[Leica] Leica users group, LUG, so what does that mean?

[jhnichols at lighttube.net (Jim Nichols)]

Steve,

I agree with most of what you say, but the LUG serves as a source of 
information and camaraderie for many of us, regardless of the name or 
point of origin.  To quote some ancient philosopher, "If it ain't broke, 
don't fix it".

I started out with used Leica gear more than sixty years ago.  Why? 
Because I did my due diligence and found it to be the best that I could 
afford.  It served me well.  But, while raising a family, I limited my 
purchases, and found used gear of other brands that served my needs.  
Then, as film processors disappeared with the advent of digital, I 
looked for a digital camera.  I found Olympus and Fuji gear that was 
adaptable, for much less investment than Leica's products.  I even 
purchased previously-owned Leica-R lenses to use with these cameras, 
because I still loved the quality of Leica lenses. But, for amateur  
use, I cannot justify new Leica gear at today's prices.

I enjoy reading of the experiences of others who do choose to buy and 
use the new gear, and try to keep abreast of the times.  And, I think 
our past dedication to Leica products keeps this list intact and 
functional, regardless of the name on the camera we are currently 
holding in our hands.

Just my 2 cents.

Jim Nichols
Tullahoma, TN USA

On 1/31/2016 2:56 PM, Steve Barbour wrote:
> Leica users group, LUG,  what does that mean?  Several individuals have 
> confided to me recently, "it?s really a state of mind?.  Let?s face it, 
> there are few offerings of interest from Leica these days, that we can 
> afford, or desire to, while more and more  we all find great offerings 
> from many other camera and lens makers. We all insist we are leica 
> devotees, yet many of us, if not most, are using other makers' cameras and 
> lenses. We often find that leica lenses from the past, actually work as 
> well on other makers current camera bodies, sometimes better than on 
> leica?s own bodies. We publish a wonderful yearly book of photos, that we 
> call the LUG yearbook, yet insist that the photos can come from any and 
> all camera/lens sources,  and images do originate from many other sources. 
> We criticize robustly, even occasionally correctly, the offerings from 
> Leica, their appearance, technical details, prices, yet we remain here and 
> claim to be Leica users. So what is it that we have in common, that keeps 
> here in this group, why do we self identify as Leica users ?
>
> There are some truly great photographers here, not because they use 
> leicas, other reasons may exist. We really are a community, sometimes even 
> a family, occasionally very dysfunctional. Some of the most opinionated 
> among us use leicas, or used to, or desire to, even though at present that 
> use is limited, or nonexistent.
>
> We are at present, among the most capable, open minded, flexible, sure of 
> ourselves, opinionated, fractious, difficult, stuck up shooters that exist.
>
> It may be time to talk.
>
>
> steve
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>