Bob W wrote:
Keith Whaley wrote:
I've an opinion on this too. (Full of 'em tonight! :-D
Does anyone believe Leica's bodies and lenses justify their
obscene prices, from
a manufacturing and assembly cost standpoint? Is there THAT
much labor in either
one?
You're paying 80% of the money for the 20% quality increase you get over the
competition. Once a certain level of quality is reached, the cost of making
it even better rises out of proportion to the cost of the baseline, so to
speak.
Professionals who buy them must think the price is justified. Magnum
photographers, for example, are not fools. It's unlikely that the prestige
of them cuts a lot of ice. Amateurs don't have to justify them.
Professionals and amateurs alike are also entitled to enjoy the history &
romance attached to owning a Leica, and the pleasure of using (or even just
admiring) a beautiful object. I think it was Ruskin, or perhaps William
Morris, who said 'You should have nothing in your house that is not useful
or beautiful'. Leicas are both useful and beautiful. Part of their beauty is
their prestige, I suppose.
My watch is a very nice Tag Heuer, and I know other people who have Rolexes,
Breitlingers and Omegas. These watches are all beautifully made. None of
them tells the time any better than the £25- plastic Timex I also own. Few
people can justify owning these watches on utilitarian grounds - even scuba
divers can get perfectly good diving watches for a lower price - but they're
beautiful, well-made objects which work extremely well. The appeal of Leicas
is the same sort of thing.
I understand your justification message very well. Thanks for that...
Years and years ago, I sacrificed a fair bit of personal cash to buy a nearly
perfect Contax IIIa. Absolutely loved that bit of machinery you could take
lovely photographs with! In time I had to trade it off for cash to cover other
exigencies... Stuff happens when you're young and foolish.
As the years passed, I found myself blessed with spare cash from time to time,
and the memory of that lovely IIIa came back, and oddly enough I bought one.
The silky smoothness of it's action was unchanged. Matched my hoary old memories
perfectly. A fantastic piece of the camera building art. Totally worth every cent...
Problem is, my hands and joints are no longer happy assuming the "Contax R.F.
position", and it's not worth it to use that camera any more.
So, here I am with what to me is a Leica R.F. equivalent I can't effectively
use.
Yes, having such a camera in your hands is an experience few other cameras can
match. I still think their price is too high, just for that red dot.
But I do appreciate the excellence of the build.
Thanks to one and all for the insight and opinion. After all, that's why we are
here, no?
keith
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