Re: [Leica] Re:why use leica

[Guy Bennett <gbennett@club-internet.fr>]

>Guy --
>
>I'm not sure why you care, except to see how long a string you can get going
>on this thing.
>
>Why use leica? Why did Hillary climb Everest? It suited him, and Leicas suit
>some people nicely. They don't suit others.
>
>Why don't more pros use Leica? Not enough technical toys and they cost more
>than most purchasing managers are willing to pay. Quality has nothing to do
>with it. Pros are like everyone else and follow trends and fads, and right
>now the biggest fad/trend (except for digital) is represented in the f-5 by
>Nikon, which I am sure most pros use in the manual mode anyway. But you
>should hear the photogs at the paper I work at complain if they are forced to
>use those horrible, horrible F4s or even (gawd forbid) the N90s.
>
>They all drool over my M3, however, but can't afford one.
>
>Did you know, by the way, that Hillary took not a Leica to the top of
>Everest, but a Retina? Yup, a cheap little folder from Kodak, and it worked
>just fine.
>
>ctrentelman
>Ogden Utah


ctrentelman--

believe me, i wasn't enquiring why folks use leica to start a long thread.
my question was a response to b.d.'s (i believe that was you b.d.)
apparently sincere comment: "Why do professionals rarely use Leicas?  Well
the reason is NOT that so many non-professionals do so!  This is where I
can merely say...nothing." on the contrary, i felt that there was much all
of us could say - whether we are professionals or not - as to why we choose
to work with a leica. i personally found the responses, while not entirely
unexpected, interesting in that they revealed some personal quirks and
biases (i.e. those who claimed style and prestige were reasons for using
leica) as well as the strengths and weaknesses of leica cameras (on the
plus side: craftsmanship, glass; on the minus side: price, absence of
'important' technological features). while you could say that we know all
this already, or that such things go without saying, it continues to
surprise me that these very topics come up again and again in a variety of
posts, ranging from those which ask which cameras pros use, to those
wondering whether or not we need an af m camera; so clearly, these are not
dead issues. i just thought it might be interesting to ask the question
directly
and see what the responses were.

guy