Why do people buy a leica?

[dude163]

Im just curious, is it the glass? the zen-like rangefinder experience? the little red dot? the name? what?

anyone care to chime in please to help my obsession

[dsmlogger]

[Attila]

Why people buy designer clothes, fast cars .... they can afford it

Friend of mine who is a repair man and local dealer of used gear, he did try virtually any equipments include most expensive ones AF MF no matter.
He said me yesterday need a camera only and luck to catch right situation no matter Leica or Praktica.

[dude163]

Attila , I agree, serendipity is more powerful than any lens!

and it appears the best lens is the one in the photographers eyeball.

Im trying to fight off the urge to buy a leica, but i wanted to hear from people who had bought/used one, because i really love my KX and vintage glass , would buying a Leica make me a better photographer, probably not!

help!

[Attila]

Buy a Leica and if it is give you an extra feeling in your hobby keep it if not sell it. I did it too. I bought already Leica IIIb RF camera body it has awesome quality after cla'd I did try it out . Bottom loading just not for me simple , so I sold it. Now I am very happy with cheap Russian clones like Fed-2 and Kiev-4.Fed-2 has normal loading otherways same than Leica III and it's cost nothing really. Feeling just same to me in practical usage.
I bought Leica R 90mm f2.8 second version I just didn't find to better than Kaleinar 100mm and I like lot more Pancolar 80 or Biotar 75 I sold it too. Last my Leica is 100mm f4 Macro Elmarit , I keep it because I love it.

[uhoh7]

Well the M9 is in a class by itself at the moment.

FF sensor, small footprint.

To rich for my blood, but I'd like to have something like that.

[goombles]

What comes with great expectations often leaves one disappointed

[IAZA]

I was not pay any attention on Leica glass, due to their price. Then My friend told me that Summicron reduce the noise on ISO 1600. I tried to compare it with Zeiss glass. He's right. I tried Elmarit 90 for same purpose and compared to other lens. Still on high ISO Leica give better noise control. This is very useful for my cheap 1000D canon, with crap high ISO.

[Scheimpflug]

Why buy a Leica?

I think that many Leica owners are not Leica "users"... so in fact the qualities of the cameras & lenses really mean little in practice, they just have perceived value on paper. Instead, these people are Leica "collectors". The items are nothing more than investments.

The difference however is that unlike stocks, bonds, or other investments, the Leicas have a bit of prestige with them. You effectively buy your way into a club of like-minded investors, with all of the bragging rights and social community support that comes with it.

[jjphoto]

The Leica pro/con subject has been discussed to death all over the place so I don't see a need to go over all that again.

[jjphoto]

To answer the original question, why do people buy Leica?

[rawhead]

I don't own a Leica; however, if I *were* to buy a Leica, film or digital, it would be because I *could* do things that are nearly impossible on another system. So, in fact, yes, it would be about the glass. A couple of examples:


Noctilux 50/1.0
CZ Hologon 16/8.0

[Esox lucius]

I think this topic is at some point going to be found in the Dive Bar...

I have owned lots of Leicas and I do love the feel of using them. But, in 2011 time has gone past them and M9 did not change anything. It was always hard to justify the extra price, but nowadays it's impossible to justify with anything else than emotional arguments.

Leica is like slow food movement - you never find all the fuzz appealing until you finally have the extra time to allow yourself at least one day per week. Like slow food, Leica is not always healthy, but it sure is all about hedonism.

[martinsmith99]

I did consider Leica or 5Dii. When I weighed up the pros and cons, it was a simple choice.

[uhoh7]

with respect, the M9 did not change anything?

really?

the leicaphiles are head over heels with the thing.

there are only 5 other digital cameras (excepting medium format) with that level of image quality and all are huge.

the first ever full frame rangefinder?

your average pro would kill to get one.

leica has never been so far ahead of the curve.

[jjphoto]

[pich900]

And why do peoples buy CARL ZEISS lenses ?????
If you have the money and if you like beautiful piece of glass and metal, then it's enough reason to buy one, same for CARL ZEISS or Angenieux on my opinion....and peoples who told you that having a Leica lens is just "snobbism" are probably just jealous ........

[Esox lucius]

[Nordentro]

[semso]

Atila wrote ''and I like lot more Pancolar 80 or Biotar 75 I sold it too"

These are also much expansive $$$$$$,

Last week I bought MC Eyemik 2.8 100mm for 10 euros
I am sure that with Eyemik I'll be the same photograph like with
expansive (much overrated) Biotar or Pancolar.


semso

Biotar 75 or Pancolar 80 are good only for resell (buying cheap and selling expansive)

[LucisPictor]

Well. there IS a difference between a Pancolar and a €10,- noname lens!
Of course, you can take fantastic photos with a €10,- lens, but some characteristics are somewhat typical and exclusive to certain lenses.

