The Cult of Leica

gr82bart · Mar 12, 2018

"Asked how he thought of the Leica, Cartier-Bresson said that it felt like “a big warm kiss, like a shot from a revolver, and like the psychoanalyst’s couch.” At this point, five thousand dollars begins to look like a bargain."

http://leicaphilia.com/the-cult-of-leica/

Regards, Art

Theo Sulphate · Mar 12, 2018

A kiss is much, much better than any Leica (and I have quite a few).

A fine revolver, of which I have many, is more fun than any Leica.

I haven't experienced the psychoanalyst's couch.

Interesting article, though.

Ai Print · Mar 13, 2018

Really wonderful article, such an amazing history this brand has and willl continue to have. I bring a Leica along to every job I go on even if not the primary tool.

I feel like leaving it at home would be like leaving one of two eyes at home: what is the point of that when life is best seen with eyes wide open?

Jim Jones · Mar 13, 2018

Appreciation of the best tool for the job at hand is not a cult.

Arklatexian · Mar 14, 2018

Jim Jones said:
Appreciation of the best tool for the job at hand is not a cult.

Oh please don't say that. I was looking forward to being a Leica Cultist. I have never been part of a cult before. But you are "correct", of course, so I shall wait until a cult comes along that makes sense for me to join. Maybe there could be a 4x5 Crown Graphic, with rangefinder on top cult. I am sure there are fewer of them so I could be, not only a cultist but an elitist as well.......Regards!

Ko.Fe. · Mar 14, 2018

You have to read more about HCB than just a single quote from HCB to get what he was saying about Leica kiss.
As for 5K$ price tag for new Leica these days, guess what. It is only rangefinder camera made these days. Film and digital. Plus it is made in EU.
As for cult, yes, I have seen enough of it on LUF.
But where are some like me. To me it is the tool of choice. I can't stand SLR (physically) and EVF (also physically). Plus some technicalities.
I have Leica cameras and no cult, not Leica lenses on them. I also have non Leica cameras and Leica is superior in handling and build. The only problem is age of many film Leicas and service...

Dali · Mar 14, 2018

Ko.Fe. said:
The only problem is age of many film Leicas and service...

But servicing 50+ years old camera from any other brand is even harder...

removed account4 · Mar 14, 2018

youxin ye is not very old, and is a fantastic repairman for leicas.

as for the best tool for the job, sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't.
as they say at the car dealership .. YMMV

guangong · Mar 14, 2018

While my Leica III cameras are a constant companion, for a definite photographic outing I tend to take an M camera. The main reason that there is no Nikon rf or Contax cult in the same sense that there exists a Leica “cult” is because introduction of Leica M3 was so superior that it drove all other high end rangefinder cameras from the market. To some extent, the M3 was influential in the rise of the SLR because Nikon had to find some way to compete. At the same time Leitz was slow to appreciate competition from the slr and lost a large part of a potential market to Nikon and others.
With regards to price, some younger members of APUG buying used cameras in a depressed market do not seem to realize how expensive quality cameras were when new. One could buy a new car for the price of a new Contax IIa and a couple lenses. I managed to get a new Nikon kit from Japan in 1959-60 for $189 (if I remember correctly), much cheaper than the asking price in the USA. My tuition at Columbia at that time was $15 per credit hour...now $500 or more. Retina cameras, not cheap, were known as the poor man’s Leica. Only in recent years could I afford Hasselblad lenses for my Hassy camera. In some ways we are living in good times. Many on APUG who suffer from GAS today would have been free from this affliction a few decades ago...myself included.

chip j · Mar 14, 2018

darkosaric · Mar 14, 2018

Leica LTM with Elmar 5cm can be found in Leica store for 200-300€, with warranty. I don't consider that very expensive, you can buy 3-4 Leica cameras for a price of 1 premium mobile phone.

Ko.Fe. · Mar 14, 2018

Dali said:
But servicing 50+ years old camera from any other brand is even harder...

I was only into Leica and FSU. Later is often DIY, but I can't do it with any Leica.

jnanian said:
youxin ye is not very old, and is a fantastic repairman for leicas.

as for the best tool for the job, sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't.
as they say at the car dealership .. YMMV

YY sends cameras to DAG then it is for outside of the box thinking.

If you need to use cars analogy, then Leica is specialty vechicle. Not SUV, sedan or minivan.

faberryman · Mar 14, 2018

Cult or fetish?

michr · Mar 14, 2018

oldtimermetoo said:
Oh please don't say that. I was looking forward to being a Leica Cultist. I have never been part of a cult before. But you are "correct", of course, so I shall wait until a cult comes along that makes sense for me to join. Maybe there could be a 4x5 Crown Graphic, with rangefinder on top cult. I am sure there are fewer of them so I could be, not only a cultist but an elitist as well.......Regards!

