Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2013/06/26
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]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