I think some people do buy Ferraris and Leicas for the cool and prestige value, but most of the Ferrari and Leica owners I know aren't those people. They're people who simply endure paying the price premium because they feel the product is worth the money. Despite Tim Bray's shock and horror that people might pay more for less, as if that was something new, different people have different metrics of what "more" and "less" amount to.
As I said to another friend once, who was shocked that my M9 has no auto-focus, no program mode, no scene modes, no movie recording, only 2 fps continuous capture, and cost six times what his camera cost WITHOUT a lens, "Sometimes it costs a lot of money to get only what you really want." The lack of these things is a plus to me, which raises the value of the camera enormously. My Sony A7 cost 22% of what the M9 cost me, and for that break in price I have to work around the several dozen features it has that I have no use or interest in, deal with what I consider rather twisty ergonomics, which I consider a serious minus. But it has a high positive value for me because it has the right sensor, the right format, and a good viewfinder to use my prized Leica R lenses with. I'll endure the rest of the dross to use my lenses, which overcome all the negatives. A Nissan 300Z has a six cylinder engine and 280 hp. My Mercedes SLK has a four cylinder, 195 hp engine. They are about the same size, weigh about the same, and carry the same load of passengers and luggage. I'll take the Merc any day over the Z, despite that it costs twice as much. It works better for me, I like it more. Just for the record, I think the T is a very interesting camera in many ways. I like the design. I withhold judgment on the touchscreen/minimal buttons control design until I try one (it's intriguing, might be hopeless but might also be excellent; note that it's very much like the minimal control design on my Polaroid SX-70 which for all that it lacks seems to work just fine...). I'm sure its performance with M-mount and R-mount lenses is excellent. I'm less a fan of the detachable EVF than I once was but I could work with that. But it's not for me because of the sensor format at this point: the Olympus E-M1 does everything I want in a smaller-than-35mm format better than anything else I've tried, so I want a body that provides a FF sensor format for my lenses that were designed for FF format. However, the lens mount on the T seems to be an enormous thing designed for a FF format sensor somewhere down the road. I'll keep my eyes on the T series to see when the Tff model arrives… Maybe it will be my Leica CL digital at some point, just as the Sony A7 is now. I'm patient, the lenses aren't going anywhere... :-) G On Apr 24, 2014, at 9:32 PM, knarf <knarftheria...@gmail.com> wrote: > I think you hit the nail on the head, Godfrey. > > If you don't like the prices don't buy it. If enough people don't buy them > they'll go out of business. > > No big whoop. > > It's like a Mustang owner complaining that Ferraris cost too much. > > Well... that's why you bought a Mustang, right? > > Like Pentax, they may be great value for the money, but there's a reason > Ferraris cost ten times more. > > Like Leicas most Ferrari owners buy for prestige, to look cool or to impress. > That doesn't take away from the excellent performance of the machine. > > Cheers, > frank > > On 24 April, 2014 2:16:29 PM EDT, Godfrey DiGiorgi <godd...@me.com> wrote: >> I can never understand all the whinging over Leica prices. Sure, the T >> is pricey—what's the big deal? No one forces you to buy it. The issue >> seems to be that everyone one WANTS a Leica, they're just not willing >> to pay the premium required. >> >> Why? Well in my experience, Leica simply makes better cameras than most >> of the other guys. The fact that they charge for them is a point of >> aggravation to those who want one but can't afford it. >> >> I've got five Leica bodies and fourteen Leica lenses. If I had to sell >> all of my camera equipment, they'd be the last things to go, excepting >> the Hasselblad SWC. >> >> I'm sure this will annoy the Ricoh-Pentaxian-Fujistis on this list, but >> I've got my fireproof suit on (permanently), flame away... :-) >> >> Godfrey >> >> >>> On Apr 24, 2014, at 11:00 AM, Tim Bray <tb...@textuality.com> wrote: >>> >>> They managed to preview the new Leica T without mentioning the >>> essentials: “less for more, in a really cool body, and everyone will >>> know you’ve got money to burn” >> >> -- >> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >> PDML@pdml.net >> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and >> follow the directions. > > “Analysis kills spontaneity.” -- Henri-Frederic Amiel > > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > PDML@pdml.net > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