Why Leica?

There are several reasons that a valid for different owners, some more, some less. Some of those arguments are not accepted by everybody, but not everybody buys a Leica...

1. Leica as a name has a tradition and reputation. Using a Leica lets this light shine on you as a photographer. Stupid or not, it's true for many.

2. Leica cams and lenses are built extremely well and just feel great in your hands. It's a joy to use them.

3. The high precision of Leica products provides the best chances for an excellent image quality. Of course, you need th right light, the right situation and the right subject for a good photo. But a Leica will not let you down in such a case.

4. Some Leica items are pretty rare and well sought after, thus collectors step onto stage and buy those "gems".

5. Leica has rarely been the first to introduce a new technology. They have developed several technologies first (such as the Autofocus, it's a Leica development!) but have not marketed it. They (normally) only put an item on the market if it works reliably. (The M8 was the exception to the rule with its black problems. ). That's what Leica users love. If you own a Leica, you can expect it to work.

6. Leica, as a rather small company, plays the role of the underdog against Canon, Nikon, Sony etc.. This allows them to find their place in a highly exclusive niché which again casts that exclusive light on owners, just like the membership in an exclusiuve club.

7. If you buy a Leica you are willing (and able) to spend a lot of money on your hobby. This again adds to the feeling of exclusiveness and "elite".


As I said, you easily would not agree to some of those points but everybody who owns a Leica follows at least some of those aspects.

[Hari]

Let me try the impossible and balance the situation - i'm not a spec junkie and I speak as a prosumer, not as an expert in the business for 15 yrs

Two different worlds.

I love the M9. It's small and fits in a tiny bag with my 3 fav lenses. A 15/4.5 Heliar, a 50/1.1 Nokton and the 90 summicron. I can spend all day shooting with the cam and not feel the weight or get lost in features I don't use. The full frame sensor is fantastic and the noise control is decent - given that you get superfast lenses for this system, you dont have to hike up the ISO. Yes, there is color shift with ultrawide lenses but I can live with it and there are some good programs to fix this issue.

But, i'm under no pressure to deliver. I don't make my money from my pictures. It's ok if I fcuk a shot up. Would i ever rely only on an M9 if i had to make my money from my pictures. No i wouldn't.

The M9 won't do macros. The M9 won't do long range tele. The M9 doesn't have live view. The M9 doesn't even have weatherproofing.

A rangefinder will never replace a DSLR with autofocus.

Yes a DSLR is bulky and heavy. Yes it's got a million menus and submenus. Yes it's made of plastic. Yes it's very obvious if you want to take some candid street shots.

But it surely does everything the M9 doesn't and a lot more.

I just bought a 1ds mk3 for everything i want to do and the M9 simply wont let me.

There are days when I go out with the M9. There are days when I go out with a DSLR.

Question is - WHAT DO YOU WANT? WHAT ARE YOUR NEEDS?

Cant have both at the moment. So wait for a Nikon or a Canon or a whoever to come up with a small FF camera with stripped down menus and functions or just buy whatever suits your needs and tastes most at the moment and reconsider your kit at a later point in time when the choice of technology is wider.

[AhamB]

[semso]

LucisPictor wrote:

Well. there IS a difference between a Pancolar and a €10,- noname lens!





But in the year of production the price of MC Eyemik 2.8 100mm was probably the same like the price of MC Pancolar 1.8 80mm

Biotar 58mm clone Helios 44XX cost less than 2 euros


But WE ARE someone who made the price of Pancolar so unrealistic.

I had more then 300 MF lenses and best photo I made with MC Chinon 28mm 2.8, YES THE HEAD make a photo, not the camera or the lens!!!!



semso

[dude163]

Thanks all

this wasnt a trolling flamebait post actually, Ive been saving up for a while , and I have close to 2000 bucks sitting around doing nothing, which suspiciously is aboutthe price of a used M8

I have a Pentax KX and I love it, and the MF lenses on it are fantastic, i am just trying to figure out what my next step is , I dislike live view and video , I dont shoot for a living, Im on a disability pension from Air traffic control atthe moment, and I do most of my photography as a cathartic *chill out* experience, I was just thinking that a Leica might be the sweet spot

Imean between , quality, speed and the *zen* of photo , Im sorry if this post sturred up some emotions, i didnt mean it to be , I was just looking for some help about making a decision

My brain says stick with DSLRs , but my heart........