Consumerism [was RE: [Leica] Digital Leica M]

[r.s.taylor at comcast.net (Richard S. Taylor)]

Don -  This is not a land I inhabit routinely, but I'm sure it's 
still possible to buy consumer goods of exceptional quality if you 
are willing to pay the price.  The cost of high-end goods isn't 
exclusively in their gloss and prestige.  I have friends who recently 
remodelled their kitchen to the tune of about $15-20K and the gear 
they bought not only looks good but seems to be built like a tank.

You have to get used to the idea, though, of spending $3-4K or more 
for a stove, appreciate and enjoy the features and quality of the 
equipment, and be really thinking long term.

To get back to cameras, why buy a DSLR when, when you and get a 
high-quality advanced consumer camera for less, or why buy the 
advanced consumer camera when you can buy a good point and shoot for 
less?

The answer is the same for any tool.  The more expensive ones will do 
things the cheaper ones can't, have better build quality, be more 
reliable, and, maybe, just maybe, also be a joy to own.

Just where the value/price ratio is optimized is a very individual 
choice, he said, stepping down off his soap box.  :-)

B.T.W. my friends are enthusiastic cooks.  I'm sure their Leica-like 
kitchen will give them enormous pleasure for a very long time.

>Richard,
>At least when you bought your machines you had the option of purchasing  a
>well designed and engineered machine.  As retailers look to limit stock to
>the 100/10000 top turning SKU's any item that doesn't turn inventory will
>not be reordered.  Price becomes an issue as fewer people can descriminate
>what is quality and what is not so let price rule.
>
>Consumerism plays a part here as well.  Rather than have a few very nice
>things, most would rather have a whole bunch of shiny junk just ot say that
>they have one of everything.
>
>B.D. briefly touched on this when commenting on the relative price of a
>proposed dM and a D30 or the Oly line.  Why would someone pay 5K for a box
>that does what a 1.4K box does?  It is for the same reason that I won't buy


(snip)
-- 
Regards,

Dick