Yes, you're right about the collector stuff. Some of those super-rich Leica
"guys" will buy anything that is deemed "collectible". But a few do
actually use their LE camera; I've seen several on the street.
As a backup comment, I use both Leica M's and Olympus OM's. They both have
their place and use. Neither is superior in total, but both excel at what
they are designed to do. Be careful how you talk about them.
IMO, the lenses are far too expensive for the total package that you get.
But your statment "A 50/2 Summicron, the standard lens,
is a couple hundred bucks" is unfortunately, wrong. The only 50/2 you can
get for $200 is a true beater from the 50's. A current formulation lens
from the 80's costs $4-600 used. And a new 50/2 (same optical forumala for
15-20 yrs) costs ~$7-900 grey market in the U.S.; more with USA passport
warranty.
I was fortunate to be able to afford my Leica kit a few years ago, and my
family and people pictures have improved drastically. It's very hard to
explain the allure of a high-end RF camera. The camera is very good at
minimizing its intrusion into the image making process and keeping touch
with your subject. The build quality of the body and the lenses is clearly
above Olympus. The optical quality on the whole is very slightly above most
other brands. But the extra 3-10x in price differential is very difficult
to justify. I have several Voigtlander lenses for less-common focal lengths
because I'm unable to justify the sky-high prices.
But be careful...If you try a Leica for a few days and run 5-10 rolls of
film through one, you may be hooked. It's deadly; even more than our
vaunted Zuikos.
Skip
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From: "M. Royer" <royer007@xxxxxxxxx>
Reply-To: olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [OM] (ot) 31 special edition Leicas
Date: Sun, 21 Oct 2001 13:22:29 -0700 (PDT)
Oh you never actually use these cameras to TAKE
PICTURES. Perish the thought . Collecting special
edition Leicas is like collecting Beanie Babies. You
put these on your mantle or in a vault somewhere where
they look nice and showy or keep them as an investment
and sell them at Southeby's in 20 years for 10 million
dollars. Leicas are very expensive but very useable if
you buy one. They are much more compact, quiet, and
unobtrusive than even Olympus OM system.
But their limitations are many. One of the biggest
problems with rangefinder systems is that unlike SLR's
you can't really totally see what you are shooting,
just the distance and, if you have the proper
viewfinder, an image that is very close to the one the
lens will produce. Rangefinder photography is a whole
different culture from SLR. Its kinda like trying to
compare 35mm with 4x5.
All of this said I have never even held a Leica or any
other high end interchangeable lens rangefinder in m
hand. Most of my knowledge comes from sites like
photo.net and www.cameraquest.com . If you want to get
into Leica the camera is 1500-2000 and the lenses are
around the same. A 50/2 Summicron, the standard lens,
is a couple hundred bucks while a 50/1.8 Zuiko is less
than 50 used and 150 new. The quality might be
slightly better (no I'm not trying to start a
flamewar. ) But not several thousand dollars worth
better. Also SLR's have a lot more gizmos, gadgets,
and stuff that can be put on and a much much much
bigger selection of lenses for less price.
Mark Lloyd
--- eyman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
>
> It has been auctioned before. I've seen it a few
> months ago. Wonder why nobody has bought it. Maybe
> because shooting with a RF camera is a real pain in
> etc. compared to using an Oly (Olympus content)?
> Maciek
>
>
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