[Leica] Leica users group, LUG, so what does that mean?

[steve.barbour at gmail.com (Steve Barbour)]

Leica users group, LUG,  what does that mean?  Several individuals have 
confided to me recently, "it?s really a state of mind?.  Let?s face it, 
there are few offerings of interest from Leica these days, that we can 
afford, or desire to, while more and more  we all find great offerings from 
many other camera and lens makers. We all insist we are leica devotees, yet 
many of us, if not most, are using other makers' cameras and lenses. We 
often find that leica lenses from the past, actually work as well on other 
makers current camera bodies, sometimes better than on leica?s own bodies. 
We publish a wonderful yearly book of photos, that we call the LUG yearbook, 
yet insist that the photos can come from any and all camera/lens sources,  
and images do originate from many other sources. We criticize robustly, even 
occasionally correctly, the offerings from Leica, their appearance, 
technical details, prices, yet we remain here and claim to be Leica users. 
So what is it that we have in common, that keeps here in this group, why do 
we self identify as Leica users ?

There are some truly great photographers here, not because they use leicas, 
other reasons may exist. We really are a community, sometimes even a family, 
occasionally very dysfunctional. Some of the most opinionated among us use 
leicas, or used to, or desire to, even though at present that use is 
limited, or nonexistent. 

We are at present, among the most capable, open minded, flexible, sure of 
ourselves, opinionated, fractious, difficult, stuck up shooters that exist.  

It may be time to talk.


steve