Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2014/01/12

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Subject: [Leica] The Real Cost of Leicas
From: steve.barbour at gmail.com (Steve Barbour)
Date: Sun, 12 Jan 2014 16:03:40 -0800
References: <CEF79309.165B6%mark@rabinergroup.com>

On Jan 11, 2014, at 9:32 PM, Mark Rabiner <mark at rabinergroup.com> wrote:

> If one is going to shoot 36 or 72 pictures this week than fine. Film or
> digital not much of a difference. But if like many people shooting digital
> opens you up to shooting intensively hundreds of shots per week or more 
> then
> there is a big difference on a number of levels. Cost being one of the 
> first
> ones. And dare I say quality of final final output because that's for sure
> the other one.
> And this is where we get the "shooting too many pictures being sloppy
> technique" baloney gets put in. and that's pure garbage. There is no such
> thing as "over shooting".  In film days I always bought film by the brick
> and shot film by the brick.  Assuming I had money. And not everybody's got
> money all the time. We always told ourselves and our clients "film is 
> cheap"
> and that was of course a bit of BS.



shoot more, you are bound to get some better images, of course those who 
pride themselves for shooting "only 6 or 10 pics" , won't know this....


s



> 
> 
> On 1/11/14 9:42 PM, "Jim Shulman" <jshulman at judgecrater.com> wrote:
> 
>> A little blow-dry on the curtains and it's just fine <g>.  I've even shot
>> in a-la-mode with that camera (when a frozen yogurt collapses on the top
>> plate and lens).
>> 
>>> From period ads I've seen (and from the Montgomery Ward photography
>> catalogs), the M3/collapsible Summicron combination was about $425-450, or
>> roughly $3800 in current money--which means the M9/50mm Summicron combo of
>> 2014 is about four times as expensive as the '50s counterpart.
>> 
>> If the person wanted a new Leica, but couldn't swing the M3's price, there
>> was always the IIIf/DA or IIIg, at about 60% of the M3's price.
>> 
>> Also consider that in those days it was four DM to the dollar, which made
>> a lot of high quality German products attractive buys in the US.
>> 
>> Back to negative scanning.
>> 
>> Jim
>> 
>> PS.  Personally, if I only shot with a 50mm lens I'd have purchased a new
>> Kodak Retina IIIc, with combined fv/rf, f2 Schneider lens, lever advance,
>> built-in meter and folding front for about $150-175 brand new.  I've owned
>> a number of these since the 1970s, and they are great performers that are
>> built like tanks.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: lug-bounces+jshulman=judgecrater.com at leica-users.org
>> [mailto:lug-bounces+jshulman=judgecrater.com at leica-users.org] On 
>> Behalf Of
>> Ken Carney
>> Sent: Saturday, January 11, 2014 8:02 PM
>> To: Leica Users Group
>> Subject: Re: [Leica] The Real Cost of Leicas
>> 
>> That is one tough M3.  OK, an M today costs about $7,000.  The M3 was
>> introduced in 1954.  $7,000 today equals $807 in 1954, based on the CPI.
>> I think the M3 with a 50 Summicron sold new for about $500 in 1954.  What
>> does it mean?  I don't know.  As Doug pointed out comparing film to
>> digital is like comparing watermelons to adverbs.
>> 
>> Ken
>> 
>> On 1/11/2014 6:02 PM, Jim Shulman wrote:
>>> Why not just grab an affordable Leica and shoot pictures?  I did
>>> today--shot a roll of Neopan 400 with my M3/Summilux 50, which is drying
>>> now in the shower stall.  If we had as many picture posts as we do
>>> discussions on Leica prices and market behavior, the LUG gallery would
>>> overload a server.
>>> 
>>> Jim Shulman
>>> Wynnewood, PA
>>> Whose subjects show more spherical aberrations than his lenses.
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: lug-bounces+jshulman=judgecrater.com at leica-users.org
>>> [mailto:lug-bounces+jshulman=judgecrater.com at leica-users.org] On 
>>> Behalf
>> Of
>>> Mark Rabiner
>>> Sent: Saturday, January 11, 2014 5:30 PM
>>> To: Leica Users Group
>>> Subject: Re: [Leica] The Real Cost of Leicas
>>> 
>>> Exactly how I feel about it. As it happens to be true as the nose on
>> your
>>> face.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On 1/11/14 12:56 PM, "Paul Roark" <roark.paul at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>>>  For business, it's really
>>>> a question of return on investment.  In that respect, digital has
>>>> increased the cost of my "hobby," but it has lowered my "cost of
>>>> business" (due to huge productivity gains).
>>>> 
>>>> Paul
>>>> www.PaulRoark.com
>>>> 
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Leica Users Group.
>>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> --
>>> Mark William Rabiner
>>> Photographer
>>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lugalrabs/
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Leica Users Group.
>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Leica Users Group.
>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>> 
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> Leica Users Group.
>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> Leica Users Group.
>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Mark William Rabiner
> Photographer
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lugalrabs/
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information



Replies: Reply from imra at iol.ie (Douglas Barry) ([Leica] The Real Cost of Leicas (Uh, uh, uh...))
Reply from mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner) ([Leica] The Real Cost of Leicas)
In reply to: Message from mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner) ([Leica] The Real Cost of Leicas)