trickness Posted October 22, 2023 Share #21 Posted October 22, 2023 (edited) Advertisement (gone after registration) 14 hours ago, thatkatmat said: You know, This felt condescending to me "I don't need online reviews to know what I'm buying". but whatever. I don't either. I bought the last few Leica lenses Like Gordon, I walked into the store on release date and purchased them.... But saying it's not weird that there's no reviews is actually a little weird in itself and acting like Youtube reviews are irrelevant is also a bit myopic in my opinion. I really wonder how anyone in the world purchased camera gear in the old days, before they could go on YouTube and watch some influencer who can barely take a decent photograph provide a opinion on a lens they've "tested" for a weekend by shooting pictures of their girlfriend in front of a brick wall. Edited October 22, 2023 by trickness 9 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 22, 2023 Posted October 22, 2023 Hi trickness, Take a look here Where are all the Reviews of the 21 APO?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Stephen.s1 Posted October 22, 2023 Share #22 Posted October 22, 2023 In the mean time there's always the excellent Voigtlander Nokton 21mm F1.4, 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hanno Posted October 22, 2023 Share #23 Posted October 22, 2023 29 minutes ago, trickness said: I really wonder how anyone in the world purchased camera gear in the old days, before they could go on YouTube and watch some influencer who can barely take a decent photograph provide a opinion on a lens they've "tested" for a weekend by shooting pictures of their girlfriend in front of a brick wall. And also with them feeling consciously or unconsciously biased to provide as good a review as possible, so that they can keep receiving gear ahead of release, and provide such YouTube reviews with eye catching titles as an exclusive ahead of release, and get their number of views and the adds/economics with it. Manufacturers are happy with the buzz and free marketing, and YouTubers make their living. It’s just business not photography. 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BernardC Posted October 22, 2023 Share #24 Posted October 22, 2023 1 hour ago, Simone_DF said: And yet there's plenty of reviews / comparison / advertising for the SL APO 28, 35, 50, 75 and 90 from the usual sources, but absolutely ZERO for the 21mm. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=leica+apo+sl Look at the dates! Those videos are between five years and a month old. The 21 has been out for two days. It's not the type of product that every influencer reviews on the same day, and forgets about immediately. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatkatmat Posted October 22, 2023 Share #25 Posted October 22, 2023 (edited) 54 minutes ago, trickness said: I really wonder how anyone in the world purchased camera gear in the old days, before they could go on YouTube and watch some influencer who can barely take a decent photograph provide a opinion on a lens they've "tested" for a weekend by shooting pictures of their girlfriend in front of a brick wall. I'm not sure why you quoted me. Like you, I don't understand it. But also, (probably like you) I watch them because I want to take a look at the gear because I'm a gear head and a photographer like most of you I think... I simply said if you don't think You Tube previews and reviews are relevant, that's a bit small minded.. Edited October 22, 2023 by thatkatmat 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheekz4dayz Posted October 22, 2023 Share #26 Posted October 22, 2023 I think I read somewhere that there was some sort of embargo till end of month. To the OP I think that's probably why we haven't heard anything. Our resident Mr. Slack typically puts out a review once embargos are lifted and if he has a lens available to test so we just need to be a bit more patient. 2 weeks compared to 5 years of waiting feels like nothing lol 😜 In general, I have noticed that the apo/ sl lenses don't really get much fanfare on YouTube. Perhaps like others said it's (Leica L Mount) a niche and the YouTube audience are more interested in m lenses or the youtube creators. Regardless I'm sure the reviews will come out eventually it just seems like it's embargo related since no one that's considered press/media has released anything except the press release. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCPix Posted October 22, 2023 Share #27 Posted October 22, 2023 Advertisement (gone after registration) 2 hours ago, BernardC said: the usual 100+ experts I just can’t wait for the unboxing videos to come out. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Richardson Posted October 22, 2023 Share #28 Posted October 22, 2023 It could well be that people are waiting for the SL3, as mentioned above. If it is imminent, then it would make sense to wait. I agree, however, that this is not as universally interesting to some as perhaps a more standard focal length, like 35 or 50. It also hasn’t had Peter Karbe coming out and saying it is the best lens he has ever made, like with the 35mm. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickness Posted October 22, 2023 Share #29 Posted October 22, 2023 40 minutes ago, thatkatmat said: I'm not sure why you quoted me. Like you, I don't understand it. But also, (probably like you) I watch them because I want to take a look at the gear because I'm a gear head and a photographer like most of you I think... I simply said if you don't think You Tube previews and reviews are relevant, that's a bit small minded.. Just quoted you because you brought up some interesting points. I watch all these review videos too - all of them! 😂 But I'm so often disappointed because they're so often lacking in any real value. Part of it is probably because I'm a bit older, I remember when review in print magazines were of far greater substance, perhaps because people had longer attention spans. Now there's this whole "bro, this new lens is FIRE" YouTube mentality and as other have mentioned much of it is regurgitated PR from the manufacturers and the videos seem designed to please or get attention from said manufacturers. YouTube reviews can be generally called "relevant" because a lot of people watch them, and they provide some basic level of information about something we aren't holding in our hands. I prefer for instance Reid Reviews or Jono's articles because they are far more substantive. Let's face it, pretty much all of the tools available to us these days are superb, none of these videos are really doing anything but encouraging us to make purchases that we were probably inclined to make anyway 👍 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simone_DF Posted October 22, 2023 Share #30 Posted October 22, 2023 57 minutes ago, BernardC said: Look at the dates! Those videos are between five years and a month old. The 21 has been out for two days. It's not the type of product that every influencer reviews on the same day, and forgets about immediately. The dates is because Leica, as always, is late to the game. Only when they realised that the SL2 sales were lacklustre, they started pushing more on online advertising / campaigns, and that coincided with the launch of the SL2-S, which had a good coverage. Same for all subsequent products. We had a flurry of day 1 reviews for the M11, a camera that basically doesn't even need that, being the only game in town, and same for the Q3. Even the Panasonic rebadges had day 1 reviews, but not the 21mm APO. It's disconcerting to say the least. Or perhaps Leica's marketing team is on holidays. It's a great time to go around and shoot foliage. