Leica A Modest Proposal

I'll take two, please.

Now if someone else will take this idea and improve it a bit and slash that 1 off the front of the price tag...... just think of all the photography students that would buy one.

And paunchy, balding (but still handsome) middle-aged men that might buy one (or two).

*raises hand, as if embarrassed*
 
I just saw that B & H has a lease option for businesses.

"Only US-based businesses at least two years old are eligible for lease financing. Minimum lease term is two years. Purchase amount must exceed $5,000. Other requirements apply. Click here for further information and to access our on-line lease application.

Sample payment is for a 36-month full-payout lease for eligible customers, subject to credit approval and final acceptance by independent leasing company. Other leasing terms available"

*twirls evil super-villain moustache*
 
I just saw that B & H has a lease option for businesses.

"Only US-based businesses at least two years old are eligible for lease financing. Minimum lease term is two years. Purchase amount must exceed $5,000. Other requirements apply. Click here for further information and to access our on-line lease application.

Sample payment is for a 36-month full-payout lease for eligible customers, subject to credit approval and final acceptance by independent leasing company. Other leasing terms available"

*twirls evil super-villain moustache*

$5000 doesn't seem bad at all, if you'd be going on to something else in two years.
 
You ingrates failed to notice this:

Price: $18,500.00


Instant Savings: 12%


You Pay: $16,280.00

Why, with the savings alone, you could purchase another decent camera or two . . . and if you had an Amazon rewards card, why it's practically free . . .

For husbands with poor impulse control, this is known as the see-you-in-court model.

Some years ago, I entered the Oskar Barnak contest because the prize was a digital Leica with one of those Noctilux see-in-the-dark lenses. Total value: about 17 kilobucks. Then my wife asked, "Would you really want to walk around with a camera that's worth the price of a car?"

Cheers, Jock
 
But when you hold the camera and stare into the Noctilux lens, it's like looking into the ocean when the water is still - it's like a crystal ball - a gateway to some paradise - then you realize what you're holding and what happens if you scratch it. Besides, the DOF is the width of a hair and you're trying to focus that with a rangefinder - you might as well get a metal detector and go looking for gold.
 
It does sort of put that whole "the Pen F is an overpriced camera for hipsters" thing in perspective.
OTOH, it's one of those liberating tools for "the rest of us" to use when rationalizing merely VERY expensive (to anyone less obsessed) cameras, ie a potentially disapproving spouse. "What THIS? This isn't expensive for camera gear. This is actually pretty cheap. Expensive would be the Leica..... - this is a BARGAIN"! My wife has never said a word about my spending on stuff like this, and I've actually gotten pretty self-regulating lately, but I always want to be READY, because you never know what's gonna come down the pike in the future...

So thank you Leica. Whether you're providing nice cameras someone else will have to be the judge of. Buy you're definitely providing an important SERVICE!

-Ray
 
Of all the cameras I've owned/own I'd say the Leica M240 is the one I've been the least bothered about from a "precious" point of view. It's built like a tank and I have no problem with schlepping it along and not worrying about it! I reckon if someone tried to take it, one well aimed swing would knock them out cold :D
 
I am a "tool" man (mechanic, carpenter, etc.. But, to walk along a rocky trail, along a roaring river, with a $1x,xxx, "tool",in my left hand, while eating a burger with the right, ...somehow just does not seem sane, realistic, practical, ...? Ridiculous illustration, I know. As a craftsman I know there are times that the best tools are the cheapest. In the aviation industry I bought Snap-on, Mack, etc., for critical work. Anything less might damage a fitting, that would cost much more than an over priced wrench.
Now all that said, If you have the spare cash, laying around, that you won't miss, .... And you consider that mega-buck camera, to be the art-form, that tingles your innards. Then it's no different than spending huge sums on paintings, beautiful cloths, cars, homes, or anything else not needed, but delightful. It is just outside my thought patterns. :eek-54::D
 
To be quite honest, I don't get the amount of money some people spend on new cars that devaluate a lot in 10 years either. I know I could spend more on cars, but I don't since I don't care that much for them. I prefer spending my money on cameras, and pretend that I can fool anyone that I'm a hipster.

*strokes Pen-F once more*
 
Well, my Leicas have gone everywhere with me. There have only been two scary incidents: the incident in Arecibo which I narrated in this thread A bit of a scare and the one time I was shooting in a river in Adjuntas and my camera bag came to within a couple of inches of the water when I slipped on a rock. There's no point in owning the gear if you are not going to use it as you would any other gear. Plus, there's always insurance.

Cheers,

Antonio
 
Of all the cameras I've owned/own I'd say the Leica M240 is the one I've been the least bothered about from a "precious" point of view. It's built like a tank and I have no problem with schlepping it along and not worrying about it! I reckon if someone tried to take it, one well aimed swing would knock them out cold :D

That's exactly how I feel about mine!
 
A lot of this depends on how comfortable you are with a certain price range. When I was younger and poorer, a $1000 camera was quite a reach. Now, I couldn't be really comfortable with a $16000 camera no matter how durable it was.
 
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