[Leica] Leica donation to students

[lambroving at worldnet.att.net (William G. Lamb, III)]

Philippe & Emanuel,

While I agree with most of what you both have to say, and I hate reading
all the non-Leica digital crap which gets posted here continually, can we
get even closer to reality here?

IMHO, "it's all about the pictures, stupid", to paraphrase a certain 
cigar-loving
politician. Most of us are M-users here in one way or another. Leicas are
tools, not jewelry. If they didn't satisfy, rich people in particular would 
toss
them in a heartbeat. I sell expensive cars to rich people and find that they
have a very limited "sense of humor"...

While many pros here probably COULD take a great picture with a box
Brownie, I can't. I started with SLR's in the sixties and knew I could do
better. SO..., I rented an M4 for a week. I hated the lack of a TTL meter
but loved the Leica r/f and the glass and the "fresh" pictures I got. Bought
an M5 in 1972 and never looked back. The camera fits the way I see and
always gives me reliable results, usually with the first frame, if not the 
second.

My pictures have to satisfy ME and no one else. I CAN see the difference,
so Leicas are worth the $$$. Sometimes other people like my pictures and
that's always a nice plus. If the pictures were no good, I'd toss the gear 
and
look for something which would give me what I wanted.

Another point about M's; I can pick up one after not holding a camera for
some months, and immediately I can catch what I want, and that means
ANY M.

Seems to me that, if someone is serious about their pictures and the r/f
format works for them, THEY will find Leica. Seems to me also that there
is not enough "Fine Arts" education required at universities today, which
just might account for the fact that some students may think a TV picture
is just fine.

I find the concept of a Leica as a fashion accessory repulsive. How dare
they talk of my friends (and I own three) this way! :-)

I have no problem with Leica donating a few cameras to Fine Arts Departments
at universities with programs which could meet certain requirements. If the
students like using them, they can save and buy their own, just as I did.
They are more "valuable" that way. AND I'm a poor lad who worked his way
through an IV League college, so I'll brook no reverse snobbery on this 
topic.

Regards,

William

At 07:42 PM 09/26/2004 +0200, you wrote:
>Kit,
>
>First of all, I wasn't talking about elitisiscm (if that word exists).
>And I wasn't talking about considering a Leica as a piece of jewelry to be
>displayed, not to be used, either. Even if one might suspect that to be the
>case, looking at the photo vs postings ratio in this forum ;-).
>
>I was merely stating 2 things:
>
>1) The Leica quality seems to have a price. Even if prices have risen these
>last years, it was always an expensive camera. BTW: in rising prices Leica
>is not alone: since the euro was introduced, lots of goods have almost
>doubled in price, believe it or not.
>Expensive stuff is always bought by minorities.
>
>2) So if Leica continues to produce such cameras, it is bound to only target
>a small niche of customers. They could make less expensive cameras, but I'm
>not sure if they would be able to combine that with the quality they provide
>now. Can't have best of both worlds, I'm afraid.
>Also, small is relative, ofcourse. Lots of people around that can buy such a
>camera, I think. Whether they will is another question.
>
>Finally, is Leica too expensive? I have no clue. But I do think part of
>their prices is just "added brand value". But you can't blaim them for that,
>can you? After all, they too live in a capitalist world.
>
>Philippe
>---
> > From: "Kit McChesney" <leicagalpal@earthlink.net>
> > Reply-To: Leica Users Group <lug@leica-users.org>
> > Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2004 11:24:34 -0600
> > To: "'Leica Users Group'" <lug@leica-users.org>
> > Subject: RE: [Leica] Leica donation to students
> >
> > And as much as the Leica-as-elite-camera-myth may be attractive-sounding,
> > there is no one at Leica who is sitting around saying, 'Oh, how can we 
> > make
> > our camera so expensive that only a few people will be able to buy it?' 
> > I'm
> > sure the discussions are more on the lines of 'how the heck can we cut 
> costs
> > so that we can make our cameras more affordable so that more people are 
> able
> > to purchase them?'
> >
> > No one wants to be so exclusive that few customers can afford to buy 
> > their
> > products. Anyone who does should not be in business. Unless, of course, 
> they
> > are selling Aston-Martin autos. But we know now that Aston-Martin will 
> > turn
> > a profit for the first time in its history MAYBE next year. And how many 
> > of
> > those do you see on the road?
> >
> > Kit