People like yourself try perpetuate, amplify and propagate myths about this camera brand trying to justify what is essentially a snobbery status driven choice.
People like myself find the non-admittance of that fact and the subversive evoking of imaginary adavntages a bad service to those who need objective inputs about camera formats and brands.
It's that simple.
Say you crave a Leica because you just want one or because it will make you feel superior to the rest of the photo-human race and you won't hear a peep from me. To each is own.
But, since you evoked some of those confabulated myths again in your OP, here goes mu "Myth Busting" list. I am sure you'll be calling an "attack".
Myth 1: "
It's a camera with only the bear essentials for the true purists. "
36 x 24 mm CCD with18 million effective pixels.
Dual processors.
Quiet metal blade.
3 mode shutter release (Standard / Soft / Discreet).
B&W AND Vintage B&W modes
Preset user profile for snapshot mode.
4 user profiles.
Bracketing with 3/5/7 images, 0.5 - 2.0 EV.
etc, etc...
Bare essentials?...Right...
Cold hard fact: They put in has much as they can, according to the format.
What they leave out is probably by sheer incapacity.
That they do it at that absurd price point is just laughable and shows how gullible people can be.
Myth 2: "
Their optics are singular and exclusive and have a "je ne sais quoi" about it. "
Cold hard facts:
1. They are not "exclusive". They can be used in most cameras, by means of an adapter.
2. Optics quality correlates directly with the price paid. A 24mm f/1.4 Summilux retails at more than 3.5x a Canon EF 24mm f1.4 II. I doubt it performs 3.5 times better...
Myth 3: "
Leicas are built to better engineering standards than other cameras. "
Cold hard facts: They are built to the best possible engineering standards available to their engineering team, like any other brand.
In this regard, the fact that their "
übber alles " German engineering design team "forgot" to put an effective IR filter on the M8 and had to resort to an "after the fact" solution to sort the blunder out, speaks volumes on how it can be as sub-standard as any one else, given the opportunity.
Myth 4: "
Every conceivable Leica ever built will, in time, have a collector value. "
Cold hard facts: It is true that a gold plated Leica M3 can sell for 150,000+ USD. But, then again, only 2 are known to exist.
Try to sell a "regular" 1957 M3 and you'll be lucky if you get 750 USD for it.
As for current digital ones getting collector status, that is just hopeless and unfounded wishful thinking.
They are just electronics gadgets like any other camera and, as such, will depreciate faster than you can say "Cheese".
(Limited editions could be worth something in the future but I see none around...).
Myth 5: "
People buy a Leica for their uniqueness and how special their photos look. "
Cold hard fact: People buy a Leica for the "status quick" they feel they will get out of it.
I have it bluntly admitted to me several times both here and from direct conversation with prospective buyers.
Myth 6: "
Only Leica owners know how to "feel" and "evaluate" a photo before taking it and that capacity is given by the camera, itself, in an almost transcendental way. "
Cold hard fact: Leica's rangefinders do not intrinsically lead to better, more well-thought-of and crafted photography as any other brand or type of camera.
Take any photo art book (that is not exclusively dedicated to Leica). There will probably be some Leica rangefinders photos in it. There will be much more photos from other brands and types of cameras.
Please, please, please DO NOT re-propagate and amplify the above list of absurd myths.
PK
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“Loose praise may feed my ego but constructive criticism advances my skills”
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http://www.pbase.com/photokhan
(PBase Supporter)
