Leica: You get what you pay for

[TomB_tx]

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Eventually cars improved, but the air-cooled VW never got better.

This being told by myself, and I still have and occasionally drive a pristine 1958 Bug (with a highly modified engine).

There wasn't that much to go wrong with them compared to more "feature-rich" cars. I still have a '62 to restore, and my daily-driver was really built in Mexico in 2001. Same as a '68 Standard, but fuel injected, hydraulic lifters, real spin-on oil filter, front disks - and this was standard production from early 90s through 2003 when they finally stopped making Beetles. Having had two of these late Mexican Beetles (as well as a few German ones back when), I'd say they did improve, and the late Mexican models were the best. Of course they weren't sold in the US, and the way I got mine was to have an old US chassis "rebuilt" with all parts off a new Mexican model. For 12 years I've changed the oil once a year (synthetic), adjusted rear brakes (changed pads and shoes once), changed plugs every 30K, tires once, and changed one belt. Still uses no oil and doesn't leak a drop. Couldn't ask for a more reliable car.

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[andyedward]

As far as M lenses and film M's go, I do believe you get what you pay for, though having said that, when I first started photography I gagged at the price of M lenses: "WTF, I'll never pay that much for a lens"!, I thought at the time, but now I own a 35 lux.

 

I would expect a minimum of 5 years reliable operation from a digital camera, which is why I dont believe the M9 was worth its retail price. Perhaps the new M will address the M9's issues and prove to be worth the outlay

[andyedward]

There wasn't that much to go wrong with them compared to more "feature-rich" cars. I still have a '62 to restore, and my daily-driver was really built in Mexico in 2001. Same as a '68 Standard, but fuel injected, hydraulic lifters, real spin-on oil filter, front disks - and this was standard production from early 90s through 2003 when they finally stopped making Beetles. Having had two of these late Mexican Beetles (as well as a few German ones back when), I'd say they did improve, and the late Mexican models were the best. Of course they weren't sold in the US, and the way I got mine was to have an old US chassis "rebuilt" with all parts off a new Mexican model. For 12 years I've changed the oil once a year (synthetic), adjusted rear brakes (changed pads and shoes once), changed plugs every 30K, tires once, and changed one belt. Still uses no oil and doesn't leak a drop. Couldn't ask for a more reliable car.

 

I've never seen a beetle in red before, and it looks great! My parents had a light blue beetle, which in retrospect I find analogous to film M camera I use today, vs. modern cars which are "digital"

[Messsucherkamera]

…

 

The latest RRs, again IMO, display one of the stupidest uses of technology I have ever heard of: As the wheels rotate, a device ensures the RR badge on the hub cabs don't rotate at the same time so you can always read "RR". It's kind of like fixating on the Leica badge instead of how well the product actually works. To me, that kind of approach to design is absurd.

 

I breathlessly await the announcement of the Hermes M which has the same technology applied to the red dot.

 

How we have survived thus far with M cameras whose red dots do not automatically orient themselves to proper presentation when switching your grip from horizontal to vertical shooting is one of the imponderables of the universe.

[AlanJW]

I would expect a minimum of 5 years reliable operation from a digital camera, which is why I dont believe the M9 was worth its retail price. Perhaps the new M will address the M9's issues and prove to be worth the outlay

 

There is no reason an M9 could not operate reliably for 5 years. Mine is three years old now -- from November of 09 -- and while recently repaired has been just as reliable as my former Canons and current and former Nikons, some of which needed repair at one time or another.

 

Whether you want to keep using a computer for 5 years (that is what they are now, with a hole in the front for a lens) is a different story. I have a computer that is nearly seven years old. It is not my main working machine. It was just fine when I bought it, but things change and it is now slow as molasses and runs Windows XP and probably wouldn't run anything better. So too with modern cameras. I once had a Nikon D1x. At the time I thought it was -- and it was -- state of the art. Technological change is with us, like it or not. But that does not mean that an M9 or even an M8 cannot keep going for years, though not like film cameras, some of which have indefinite lives.

 

To the subject of cars and Rolls, etc., some people like old cars. I don't. I once looked at buying an MGA (vintage not remembered) because I was nostalgic for the MG days of my youth. I quickly realized that non synchro transmission, no seat belts to speak of, and a ride that felt like the tires were stone, were not for me.

[Jaybob]

.....like mainlining stupid through a fire hose.

 

This is the wittiest thing I've read in this entire forum.

[Angora]

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it is now slow as molasses and runs Windows XP and probably wouldn't run anything better.

Digressing a bit, but format it and it should be able to run smoothly for a while. Unless you're performing CPU-intensive applications (games, CAD...) that should be enough.

Even better, fit it with an SSD.

[swamiji]

I paid for a full frame digital rangefinder camera, and I got a full frame digital rangefinder camera. There is not much more to say.

 

If there were some other full frame digital rangefinder cameras available then it might matter, but as it is, it does not.

 

RR has competition. That is the difference.

 

Quality, History, Prestige, etc. to me, are all secondary. They are "Nice to have's", but not my driving force for purchasing a Leica Camera. And yes, if Epson, had continued with it's digital rangefinder camera, and produced a full frame version, I might be owning an Epson right now...

[efreed2754]

For some of us we have internalized the traditional Leica model. You buy a camera and can keep it forever with some care and periodic CLA's.

 

Believe those of us are fighting that experience with the PC knowledge of replace in three or five years to keep current. The two don't really mesh hence the conflict.

[250swb]

As with all high end products, whether luxury or engineering excellence, or both, the customer pays disproportionately more for each tiny increase in finish or performance. It simply takes far more time and effort to go the extra mile. Which is why a Timex tells the same time as a Patek Philippe, and a Ford Focus still reaches the same statutory speed limit as a Ferrari.

 

What doesn't happen with a Timex or a Ford are the concomitant charges for service or repair for actually quite cheap issues. The 'add on' prices on the high end goods still reflect the full excellence of the main product. Likewise with Leica batteries, they are made in the same factories that churn similar items out for other manufacturers for a fraction of the price, yet Leica need to charge a 'luxury' price to maintain the overall brand preception. So you are paying for what you get with a lens or body, the rest they shaft you for.

 

Steve