<story><title>A Leica T Review</title><url>http://www.minimallyminimal.com/blog/leica-t</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>TheMagicHorsey</author><text>Having used a great many different cameras what I think about Leicas is that their primary advantage is the state of mind they create in the photographer, which isn&amp;#x27;t really connected to any tangible usability in design, or engineering marvel in the camera performance.&lt;p&gt;Just the fact that some photographers know they have a Leica in their hand, makes them feel more liberated and ... how shall I say it ... &amp;quot;photographery&amp;quot;.&lt;p&gt;I think it cannot be denied that with a suitable picture style, you could shoot JPEGs on a 5D MkIII that look similar to what a Leica produces without processing.  I bet you most people would be hard pressed to tell the difference between the JPEGs with their naked eye, and even fewer would be able to pick out which one was from the Leica, and which from the 5DMkIII.&lt;p&gt;Leicas remind me of French Wine.  Everyone waxes poetic about them until they are asked to pick out the Leica photos from a lineup in a double blind test.&lt;p&gt;At that point everyone then says the Leica is about intangible things like &amp;quot;superior UI&amp;quot;.&lt;p&gt;In the end, I think the Leica is a brand first, and then a camera with certain characteristics next.&lt;p&gt;A camera made from a solid carved piece of aluminum is just damn attractive.  But people feel the need to imbue the Leica with more qualities than it actually has, because maybe they feel embarrassed to have chosen the tool of their trade based on its looks, rather than its utility.&lt;p&gt;I for one think designers should not apologize for choosing a camera just because it looks good.  Design is their whole trade, and they need to surround themselves with inspiration to get into their creative space.&lt;p&gt;I look at Leica as the cost of doing business for a designer.  That is the way their brains work.&lt;p&gt;And lest programmers develop some superiority complex about their rationality ... I want to suggest that the success of the Go programming language is about aesthetics at this point.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>caycep</author><text>In the film days, it really made a difference.  You can use a Leica M4 or 6, yeah it&amp;#x27;d cost you a little more but your camera took amazing photos at 1&amp;#x2F;4 the weight and size of say, a Nikon F3, with a shutter that is whisper quiet.   You can go  closer and shoot more unobtrusively; while a given Nikon has equal optics, if different characteristics, it couldn&amp;#x27;t go where a Leica could.   At least that&amp;#x27;s my take on it.&lt;p&gt;Granted, you could get the same effect from, say, a Canonet or a Yashica but still...&lt;p&gt;Nowadays, though - I am assuming mechanical precision and design is a more commoditized skill amongst companies whereas EE design - semiconductors, sensors, etc is more of a differentiator.  In the age of tiny mirrorless Fuji&amp;#x27;s and Sony&amp;#x27;s, Leica&amp;#x27;s value proposition is more or less destroyed.&lt;p&gt;I think it&amp;#x27;s the classic story of an original innovator sitting on their asses while a disruptive tsunami -- modern electronics and computer science -- passed them by.   Granted, they sat on their asses for arguably 4 full decades, so they had plenty of time to go &amp;quot;oh shit&amp;quot; and adapt, and the fact that they didn&amp;#x27;t leaves me with little sympathy.&lt;p&gt;Them and Eastman Kodak.</text></comment>
<story><title>A Leica T Review</title><url>http://www.minimallyminimal.com/blog/leica-t</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>TheMagicHorsey</author><text>Having used a great many different cameras what I think about Leicas is that their primary advantage is the state of mind they create in the photographer, which isn&amp;#x27;t really connected to any tangible usability in design, or engineering marvel in the camera performance.&lt;p&gt;Just the fact that some photographers know they have a Leica in their hand, makes them feel more liberated and ... how shall I say it ... &amp;quot;photographery&amp;quot;.&lt;p&gt;I think it cannot be denied that with a suitable picture style, you could shoot JPEGs on a 5D MkIII that look similar to what a Leica produces without processing.  I bet you most people would be hard pressed to tell the difference between the JPEGs with their naked eye, and even fewer would be able to pick out which one was from the Leica, and which from the 5DMkIII.&lt;p&gt;Leicas remind me of French Wine.  Everyone waxes poetic about them until they are asked to pick out the Leica photos from a lineup in a double blind test.&lt;p&gt;At that point everyone then says the Leica is about intangible things like &amp;quot;superior UI&amp;quot;.&lt;p&gt;In the end, I think the Leica is a brand first, and then a camera with certain characteristics next.&lt;p&gt;A camera made from a solid carved piece of aluminum is just damn attractive.  But people feel the need to imbue the Leica with more qualities than it actually has, because maybe they feel embarrassed to have chosen the tool of their trade based on its looks, rather than its utility.&lt;p&gt;I for one think designers should not apologize for choosing a camera just because it looks good.  Design is their whole trade, and they need to surround themselves with inspiration to get into their creative space.&lt;p&gt;I look at Leica as the cost of doing business for a designer.  That is the way their brains work.&lt;p&gt;And lest programmers develop some superiority complex about their rationality ... I want to suggest that the success of the Go programming language is about aesthetics at this point.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>3pt14159</author><text>I shoot a 5DMII with a variety of pricy glass. I&amp;#x27;m not very good yet, but good enough for people to offer to pay me and to incorporate into the work we do at Venn. I&amp;#x27;ve even been hired to do some video stuff by the CBC (web only, of course). I think most non-photographers can tell when a photo is &amp;quot;pro&amp;quot; but they have a harder time distinguishing how good things are at the top part of the photography spectrum.&lt;p&gt;For fun, I&amp;#x27;ll sometimes go on &amp;quot;photo walks&amp;quot; around Toronto with my friend that owns a super pricey Leica and has been into photography for way longer than I have. The primary advantage he has beyond just being a better photographer than I am is that when he takes a street photo people don&amp;#x27;t notice he is there until he already has the shot, whereas I look like a paparazzi.&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#x27;ve lost so many shots because people see the militaristic look of my camera &amp;#x2F; lens combination. It also can sometimes lead to arguments on the street over the finer points of the legality of photography in public in Canada. Whereas Leica cameras never really illicit this response.&lt;p&gt;Not that I&amp;#x27;m ever going to shoot Leica, I find Canon&amp;#x27;s cameras &lt;i&gt;much&lt;/i&gt; more usable and ergonomically designed.</text></comment>