Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/08/02

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Leica Quality versus Medium Format
From: "Barney Quinn, Jr." <barney@ncep.noaa.gov>
Date: Thu, 02 Aug 2001 13:38:43 -0400
References: <FJEAJICBHEDNLMABPNCPGEODCCAA.george@rdcinteractive.com> <OE258Q9eqwZ2cFXvmBU000017ae@hotmail.com> <3B6853C6.64716B13@earthlink.net> <OE35ldBvxUO8o1iGBGI00005301@hotmail.com> <3B68E974.DDF15C11@hale-pohaku.com> <OE28yseVwrblZz02H670000561d@hotmail.com> <3B6965ED.E06FDAD6@hale-pohaku.com> <3B6989A3.F5B1A513@earthlink.net>

Hi,

I'm not sure. Did y'all see the documentary about Flea Markets on PBS
last night? I thought it was a very nice program. But, if consider what
some of those guys were paying for just plain old stuff than I gotta say
the Leica thing may not be all that bad in comparison.

Barney
"B. D. Colen" wrote:
> 
> Certainly, it is fun to turn the tables on Mxsmanic and ask him to
> provide his sample size, etc. etc. But the sad truth is, I believe, that
> what he wrote about the current Leica owner base is dead-on accurate.
> Sad, but accurate.
> 
> B. D.
> 
> And, no, I can't supply sample size, working notes, region of the world,
> etc. ;-)
> 
> Dennis Painter wrote:
> >
> > Mxsmanic makes an unsubstantiated claim of disproportionate::
> >
> > > Dennis writes:
> > >
> > > > disproportionate to what?
> > > > n*k*n owners? c*n*n owners?
> > >
> > > Both.  Leica attracts a lot of non-photographers, pseudo-photographers, real but
> > > extremely eccentric photographers, collectors, status-conscious people with
> > > money, and dilletantes with its longstanding mystique.  A lot of Leica owners
> > > apparently just keep their cameras under glass.  Others will take a photo of
> > > anything with the camera and then ooh and aah about the beautiful Leica glow or
> > > whatever, oblivious to the fact that the photo is completely devoid of any
> > > interest.  Others are real photographers, but are so deeply invested in the
> > > Leica world that they cannot tolerate any suggestion that there might be other
> > > ways to take serious photographs.  Still others collect Leica gear and will go
> > > to any length to take a picture with a Leica, even when SLR or MF systems are
> > > glaringly more appropriate for a specific application.  And so on.
> > >
> > > In this respect, Leica is very much like Rolex, attracting people who are
> > > concerned only with the object, not the use of the object.  Rolex owners
> > > generally care only about the mechanical engineering of the watch, and the fact
> > > that it is off by six seconds a day (compared to a $10 child's quartz watch that
> > > can keep time to within 500 ms a day) does not bother them--and they won't
> > > tolerate having this pointed out to them.  The Leica situation, though, is
> > > complicated by the fact that you _can_ use a Leica to take great pictures;
> > > unlike a Rolex, Leica can meet or beat any other camera around.  But it still
> > > attracts a lot of jewelry collectors and other people with interests very
> > > peripheral to actual photography.
> > >
> > > At my local Leica dealer I was told that some people change Leica bodies almost
> > > every week.  You don't see that too often with Nikon or Canon, and I find it
> > > hard to believe that the people doing this are serious photographers.
> >
> > Show your work. How did you calculate the proportions? sample size, regions of the
> > world, or is this just your personal anecdotal opinion?

In reply to: Message from "George Day" <george@rdcinteractive.com> (RE: [Leica] Leica Quality versus Medium Format)
Message from "Mxsmanic" <mxsmanic@hotmail.com> (Re: [Leica] Leica Quality versus Medium Format)
Message from "B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net> (Re: [Leica] Leica Quality versus Medium Format)
Message from "Mxsmanic" <mxsmanic@hotmail.com> (Re: [Leica] Leica Quality versus Medium Format)
Message from Dennis Painter <dennis@hale-pohaku.com> (Re: [Leica] Leica Quality versus Medium Format)
Message from "Mxsmanic" <mxsmanic@hotmail.com> (Re: [Leica] Leica Quality versus Medium Format)
Message from Dennis Painter <dennis@hale-pohaku.com> (Re: [Leica] Leica Quality versus Medium Format)
Message from "B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net> (Re: [Leica] Leica Quality versus Medium Format)