On Sunday, April 18, 2004, at 08:13 PM, Scott Gomez wrote:
> I'm just not one believing that Leicas are that many $$$
> better than alternatives.
Not to suggest you're one of these people, or to start some kind of
holy war here on Leica vs the world, but I've found that many if not
most people who come to this conclusion have never run a roll of film
through a Leica. If you haven't, you ought to give it a try. You might
surprise yourself! Leica makes amazing lenses. After an initial
discouraging learning curve, I'm finding I'm getting consistently
wonderful shots with my Leica--at least where I've managed to nail all
the other elements you mention--composition, etc.
I haven't had a chance to really compare my OM lenses with the Leica
lenses I own, but I do find the Leica lenses fairly consistently
outshine my N*kons. To be fair, I don't have the latest and greatest
N*kon lenses, and two of my Leica lenses are current, modern lenses, so
the deck is kinda stacked. I'm _hoping_ the Zuikos will equal the
Leicas. So far it's clear there's a _different_ look. I haven't shot
enough with my OMs to say whether it's better or worse or just
different.
Unless you process your film yourself, the cost of the camera and lens
is a smaller portion of the cost of photography than the
"software"--film and processing. Let's say you shoot two rolls of film
a month. That's 100 a year, 500 over five years. Let's say you average
$20/roll for film and processing (not counting CDs, scanners, computer,
software, enlargements, your own time post-processing) that's $10,000.
(Yikes!) For a mint OM-1n and 50/1.8, let's say you pay $200. Your cost
per roll is $20.40. The camera is virtually free--about $0.1/exposure.
Let's say you bought a mint used M6TTL for $1500, and a 35/2
Summicron-ASPH latest for $1200. Your cost would be $25.40/roll total
with your Leica--about $0.14 more per exposure. (How's that for a
rationalization?! I'm NOT an addict...;-)) Are the photos you take
worth 14 cents more per exposure? Maybe, maybe not. Definitely not all
the time. But for the one in one hundred fantastic shot you'll never
have a chance to take again...I don't know, I think so. That's why I
decided to give this Leica mystique a try when our son was born last
June. Maybe after a year of shooting I'll be able to really say whether
the Leica is that many $$$ better than the alternatives. I'll let y'all
know.
Rob Harrison
Seattle
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