Allow me to preface this by saying that I currently own four cameras, two digital and two film.

My digital cameras are a Fuji X100s and a Fuji X-T1 (I used to have a Canon 5D Mk II, but decided to go all in on mirrorless digital cameras).

My film cameras are a Leica M6, and a Hasselblad 501C/M.

I use all four cameras on a regular basis, and have made photos with each one within the last week.

I love my Leica M6. It's really a thing of beauty, and is impeccably designed. That said, the amount of unthinking worship I see Leica given makes me roll my eyes.

    Leica has always been a brand of
    uncompromised quality and craftsmanship.

    The reason Leica’s products are expensive
    isn’t because of a deliberate attempt to
    overcharge for the products. It’s a side
    effect of making a beautiful object of desire.

    To truly understand the T, you have to fit
    into the type of photographer that the
    camera really aimed at. You have to know
    what you’re doing but the camera is also
    going to be underpowered for a pro. It’s
    a niche product for a specific consumer
    but also aesthetic preference.

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't really connected to any tangible usability in design, or engineering marvel in the camera performance.

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 ... "photographery".

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.

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.

At that point everyone then says the Leica is about intangible things like "superior UI".

In the end, I think the Leica is a brand first, and then a camera with certain characteristics next.

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.

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.

I look at Leica as the cost of doing business for a designer. That is the way their brains work.

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.

The Leica T ($1850) + Summicron T 32mm ($1950) = $3800 The Sony A7 ($1499) + Zeiss 55m f1.8 Sonnar ($999) = $2498

Thats a differential of $1302

Now lets get a few things out of the way -- Yes the Leica is a 35mm equivalent and the Sony is a 55 mm equivalent. But I wanted to compare the best prime lens in each setup (in Leica T system, that is the only prime lens available so far) - The 55mm is arguably currently the Sony FE mount best lens. Also, I will address the "Leica Way" later in this post.

So what are you getting in the Leica that is much better then the Sony? NOTHING. The Sony is a FAR superior as a camera.

Sony:

- Full sensor vs Crop. This has been debated to death, but everyone will agree --> bigger sensor = better image IQ - Faster Autofocus - Better LCD display - Better EVF - Better build (weather sealed) - Better control (Two dials + exposure compensation)

And the most important quality --- - BETTER IMAGE QUALITY

Now before you guys go ranting about how Leica has a quieter shutter, better ergonomics, helps me slow down, is a photographic style. Please.

That all applied in the film days -- I have a Leica MP with a Leica 50mm f1.4 and that is the greatest film camera every made. It is worth every penny. But those were the film days.

The playing ground is completely different in the digital world. Leica does not make its own sensors, and their for will never offer "the best image quality".

What it is selling today is a reputation it has earned during the film days and fashion icon for the rich hipsters out there.

Nothing wrong with that, and if you have the money and you value the aesthetics and the feature set, great. Go buy one and enjoy it!

But please, stop with the how the Leica is the pinnacle of photography. It is simply not true in the digital landscape.

I dunno, I've thought about getting a Leica every once in a while, then I see reviews like this with pictures from the camera and I'm always so "meh" about how they look. Everything looks like there's a 2-5% grey filter on it, and anything with any kind of luminescence always looks blown out. Most of the sample galleries I've seen on the have the added minus of all looking just slightly out of focus.

There's a definite "Leica look" for certain, I'm just not sure I've ever liked how it looks.

On the other hand, the B&W photos I've seen taken with it look fantastic.

Looking at other reviews, this is a heavy camera and really slow and clumsy to work with. If I'm going to lug around this much, I may as well just lug around a regular old DSLR and a decent lens.

Online reviews are pretty scathing for something in this price range

http://www.theverge.com/2014/5/30/5755088/leica-t-mirrorless...

http://reframe.gizmodo.com/leica-t-review-a-camera-should-no...

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2460584,00.asp Some more sample galleries

http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/reviewsamples/albums/leica...

http://www.theverge.com/2014/5/30/5764700/leica-t-sample-pho...

http://www.gizmag.com/leica-t-review-sample-images/31990/

It seems like this is something people buy only because they want to be seen with a Leica, not because they like photography.

edit I shoot mostly with a now ancient and well worn D60 that appears to outperform this Leica in almost every measure despite being 7 years old.

Looking at the archives of this blog is amazing. It's the ultimate Connoisseur Consumer in action. Every new product differs in only the minutest details from the previous, bit it's all oh so important. Until the new version arrives and obsoletes the previous one...

I think there's too much focus these days on what you can get for the money, and not what you can get.

You have one life, why fill it with particle board and Chinese plastic smell? Why not save up and buy things that last. That bring joy to your life and enrich it. Why buy a three dollar Chinese screwdriver with an imprecisely cut point that strips every fifth screw, when for ten dollars you can get a precision cut, tempered, and coated american made screwdriver that feels weighty and good in your hands. That doesn't strip those screws and makes your job a little more joyful.

