[Leica] Buying Leica.....

[john at mcmaster.co.nz (John McMaster)]

And be able to invest +20K USD into it? That is the the entry level for a 
basic two camera kit these days....  It can/will go much higher with certain 
lenses ;-)

john
________________________________________


I think if I were buying today I would look at photos made by photographers
using Leicas and photographers using disposable Fujis and come to the same
conclusion I did 40 years ago.

Tina


On Wed, Jun 26, 2013 at 7:23 PM, John McMaster <john at mcmaster.co.nz> 
wrote:

> Agreed, but that is with hindsight.
>
> If you were buying now, with no experience of Leica, could you justify the
> cost over half a dozen 'disposable' Fujis? We are talking a couple of
> cameras and a few lenses so somewhere over 20K USD initial investment....
>
> john
> ________________________________________
>
>
> I also bought a Leica 40 years ago because I knew it would stand up under
> all kinds of conditions that other cameras would not.  I still feel that is
> true with my digital Leicas.  I don't know what the reason is, but I've
> never had a problem with my digital cameras that wasn't fixed immediately
> by Leica.  I dunked two M8s in a river, dried them by a fire, and they kept
> working.  Maybe I'm just lucky when it comes to cameras but I still believe
> in Leica.  I don't think I could have dunked my Canon 1DMII or 5D in a
> river and still had them work.  I love the simplicity of the Leica menus,
> buttons and knobs that I can use in the dark by feel.  I love rangefinder
> focusing.  I love my old Leica lenses.  I would put up with a lot of quirks
> to be able to use my old lenses full frame but I don't have to.  I'm a
> happy camper.
>
> Tina
>
>
> On Wed, Jun 26, 2013 at 7:06 PM, Jim Nichols <jhnichols at lighttube.net
> >wrote:
>
> > Hi George,
> >
> > You see things much the way that I do.  I bought my first Leica body and
> > lens in 1952, probably much earlier than most on this list.  Though the
> > IIIa was made in 1935, it had been serviced and had a new shutter when I
> > got it. Though it definitely needs a CLA, it will make images, reliably,
> to
> > this day.  That is what started my appreciation of Leica products.
> >
> > Their digital products seem to be built for a limited lifetime.  The two
> > lines are entirely different, as I see them.  I have a difficult time
> > "buying into" their current approach to digital camera bodies.
> >
> > Jim Nichols
> > Tullahoma, TN USA
> > ----- Original Message ----- From: "George Lottermoser" <
> imagist3 at mac.com>
> > To: "Leica Users Group" <lug at leica-users.org>
> > Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2013 5:55 PM
> > Subject: Re: [Leica] Buying Leica.....
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >> On Jun 26, 2013, at 5:25 PM, John McMaster wrote:
> >>
> >>  With hindsight I would still go Leica, nothing to touch the lenses for
> >>> different looks and I prefer the simpler operation, but if I had not
> used
> >>> them what would make me spend 'rather a lot' more on Leica than Fuji?
> Does
> >>> 'full frame' or the build quality make enough of a difference for the
> price
> >>> jump to most people?
> >>>
> >>
> >> The piece of this "to Leica or not to Leica" quandary that throws me
> >> is the relatively recent "lack of reliability and maintenance."
> >> For over 30 years I KNEW that my Leicas would stand up to daily use;
> >> be able to be CLA'd and maintained for the duration of my life.
> >>
> >> When the digital R path ended abruptly - doubt set in.
> >>
> >> Recent stories of lack of parts or repair paths for 5 year old cameras
> >> seems totally unacceptable for "any" camera company;
> >> let alone a high end, premium camera company.
> >>
> >> I expected that, what ever its flaws may be, that I could keep my M8
> >> making photographs for as long as I chose to hang on to it;
> >> just like every other Leica camera that came before it.
> >>
> >> The idea that $7K camera bodies are simply disposable hardware
> >> with a useable life of a two year warranty - feels totally unacceptable
> >> to me.
> >> If not unacceptable - certainly unaffordable - to me.
> >>
> >> I'm coming from that place where the 50 year old Linhof Tech IV
> >> I just sold works every bit as well the day I handed it to Forrest
> >> as the day it left the factory.
> >>
> >> This whole new device, whether computer, camera body, phone
> >> whatever - simply feels quite "wrong."
> >>
> >> I welcome technological advances and their concomitant costs;
> >> while also expecting that if I choose to remain a couple generations
> back;
> >> that high priced hardware continue to perform somewhere close to specs;
> >> and be designed for adjustment back to original specs.
> >>
> >> Regards,
> >> George Lottermoser
> >> george at imagist.com
> >> http://www.imagist.com
> >> http://www.imagist.com/blog
> >> http://www.linkedin.com/in/**imagist <
> http://www.linkedin.com/in/imagist>
> >>
> >>
> >>