Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2011/07/19

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Subject: [Leica] Digital vs film cost EYES!
From: grduprey at mchsi.com (grduprey at mchsi.com)
Date: Tue, 19 Jul 2011 10:42:27 -0500 (CDT)

I have to agree with Ted here.  Although I do not shoot anywhere near what 
he does, I shoot as much as I can.

This justification crap is just that.  If I had to justify everything with a 
cost evaluation before I bought it, I would live in a cave somewhere with a 
sheet of newspaper to cover me.  That is about what i can justify on a cost 
basis.  Buy what every you want and enjoy it while you can.  Life is too 
short to worry about every little thing.

By the way I'm retired, and took SS at 62.  If I had waited to retire in 
'08, I would never have retired at all.  Enjoy life, worrying is a waste of 
time.

Gene

----- Original Message -----
From: tedgrant at shaw.ca
To: "Leica Users Group" <lug at leica-users.org>
Sent: Monday, July 18, 2011 4:47:29 PM GMT -06:00 US/Canada Central
Subject: Re: [Leica] Digital vs film cost EYES!

Jeeeeeeeeshhhh I don't know what you guys do as amateurs and shooting. But 
when I started I bought 100 foot rolls of 35mm film and loaded as many 
cassettes as I could.. 30 or more a week and by the following Saturday they 
were all developed and started printing on Sunday. And that was working in a 
service trade that had absolutely nothing to do with photography! Every 
waking moment I was doing something in photography.

When I bought a Rollieflex 120, I bought & shot 20  rolls a week ( a brick 
as they were called) for ages and never batted an eye about cost,  time or 
anything else. Basically my wife who started me in this crazy world of 
photography became a "PHOTO WIDOW!"

During my professional career and today,  photography is and has always been 
29 hours a day, 14 days a week! :-) You don''t turn it on and off, it's 
always peddle to the metal looking! Seeing, reacting, enjoying the visual 
moment never stops, but I love it with great passion even though I do all 
that with only one good eye!''

HOWEVER! WHAT THE HELL!! I have just had a major eye examinination on the 
good eye only to be told I am in a state of:  "Macular Degeneration!" As I 
understand, that basically means I'm on the way to becoming blind! Not today 
or tommorrow,  but depending how quickley it progesses!

So lads move yer ass and enjoy your picture taking as much as you can! You 
never know when the devil will cross yer path! :-)

cheers,
Dr. ted




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Richard Man" <richard at imagecraft.com>
To: "Leica Users Group" <lug at leica-users.org>
Sent: Monday, July 18, 2011 2:14 PM
Subject: Re: [Leica] Digital vs film cost


> Thank you Larry :-)
>
> On Mon, Jul 18, 2011 at 2:03 PM, Lawrence Zeitlin <lrzeitlin at gmail.com> 
> wrote:
>> Fortunately the cost of film vs. digital for Leica users can be settled 
>> with
>> a sharp pencil and a pocket calculator. Everyone is right. It pays for 
>> the
>> pros to switch, it is marginal for the advanced amateur, and a poor 
>> bargain
>> for everyone else.
>>
>>
>> Film cost of each frame including developing (approximate, based on
>> Freestyle catalog):
>>
>> Category 1: B&W, bulk loaded, self processed = $.05
>>
>> Category 2: B&W, 36 exp. purchased rolls, commercially processed = $.20
>>
>> Category 3: Color, 36 exp. rolls, commercially processed = $.30
>>
>>
>> Professional photographer:
>>
>> Has first class film equipment and lenses. Buys new digital body. Shoots 
>> 200
>> frames a day, 40,000 frames per working year. Cost of new Leica or Canon
>> body $7000.
>>
>> Category 1 - Digital break even point in 700 working days (10 years).
>>
>> Category 2 - Break even point in 175 days (about 6 months).
>>
>> Category 3 - Break even point in 117 days (about 4 months).
>>
>>
>> Advanced amateur photographer (Typical LUG member)
>>
>> Has Leica M camera, several lenses. Buys M9 body. Shoots 30 frames a day,
>> 9000 per year.
>>
>> Category 1: Break even point, 15.5 years.
>>
>> Category 2: Break even point, 3.9 years.
>>
>> Category 3: Break even point, 2.6 years.
>>
>>
>> Casual Leica shooter, M body, some lenses, shoots 10 frames a day, 3000 
>> per
>> year.
>>
>> Category 1: Break even point, 47 years.
>>
>> Category 2: Break even point, 12 years.
>>
>> Category 3: Break even point, 7.8 years.
>>
>>
>> Typical weekend photographer, uses camera on vacations, birthdays and
>> holidays, shoots 300 pictures a year.
>>
>> FUGGEDABOUDIT - you won't live long enough to break even on a digital 
>> Leica.
>> Stick to film.
>>
>>
>> If you are not a pro or a compulsive shooter and you MUST have a digital
>> Leica, buy a used M8 or wait to buy your used M9 until after the M10 is
>> introduced. Incidentally the cost of a $7000 loan to buy a new camera is
>> $420/year at a bank, $1120/year if charged to your credit card.
>>
>>
>> Larry Z
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Leica Users Group.
>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>>
>
>
>
> -- 
> // richard <http://www.imagecraft.com/>
> // icc blog: <http://imagecraft.com/blog/>
> // richard's personal photo blog: <http://www.5pmlight.com>
> [ For technical support on ImageCraft products, please include all
> previous replies in your msgs. ]
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information 


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Replies: Reply from mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner) ([Leica] Digital vs. film cost EYES!)
In reply to: Message from tedgrant at shaw.ca (tedgrant at shaw.ca) ([Leica] Digital vs film cost EYES!)