Hookeye Posted November 10, 2007 Share #1 Posted November 10, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) I had to laugh when I read this article in the International Herald Tribune. I felt I had found the explanation to why we love this cumbersome, hideously expensive, back-focusing, cyan-drifting and otherwhise rather quirky camera - the M8. I am joking, of course, but all good jokes should have a bit of truth in them Go ahead, rationalize. Monkeys do it, too. - International Herald Tribune Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted November 10, 2007 Posted November 10, 2007 Hi Hookeye, Take a look here Cognitive dissonance. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Guest tummydoc Posted November 10, 2007 Share #2 Posted November 10, 2007 That's priceless! Every once in a great while psychological research happens to blindly trip over something that actually has a viable application in the real world Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanG Posted November 10, 2007 Share #3 Posted November 10, 2007 ..I felt I had found the explanation to why we love this cumbersome, hideously expensive, back-focusing, cyan-drifting and otherwhise rather quirky camera - the M8. Or perhaps that is part of the appeal - it can be more challenging to own and use than some other "more perfect" cameras. Waiting for back-ordered items or long delays for service forms a bond or comraderie that sets Leica ownership apart. If these things really bothered people so much they wouldn't put up with it and would demand changes. There may be some patience, frustration, anger, or suffering involved that distinguishes ownership. And the more you've invested in time, money, studying the camera, etc. the more you will be bound to it once you feel you have it mastered. Likewise, not everyone with money can buy a Ferrari from the factory. And in any case, there will be a wait. These are examples of reinforcing exclusivity. I think a number of the posts on the M8 forum would be quite interesting to a social scientist. Human behavior can be mysterious and I am not an expert in the field. I heard it postulated that British sports cars were so unreliable because many of the owners enjoyed tinkering with them. (Shade tree mechanics.) I once had some insight into traffic congestion in the Washington region. I thought, "Individuals wouldn't put up with these long commutes if it really bothered them so much." (They wouldn't live so far from their jobs.) It turns out that for a number of individuals, the only time they have to be alone and decompress is on their commute. So they like to have 30-60 minutes for this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philinflash Posted November 10, 2007 Share #4 Posted November 10, 2007 Sooo, M8 is to LUF member as M&M is to monkey? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent10D Posted November 10, 2007 Share #5 Posted November 10, 2007 Sooo, M8 is to LUF member as M&M is to monkey? Guess so. By the way, I prefer the red ones. There could also be an element of desiring that which is always just out of reach in this Leica Lust problem. The trouble is, unlike lust for the opposite sex, Leica Lust doesn't go away when you finally get your hands on the object of your desire. Serious stuff. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted November 11, 2007 Share #6 Posted November 11, 2007 Uhm, an interesting occasion to think of WHY some people buy M8 and like it... Let's start with an important, for me, difference towards the experiments quoted in the article (where you had various appliances for people and colored balls, I think, for monkeys) : Leica IS A PRESTIGE BRAND in photo : this is by definition a sort of biasing factor in any otherwise "theorically rational" choice. The role of branding is well known and studied by psychologists of marketing. Then, there is a significant (I think) percentage of people for whom the question is very simple : - I absolutely LOVE Leica RF cameras ----> cameras tech GOES definitely to digital -----> look! Leica (*) makes a digital RF -----> soon or later I BUY IT -----> it works, it works FINE, it has some little problem...bah, who cares ? It's MY NEW LEICA, I love it as always has been with the others (is my case - any vague but frequent thoughts I made about how to afford digital have disappeared when saw M8 announcement: was IT, no discussion into myself) (*) NOT Panasonic.... For the rest of the buyers the mechanisms and motivations of choice are surely more complex.... and the REAL level of satisfaction is surely related to them : - Was the choice most related to the prestige of the brand ? The level of satisfaction can vary from one to another for tech reasons... but it's surely fluctuating UPON a rather high value... I OWN the item (and, let me say, the item works) - Was the choice driven by the (costly...) CURIOSITY to try something DIFFERENT from the gear one knows well (DSLR or so) ? The level of satisfaction fluctuates in a much wider range than above... one can conclude that RF photography is terrible, and this augments the dissatisfaction that can derive from little specific problems like "UVIR issue" or "AWB no good". - Was the choice driven by a intimate rational and INFORMED decision process ("it's so compact... and I KNOW BY SURE that RF is better in some circumstances... they say lenses are really good...")? The level of satisfaction fluctuates in a narrower range than above... one knows in advance what to expect... and let me say that M8 has only little faults... One of the conclusions is that Leica Co. has been lucky: no other vendor has ventured in making a serious digital RF (the Epson RD1 was an interesting but strange episode), so that M8 is THE CHOICE for anyone who likes to have something different from the mainstream (digital MFs are unaffordable... at the times of film, it was all another story....) ; I hope for them this situation shall endure... if they go on right with the product, Leica can well establish itself as THE ALTERNATIVE... not a bad position in the marketplace. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marquinius Posted November 11, 2007 Share #7 Posted November 11, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) I didn't get to choose between M&M's and the M8 ... and by the look on the face of my wife she apparently thinks that the monkey would have made a smarter choice .. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Ortego Posted November 11, 2007 Share #8 Posted November 11, 2007 Great article that may simplify some perceptions, since I’m obsessed with justifying choices. Specifically, I guess in terms of money, size matters (M8). I simply don’t recall 5400-bucks looking quite so small. The article does indeed help to quantify my decision. Regards, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Ortego Posted November 11, 2007 Share #9 Posted November 11, 2007 Guess so.By the way, I prefer the red ones. ...unlike lust for the opposite sex, Leica Lust doesn't go away when you finally get your hands on the object of your desire. Serious stuff. I’ve always wondered why this is so incredibly accurate! Regards, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tummydoc Posted November 11, 2007 Share #10 Posted November 11, 2007 I didn't get to choose between M&M's and the M8 ... and by the look on the face of my wife she apparently thinks that the monkey would have made a smarter choice .. I'm sure she appreciates that you're taller and better looking Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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