Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-07-27)

10 27 July 2019 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113

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I

f there is one thing in life that’s a

guaranteed, nailed-on certainty

it’s that when Leica releases a

camera, the internet goes crazy

with comments about the price. The latest

Leica M Monochrom ‘Drifter’, designed

in collaboration with musician and

photographer Lenny Kravitz, is no

exception. ‘My camera can take better

pictures and only costs 1/8th of the price!’

posts Outraged Dave. ‘You’re just buying

the brand, not the camera!’ laments Peter.

‘It’s become a piece of jewellery!’ types

Curmudgeonly Chris.

The price of a Leica camera shouldn’t

come as a surprise to anyone. They have

always been extremely well engineered

and designed cameras, and command a

price to match. Sure, in the digital age

where the defi ning feature is of course the

sensor, it is easy to compare one camera

to another by sensor alone, but that

would neglect a lot of other features,

including experience.

The truth is, that to some extent, most

of the comments are correct. Leica

cameras don’t fare much better than

others in terms of image quality. The

features are often lacking compared to

comparable cameras, and a large part

of that price is paying for that brand and

a lot of hand-built precision German

engineering. Let’s not get started on the

lenses – I mean they are incredible bits

of glass at equally incredible prices.

Unfortunately for Outraged Dave, he

doesn’t get to decide the price of the

latest limited-edition Leica; Leica does.

And Leica bases its prices on the

perceived market value. Quite simply,

if people weren't buying these limited-

edition cameras, Leica wouldn’t be

making them, and the fact that it is

and that it currently operates from shiny

new offi ces in Wetzlar, Germany, would

suggest that there are more than

enough people buying them.

Whether or not you will buy a Leica

comes down to whether you can afford it

and whether your values match the price

that Leica puts on a camera. For many

there is something about using a

rangefi nder camera that can’t be

replicated. There may be a working

method and familiarity from years of using

a Leica M fi lm camera, and then there are

those for whom it is a thing to lust after, a

lifetime wish – much like owning a Ferrari,

but cheaper.

And so we come back to the angry

photographers on the internet. They pour

scorn over the price of Leica cameras

and shout with pride that it isn’t about the

camera, but about the images. Yet rather

than being out taking photos and showing

them off to the world, they are stuck at a

computer or staring at their phone waiting

to shout down the camera with some

features they don’t agree with.

Full disclaimer: I once owned a Leica III

and shot a few rolls of fi lm, but have no

desire to own another Leica until it does a

custom model with a spalted walnut burr

panel, reminiscent of a classy Mini Cooper.

If there wasn’t a market for high-priced limited-

edition cameras, such things wouldn’t exist.

Richard states his case with Leica cameras

View point

Richard Sibley

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THIS COLUMN ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER MAGA ZINE OR TI MEDIA LIMITED

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In next week’s issue

On sale Tuesday 30 July

Richard Sibley was formerly Deputy Editor of

Amateur Photographer. He now writes about cameras

and photography as well as runs the Photo Gear

News YouTube channel. Find him on Instagram

The limited-edition Leica ‘Drifter’ at @richsibley.

With Leica cameras you pay for the brand

and a lot of hand-built precision engineering