Sign me up for the 4x5 Crown Graphic with rangefinder cult, the whole Leica thing is a granfalloon anyway. I remember people going on and on years ago on the Internet about the image quality of Leica. And I was nearly convinced they were the best until I learned about larger film formats. Who cares if one miniature camera is slightly better than the others when it's completely outclassed by the big stuff?

Ai Print · Mar 14, 2018

michr said:
Who cares if one miniature camera is slightly better than the others when it's completely outclassed by the big stuff?

Outclassed by who's measure? I use 35mm, 120 and 4x5 and as one gets into the more dog and pony show logistics of using LF, spontaneity and reaction time goes right out the window. 4x5 is fantastic stuff but it is not where my best content is made so it is my least used system.

michr · Mar 14, 2018

Ai Print said:
Outclassed by who's measure? I use 35mm, 120 and 4x5 and as one gets into the more dog and pony show logistics of using LF, spontaneity and reaction time goes right out the window. 4x5 is fantastic stuff but it is not where my best content is made so it is my least used system.

Outclassed meaning the category that Leicas fit into 35mm, while they may or may not be the "best in class", they aren't in the same class as the larger formats. And also meaning outclassed in image quality, since no matter how good the lenses supposedly are, they can't compete with a negative that is much larger (12 times in the case of 4x5). Does Leica glass have 12 times the resolution as any large format lens, let alone compared to the best? If you want convenience and spontaneity then Leica isn't the system either. Have they made a camera with autofocus yet?

faberryman · Mar 14, 2018

michr said:
If you want convenience and spontaneity then Leica isn't the system either. Have they made a camera with autofocus yet?

Other than the M-series, Leica's full frame and smaller cameras are all autofocus. Pick the right tool for the job.

Richard Man · Mar 14, 2018

Lecia cultists? There seems to be a bigger group of "non-Leica Cultists" ;-)

// EDIT: I meant "anti-Leica Cultists", ha ha

faberryman · Mar 14, 2018

Richard Man said:
Lecia cultists? There seems to be a bigger group of "non-Leica Cultists" ;-)

So if you are not a member of a cult, you are in a cult. Not seeing it. Now, if you want to talk about the "anti-Leica cult" rather than the "non-Leica cult", we can have a conversation.

BradS · Mar 14, 2018

I'd really like to try a Leica but it just does not make any sense at all from a **rational** cost / benefit point of view and all of the usual and customary Leica fanboy foaming at the mouth and blathering on about how it is the finest, best, most superlative mechanical device ever made is a major turn off.

So, its not that I am "anti-Leica"...I'd say that I am really turned off by the hype.

Richard Man · Mar 14, 2018

faberryman said:
So if you are not a member of a cult, you are in a cult. Not seeing it. Now, if you want to talk about the "anti-Leica cult" rather than the "non-Leica cult", we can have a conversation.

That's what I meant ;-)

Richard Man · Mar 14, 2018

BradS said:
I'd really like to try a Leica but it just does not make any sense at all from a **rational** cost / benefit point of view and all of the usual and customary Leica fanboy foaming at the mouth and blathering on about how it is the finest, best, most superlative mechanical device ever made is a major turn off.

So, its not that I am "anti-Leica"...I'd say that I am really turned off by the hype.

I haven't bothered to check, but my impression is that there are far more "those Leica cultists are so <sad, deluded, foaming at mouth...>" threads than actual "Leica Cult" threads ;-)

Theo Sulphate · Mar 14, 2018

guangong said:
... introduction of Leica M3 was so superior that it drove all other high end rangefinder cameras from the market. ...

From specifications it would appear that the Nikon SP is superior. Certainly the way they handle framelines on the viewfinder is clever. Just looking at specs, I can't think of anything an M3 can do that the SP can't match.

https://www.cameraquest.com/nikonsp.htm

I wanted an SP and when I had an opportunity to hold and use one, I quickly realized it was awkward for me to hold and use, whereas the M3 is nice.

chip j · Mar 14, 2018

The SP was supposed to be the best-built camera That Nikon ever made. Any comments on this??

removed account4 · Mar 14, 2018

BradS said:
So, its not that I am "anti-Leica"...I'd say that I am really turned off by the hype.

dude, its not hype, its lenses that make sunshine, its german quality not that other junk ..
you don't get it man, i guess you can't afford it

The Cult of Leica

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