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simone_DF Posted October 22, 2023 Share #31 Posted October 22, 2023 55 minutes ago, cheekz4dayz said: I think I read somewhere that there was some sort of embargo till end of month. To the OP I think that's probably why we haven't heard anything. Our resident Mr. Slack typically puts out a review once embargos are lifted and if he has a lens available to test so we just need to be a bit more patient. 2 weeks compared to 5 years of waiting feels like nothing lol 😜 The lens is out and people are purchasing it. There's no embargo. That is for the alleged M11P. Moreover, one of the testers published some photos on this same forum. If there was an embargo, the post would be removed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simone_DF Posted October 22, 2023 Share #32 Posted October 22, 2023 14 minutes ago, trickness said: none of these videos are really doing anything but encouraging us to make purchases that we were probably inclined to make anyway 👍 This. 90% of Youtube "reviews" are basically paid advertising. But the point is that they do work! Fujifilm boosted the sales of the X100V so much that it's still hard to get almost 4 years after release. Not having day 1 reviews and videos in 2023 is pure marketing suicide. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrp Posted October 22, 2023 Share #33 Posted October 22, 2023 it is also marketing suicide to promote a product that has only limited supply, as is typically the case with Leica gear. The Q3 is still generally unavailable, eg. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickness Posted October 22, 2023 Share #34 Posted October 22, 2023 1 hour ago, jrp said: it is also marketing suicide to promote a product that has only limited supply, as is typically the case with Leica gear. The Q3 is still generally unavailable, eg. Quite the contrary - it's VERY smart to promote a product people can't get, creates more demand than supply, keeps prices and perceived value high. Especially on luxury items. Dealers love this, they never have to even entertain the concept of a discount until the product has been out for a while and the buzz has died down. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
beewee Posted October 22, 2023 Share #35 Posted October 22, 2023 10 hours ago, trickness said: I really wonder how anyone in the world purchased camera gear in the old days, before they could go on YouTube and watch some influencer who can barely take a decent photograph provide a opinion on a lens they've "tested" for a weekend by shooting pictures of their girlfriend in front of a brick wall. You either consulted Erwin Put’s Leica Compendium or you waited for the invention of the internet, Youtube, and the evolution of influencers. 😉 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickness Posted October 22, 2023 Share #36 Posted October 22, 2023 (edited) 6 minutes ago, beewee said: You either consulted Erwin Put’s Leica Compendium or you waited for the invention of the internet, Youtube, and the evolution of influencers. 😉 I actually used to go to the old Tamarkin store, which was on the same floor in the same building as the Leica Gallery, And they would mount a lens on an M6, let you look at the viewfinder and dry fire the camera for 10 or 15 minutes. Sales guys always had plenty of advice and insight, which was highly informed, because they sold everything, took things in on trade and were talking to dozens and dozens of customers every week. Pretty sure I bought the Erwin lens compendium book there. I really do miss the days of the enthusiast salesman, in a Mom & Pop shop, who loved and used the gear, and who knew that if he sold you a dud, you’d be back to see him the next day. (I guess Leica Miami would be a good modern counterpart?) So they were very invested in making sure you knew exactly what you were getting, and they help you figure out what you really wanted, which might have been entirely different than what you thought you were walking in there to buy. And it was very frequently something for a lot less money. Ahhh, the good old days, when influencers actually knew WTF they were talking about! Edited October 22, 2023 by trickness 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robb Posted October 23, 2023 Share #37 Posted October 23, 2023 Yeah, I miss Werner’s camera in Denver…. Bought many things from Leica Store Miami. Good old school vibes there. Robb 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MediaFotografie Posted October 23, 2023 Share #38 Posted October 23, 2023 you can find my little report here: I was able to test it for 6 weeks in June/July 2022 and didn't plan to write anything about it (and they didn‘t ask for this), it was very spontaneous because everyone thought it would be released in April 2023. 4 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
huwm Posted October 23, 2023 Share #39 Posted October 23, 2023 7 hours ago, trickness said: I really do miss the days of the enthusiast salesman, in a Mom & Pop shop, who loved and used the gear, and who knew that if he sold you a dud, you’d be back to see him the next day. (I guess Leica Miami would be a good modern counterpart?) So they were very invested in making sure you knew exactly what you were getting, and they help you figure out what you really wanted, which might have been entirely different than what you thought you were walking in there to buy. And it was very frequently something for a lot less money. That describes my recent visit to https://www.reddotcameras.co.uk perfectly. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planetwide Posted October 23, 2023 Share #40 Posted October 23, 2023 (edited) 23 hours ago, Simone_DF said: Or perhaps Leica's marketing team is on holidays. When it comes to the SL line, permanently, I would say... Edited October 23, 2023 by Planetwide 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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