drummerman
pfm Member
I have been fascinated for a while by Leica.
Its not one thing but a combination of history, the Name (and what it stands for, though that is somewhat subjective depending at which side of the fence you stand) and the quality of the products. - Then there is the inherent simplicity of operation of many/most of the company's cameras. - Something I wished others would emulate rather than taking the 'more is better' route.
The cameras hold their value remarkably, the lenses equally, in some cases exceeding their new value after years. Quality, generally seems beyond criticism even if ultimate value for money is very questionable and diminishing returns surely heavily come into it. Still, having that red dot on the front (or at least the packaging) makes up for it in the same way as a Sea or Speedmaster does in comparison to a Seiko even if rationale has little to do with it.
Then there is the 'look' of images. I can't put my finger on it and I certainly could not always tell if a picture was taken by a Leica product but there is something about them. - Fuji have a similar approach but their output differs from the non-Bayer sensors. Rendering is different. Colors too are not the ultimate quest for reality favored by many other manufacturers but Fuji has its own way, not universally perfect but they stick to their guns, at least with their higher end products and that is laudable.
Whilst color can be adjusted to anything in post processing I just like the way Leica's generally produce output, even in B&W. It can be sharp, very but is not always so obvious as to distract.
In some of my pictures I have attempted to re-create some of the 'glow' that certain Leica lenses render but I am way off with the colors. Mostly because I favor B&W, partly because I am still trying to come to grips with the new camera.
All this is an ill-fated-attempt at trying to re-create something on the cheap. - A knock-off. I am fully aware of it and know that unless I get that Leica and glass, I will never even get close.
As is, I am happy to learn the craft on my 3 wheeler equivalent camera for a while. Next will be the purchase of a 25mm 1.4 Panasonic lens which happens to have the Leica name stamped on it. - It's Leica DNA percentage can probably be measured in a single digit figure (likely the formula of the coating) but its an affordable step in a direction I would ultimately like to take. - Looking at prices, it will take some time!
Meanwhile, I just like to watch contributions such as from T.V.Overgaard and read articles such as the following;
http://www.artphotoacademy.com/the-leica-look/
I can only dream on.
Its not one thing but a combination of history, the Name (and what it stands for, though that is somewhat subjective depending at which side of the fence you stand) and the quality of the products. - Then there is the inherent simplicity of operation of many/most of the company's cameras. - Something I wished others would emulate rather than taking the 'more is better' route.
The cameras hold their value remarkably, the lenses equally, in some cases exceeding their new value after years. Quality, generally seems beyond criticism even if ultimate value for money is very questionable and diminishing returns surely heavily come into it. Still, having that red dot on the front (or at least the packaging) makes up for it in the same way as a Sea or Speedmaster does in comparison to a Seiko even if rationale has little to do with it.
Then there is the 'look' of images. I can't put my finger on it and I certainly could not always tell if a picture was taken by a Leica product but there is something about them. - Fuji have a similar approach but their output differs from the non-Bayer sensors. Rendering is different. Colors too are not the ultimate quest for reality favored by many other manufacturers but Fuji has its own way, not universally perfect but they stick to their guns, at least with their higher end products and that is laudable.
Whilst color can be adjusted to anything in post processing I just like the way Leica's generally produce output, even in B&W. It can be sharp, very but is not always so obvious as to distract.
In some of my pictures I have attempted to re-create some of the 'glow' that certain Leica lenses render but I am way off with the colors. Mostly because I favor B&W, partly because I am still trying to come to grips with the new camera.
All this is an ill-fated-attempt at trying to re-create something on the cheap. - A knock-off. I am fully aware of it and know that unless I get that Leica and glass, I will never even get close.
As is, I am happy to learn the craft on my 3 wheeler equivalent camera for a while. Next will be the purchase of a 25mm 1.4 Panasonic lens which happens to have the Leica name stamped on it. - It's Leica DNA percentage can probably be measured in a single digit figure (likely the formula of the coating) but its an affordable step in a direction I would ultimately like to take. - Looking at prices, it will take some time!
Meanwhile, I just like to watch contributions such as from T.V.Overgaard and read articles such as the following;
http://www.artphotoacademy.com/the-leica-look/
I can only dream on.