Steve Spencer
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 p.4 #9 · p.4 #9 · Official: Leica Q3 Unveiled, Now Open for Pre-Orders | |
Jman13 wrote:
Let's be honest here, though - you're suggesting how affordable a Leica M kit is by proposing an 11 year old camera body and then all lenses NOT made by Leica...showing how insanely expensive Leica gear is.
If you bought the equivalent stuff using current production Leica lenses, you're getting an M11 with 28 Summicron, 50 APO Summicron and a 90 (Either summicron or Elmar). Total cost: $9000+$5100+$9100+$4100 (assuming Elmar) = $27,300.
And I'm sorry, there is no way anyone can convince me that a 50 APO Summicron is worth 9x what a Voigtlander 50/2 APO Lanthar is worth. Because the CV 50/2 APO is a near flawless lens optically. If the Leica is better, it's in exceptionally subtle ways.
And, as I said originally - I understand that this stuff is awesome gear, and it's luxury item stuff, but it is also OK to acknowledge the Leica name tax, because that certainly is part of the equation. And for many it may be worth it to pay that name tax to get what is a unique or premium product. The Q3 might be one such product, especially since Sony hasn't updated the RX1 series in so long, so there isn't even a true competitor. ...Show more →
But you are evaluating a Leica M kit based on how you would purchase as Canon/Nikon/Sony kit, and that is a very biased way to evaluate gear. If you want a Leica M kit, then in my view you are buying it to shoot a rangefinder camera. It doesn't have to be all Leica gear. It doesn't have to be a new camera with all the bells and whistles. In fact, you might like a camera with less bells and whistles. You don't need the most expensive lenses either.
Two things have really changed about getting a Leica M kit much cheaper than even 5 years ago: 1) You can get a quite good used camera for a lot less money. These include at this point the Leica M240 for $2500 or so and the Leica M10 for $4,000 or so. Even 5 years ago for $2,500 you could have maybe gotten a crop sensor M8 with a very limited and problematic crop sensor and for $4,000 you maybe could have gotten a M9, but even that camera which is full frame had a sensor with low high ISO capability and prone to problems. Low cost cameras that were used had serious issues even 5 year ago that were hard to ignore. That isn't true today. The M240 and M10 are durable and long lasting cameras. Sure the sensor could be a bit better, but keep in mind if you want to use a rangefinder you shoot in a different way and you often shoot still or slow moving things and when you shoot action you aren't expecting high frames per second or anything either. All of this makes using an older camera a lot easier and it makes a lot more sense to buy an older camera.
2) The Voigtlander lenses for Leica M have gotten a lot better and they are still bargains. I think some Leica M lenses still make sense on a Leica M camera, but you can get some great lenses and very reasonable prices if you go with Voigtlander lenses. I would never buy Leica M lenses new, and they hold their value well, but I regularly buy Voigtlander lenses new as they are such moderate cost even if they do lose some value relatively quickly.
My major point is that you can get a very competent Leica M mount system with very good lenses and you don't have to break the bank to do so. That is a relatively new thing that has evolved over the last five years. Sure you can't add new Leica lenses and not have really high costs, but you can have a Leica M mount camera system and excellent lenses without having to spend a fortune.
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