America needs to bring back the craftsman and the appreciation for craftsmanship. The LVL1 hackerspace in Louisville just moved into an old factory and I am constantly stunned by the workmanship that went into that old building. The architect filled the place with light using angled windows, but it doesn't get hot. Even the wood floors are beautifully made (and this was for factory work).

Surrounding yourself with crafted things allows you to think on a higher plane. You know what is possible because you are surrounded with it.

If you surround yourself with cheap replaceable junk you become capable of crafting and expecting only cheap replaceable junk. That's why I can buy so much expensive furniture off craigslist for pennies. People have lost the ability to tell that that slightly scuffed up dresser couldn't be purchased for under eight grand new.

When discussing image quality, I found this paragraph hilarious:

"The Sony is a brilliant camera with incredible clarity but lacks soul and comes off as being purely engineering driven. There’s nothing wrong with these things, it’s what makes Sony great."

I can understand people who enjoy beautiful design, but when it comes to taking pictures, everything is literally engineering.

For some reason, every time I read "as a designer" and appeals to some magical designer "auctoritee", I cringe. If I can't tell you're a designer from the terms you're using and the points you focus on, well, don't club me over the head with it. As a pedant, I notice details like this.

As for the camera, two programmable knobs seems like a nice feature.

The Leica T is simply a rebranded Sony in a tighter package. If you look around at these guys, you'll see its even a Sony sensor and guts. Hassleblad does the same thing - simply look at the Lunar series. It's basically a Sony RX100 and NEX-7 w/ a wood handle. (http://www.hasselblad-lunar.com/). Don't be impressed by this, from a technology perspective. Be impressed by its machining and "re"-design of the Sony consumer brands (by now well under 1,000$ USD). I think they are junk, but when you have two lambos you want bling at the party.

I have always lusted over Leica cameras and lenses. All of my favorite photographers have used them at some point or another.

I finally got a great deal on M6 with a 50mm Summicron. Now I have a M9P.

For a while, Leica was the only camera company to produce cameras with the same ergonomics of older film cameras. It may have been stubbornness on their part, but I loved the fact that I could have a digital camera that allowed me to control aperture with my left hand, change shutter speed with my right, and have all lenses have focus markings on the top.

I feel that Leica is in danger due to companies such as Fuji, who are creating cameras that have even more options for control than ever before.

Want manual focus markings? There are lots of new lenses from Fuji and Olympus that allow you to shoot with auto focus, then pull the barrel back and enter manual mode so you can do things like zone and hyperfocal focus.

Want to change aperture on the lens and shutter speed on the top? The xt1 and x100s both have it.

Sorry for hating, but if Leica's answer to cameras such as the Fuji xt1 is to throw up a camera resembling a Sony NEX 3 with a "better touch screen" is kind of a joke really. They're coming from totally left field with this one.

They can try and hold on to their legacy of amazing lenses such as the Noctilux, but Zeiss(sony) and Sigma are doing a lot of innovation on fast glass, and will soon probably come out with a 50mm f/.95 or faster lens just to shove it to Leica.

You can view my photos at "moarbokeh" on flickr if you're curious.

I apologize for my ignorance, but does anyone know the brand and model of that unusual watch about a third of the way down the page?

Oh, Good news!.

I love photography but I hate so much having to carry enormous cameras just because analog were so voluminous and they put a digital sensor on an old analog case.

I bought different Sony NEX cameras for this reason and I use those a lot.

Good news to see other camera makers(canon,leica) listening.

For the less money, I'd go buy a cannon fixed lens point and shoot - or for about the same money I'd go get two real cameras, and EOS-1 Film, and a EOS-5D with a 50mm f/1.8 to share among them.

Leica makes a very pretty camera - but not one I'd purchase for the task of making pictures.

Unlike the M series, which remains unique in many ways, this seems unimpressive compared to some other interchangeable-lens cameras.

A 16MP APS-C sensor was available in the NEX-5 several years ago, and the tiny magnesium body of the NEX-5 is sexy as hell.

I would look at the Sony and Samsung compact interchangeable lens cameras if you want the best sensors, lens choice, and UI. The Sony a6000 is an awesome camera by any measure. Some of the new Samsungs have a "Google logo" Android complete with Google's suite of proprietary apps, and Google is doing some interesting things with the camera APIs.

> The T costs $1850 and the Sunmmicron-T 2/23 ASPH $1950. Yes, the Leica isn’t exactly a bargain.

I'm surprised it's that cheap. The M8 did cost somewhere around $4500 (without a lens) when it was introduced.

For film cameras at least, the best bang for the buck brand is Cosina Voigtländer. I own a Bessa R4A with a Cosina Voigtländer Color Skopar 21mm f/4.0 Pancake and seriously, what a great camera package for around $1000.

The big bugaboo on the wall is: is it any better than the Fuji X100S....

The review was well-written, but the photographs are simply beautiful—especially the desaturated color and serene feeling of the imagery.

Nice design. Still, I prefer a viewfinder (as a built-in EVF/OVF, not as a $600 accessory)

Is that Seattle/Bellevue? But then there's a porsche with Eurpoean plates below :)

How did this make it into "Hacker News" ?