 
Gandy's site at the list of "special edition" M6s.  QED.

(Then, of course, we have the Cayenne.  Let's not mention that any 
more.)

M.

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Replies: Reply from "Leo Hufener" <ljhuf@tiscali.nl> (Re: [Leica] The truth about the Leica M5)
Reply from "SML" <leirex@access4less.net> (Re: [Leica] The truth about the Leica M5)