Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2013/06/26

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Subject: [Leica] Leica] Buying Leica.....
From: amr3 at uwm.edu (Alan Magayne-Roshak)
Date: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 22:01:51 -0500 (CDT)

On Wed, 26 Jun 2013 John McMaster <john at mcmaster.co.nz>wrote;
Subject: [Leica] Buying Leica.....

>I really wonder if I would have bought into Leica if I was buying now..... 
>>From http://zackarias.com/blog/

>>"You see, for decades Leica was the shit for the traveling journalist, 
>>street shooters, documentary photographers, etc. They are fantastic 
>>cameras with an undeniable heritage. But >>here?s the deal. The folks who 
>>put Leica on the map can?t afford them any longer. They are a boutique 
>>camera company. The working stiff can?t shell out close to $10,000 for a 
>>>>body and a lens. Go price out 2 M?s, a 20mm ish lens, a 35mm, and a 
>>75mm. Go price that out. Then price out an x100s, an X-Pro1, and the Fuji 
>>14mm, 35mm, and 60mm lens. >>You still haven?t spent the price of a single 
>>Leica body yet. Let alone two of them. And glass."

>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?

>john
===========================================================================================================================================
I've been priced out of  the Leica system for years, but it didn't affect me 
until the digital takeover.  I was happy using my 1950's-'60's Leica, Canon 
and Nikon lenses on my M's with film.  Now I don't have a darkroom, and 
digital M bodies are even more out of reach, so I'm glad to hear reports 
that Fujis like the X-E1 work great with old lenses, so I wouldn't need to 
have them coded and calibrated and hope that the focus would work at all 
distances, etc...

Add to this the same feeling that George expressed:

>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.

>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.

Alan

Alan Magayne-Roshak, Senior Photographer
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Photo Services
(Retired)
UPAA POY 1978
amr3 at uwm.edu
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Alan+Magayne-Roshak/

"All the technique in the world doesn't compensate
 for an inability to notice. " - Elliott Erwitt