M10-D price of ownership

[gotium]

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23 hours ago, IkarusJohn said:

On the plus side, I have always had a great relationship with Leica Customer Service.  My attitude has always been that things go wrong.  That’s life.  It’s how you deal with things when they go wrong that matters.  Leica has always treated me well, but I have to be honest and point out that a lot has gone wrong, even for someone as patient as me; and it’s cost a bundle.

To balance that, I totally get their two strap-lines - “Camera for life” and “Das Wesentliche”.  I hate waste, which is why I keep repairing stuff that I’m told to throw any and buy new.  I love the distillation of the essentials of photography - despite their internal electronic workings, the M9 and M10 cameras belied their wires and circuitry and presented what film lovers were used to - manual focus lenses with aperture rings, shutter dials where they should be and they looked like the real thing.

I guess that’s why I didn’t like the M(240) and I don’t like the direction the M11 seems to be heading.  I hate to concede I’m just getting old - I’ a photographer, and I don’t like unnecessary things that get in the way of taking photos.  Having had the X1D II, Hasselblad also understands this.  But then, I might be diving into a more troublesome pool.

Thankfully I don’t need to make any immediate decisions.  Thank you all for your contributions, and Gordon and Paul for your wise words.

It sounds like you have a healthy perspective. 

Mine is tainted by several very negative experiences with Leica service, mostly in the US. I love many of the products, but definitely not the way they have treated me when things have gone wrong. 

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