Bye Bye Leica

[logan2z]

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No, I'm not selling my Leica gear but, apparently, Mr. Leica is - at least many of his lenses.  Interesting video, with a good, balanced explanation as to why he's giving up some of his Leica lenses for Voigtlanders. 

 

[Lelmer]

Never heard of this guy 🤣

[logan2z]

14 minutes ago, Lelmer said:

Never heard of this guy 🤣

That's the one and only Mr. Leica!  Have you been living under a rock? 😉

[Robert Blanko]

Maybe he should consider a rebranding. Mr. Voigtländer dot com apparently does not exist yet. 😁

Was always wondering how his present domain could coexist with Leica's trademark rights.

[egrossman]

Perhaps he'll have to change his nickname.

Erik

[FrozenInTime]

Giving up the day job to earn a living from photography and Youtube is a brave call.

Balancing results, performance and value between the many great Leica and Voigtländer lenses, without a full Swiss bank account, is not so hard.

[Rona!d]

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Quit day job. Became a famous photographer and Youtube reviewer. Super models. Travels. Famous camera maker named the company after him. .... to be continued with all the haters bullsh*t.

Last but not least: Cured from Leica lens addiction!

Now I´m a bit envious, everything done right, Matt!

(Didn´t know this guy before, but that was my fault. Now I have tons of video hours to watch and learn, thanks).

[Anbaric]

Despite the clickbait title, it's a perfectly reasonable video. He wants some liquid assets for more important things, and he can keep on shooting without compromising on quality because the VC lenses are so good (for his purposes better than what he had). Some rather famous photographers made similar decisions back when high quality rangefinder lenses from Japan first became available in the 1950s...

[Ouroboros]

I watched one of his videos once.  All flushed and breathless, he looked and sounded like he had just had 10 minutes in a broom cupboard with one of his Polish models.

Strange thing, GAS.

 

[spydrxx]

I've been following his videos for the last year, and he certainly got good use out of his Leica lenses. But I agree that at times other manufacturers produce lenses comparable to or whose performance exceeds the Leica equivalent focal length at a fraction of the cost. Being a cheap old codger I too have in recent years expanded the M and Barnack (LTM) based lenses out from Leica to other manufacturers, and am quite satisfied with the results and money saved. I began buying Leica gear in the 1960s so have a long love affair with the Leica products. In my personal opinion, most newly purchased Leica lenses are priced way above a reasonable pricepoint; they should command a premium, but not highway robbery. Just looking at the works shown on this site for several years, I don't see that most Leica lenses significantly differentiate themselves from their less expensive counterparts, except in a few commercial uses. Let the flaming begin.

[Ray Vonn]

Upfront, honest, never sanctimonious, uninterested in status, backs up his opinions and never in thrall to the badge, to me he's a good guy.

[Herr Barnack]

This makes no sense.  Why sell off the M lenses?  They're paid for!  🙄

If it's paid for, keep it, at least with regard to lenses.  JMHO.

 

[lct]

I happen to own those same lenses but the CV 50/2 apo that i find too bulky for my taste. The other CV lenses are very good indeed, especialy the smaller ones for use on my digital CL (28/2, 35/2) but for FF i prefer the Leicas i consider superior IQ wise (28/2, 35/2), size wize (75/2) or on closeups (90/4). I like much the CV 75/1.5 and 90/2.8 though. I kept the Leica 75/1.4 and T-E "thin" 90/2.8 but i use them less and less now TBH. FWIW.

[Plankendickskendel]

At the latest after our death, our heirs will decide to whom they will sell our photo junk.
Hopefully they can still do something with the Leica company name and won't be cheated by one of the Leica dealers known as widow comforters.

[Jeff S]

1 hour ago, Herr Barnack said:

This makes no sense.  Why sell off the M lenses?  They're paid for!  🙄

If it's paid for, keep it, at least with regard to lenses.  JMHO.

 

Did you watch the video?  He clearly explained his rationale to get cash in the short term to buy a house, despite the fact that he recognizes Leica lenses offer a better long term value. And he often prefers the CV lens performance to meet his business needs and preferences.  
 

You may not agree, but priorities vary. From an investment standpoint, I’ve done far better in real estate in my lifetime than holding on to a few lenses.
 

Jeff

[Robert Blanko]

Well, if you sell your Leica lenses to have cash in short term for buying a house, you would have to own really a lot(!) of lenses for selling or otherwise you could not even finance a tiny garage, at least here in Munich… 🤣

[shirubadanieru]

Give him two or three months and he’ll be uploading a video ‘Why I returned to Leica’…we all go through these ups and downs with gear and it tends to go full circle : p 

[S Maclean]

I have corresponded with Matt about a variety of things. He's a great guy. Pretty humble and always helpful.

On the subject: we all justify our Leica expenses because of the way they hold their value....the whole point of that is that we can always sell them for equal or more value when in need.  It seems a little stupid of us to then criticize someone for doing exactly that. 

A house of, for example, 400 g, needs a downpayment of 40 to 80 g’s.  That's not that many lenses, sadly.  Also, he is saying he needs the money to help with some other things, not that the lenses cover the total of the money needed.

Anyway, I find the criticism here extremely Petty. 

 

 

[Chris W]

10 hours ago, Anbaric said:

Despite the clickbait title, it's a perfectly reasonable video. 

^^ This ^^.

I've watched a lot of his videos over the years. As YouTubers go he's one of the more honest and level headed ones.

I was shocked when I saw the title, but as 'Anbaric' points out, he's really just outlining why over time he's switched from a lot of Leica lenses to the Voigtlander versions. 

He hasn't done it over night, and he still owns and uses quite a large amount of Leica bodies.

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[darylgo]

There's many folks here on these forums using Voigtlander lenses, I haven't used them myself but from all the posts and reviews I read they are not far behind Lieca in both optics and mechanics.  At one point I was thinking he is working with Voigtlander however he specifically states he is not.  He did qualify his remarks about the lens rendering saying his use is for monochrome and center resolution.