WHY WOULD ANYONE BUY A LEICA IN 2023?!

Hi All,

I frequently get asked over on instagram why do I shoot Leica?

So in todays video we talk why would anyone buy a Leica in 2023, and why for some people it actually makes some sense even if the price is at this point getting pretty ridiculous

00:00 - Introduction
00:48 - Image Quality
02:03 - Lack of Features
03:27 - Learning Photography
04:29 - Planned Obsolescence
05:58 - Craftsmanship
06:57 - Manual Focus
07:59 - Film and Digital
08:49 - Conclusion

-- MY PRESETS --

-- MY GEAR --

-- INSTAGRAM --

[leafsfan]

I just ordered my first one - a Leica Q2! I cannot wait to play with it! Thanks for all the great content!

[stefanforyszewski]

I switched to Leica to slow down. After a year or so, I feel that in general the image quality is much better - Leica body paired with a Leica lens (out of focus photos excepted). But every now and again I get an image that is simply outstanding and somewhat difficult to describe - better than anything in 30+ years of photography. I did not believe that the 'Leica look' existed, but it really does. When I get a good one, it is really, really good.

[DannyChau]

To me, the M11 is definitely the best digital Leica to date, as you said, people who shoot with a rangefinder camera know exactly what they want out of a camera and auto focus is definitely not high on their priority list. As a photographer, we are now spoiled for choice and only through trial and error are we able to find what suits us, I guess this is also part of the fun and appeal in this great hobby.

[derrenleepoole]

Great video mate. Like I said on another video, I wanted a camera and not a computer. A lot of cameras are bloated with things I just don’t need/use. I’ve also been enjoying my gig photography a lot more as the challenge is so much more rewarding if you nail the shot. The M9 is certainly a challenge in dark venues for sure ;)

[WhoIsSerafin]

The size is why I picked Olympus and autofocus is a must along with weather sealing. And that’s also why I picked up a 100v. The M for me would feel very limiting. But I definitely get the appeal!

[GlennTaubenfeld]

I recently bought an M11 and agree entirely with what you said.
My Canon camera makes me feel like I'm doing work but the Leica really makes me feel like I'm doing art.

[PeterHartland]

Well summed up. It is like using a tripod for landscapes, slow down set up your image think about what you are taking. If I want quick & I can zone focus or because I know where I have focused even at full open I can wait until it/they are in the zone & just press the button.

[daniladergachev]

Planned obsolescence - to the point! I'm still using my M8 and it's still taking photos that look better than many other modern cameras can take. And it soon will be 20 years old

[rmle]

I´m a Leica R user from my 18 years old(now I´m 52) and love the cameras and specially the lenses.
Now after brought my R8 in 2001, so 22 years ago, they works like new and give me much fun using it and it was a film camera.
The Leica philosophy when less is more is in my opinion the Key goal of Leica cameras, the R8 despite of electronic camera whit 1/8000 shutter top speed and others top specs and multi-modes, is a camera very ease to use and focus on image quality and pleasurer of use.
The R lenses are top notch, I love my Summicron R 50 they give me very good results and the bokeh are simply amazing.

[wylie_photo]

I think you have covered most of the main points about using a Leica M. I would also add zone/range focusing as well for street photography. Once you have set the camera up, particularly a modern digital M, it's very quick to use. Any other camera I use actually feels pretty cumbersome nowadays in comparison for this sort of work.

[johnsanchez]

I appreciate your thoughts and insights, and agree. Nice job!

[mwales]

Still shooting a pair of 11 year old M240s and love them. I love how they have slowed me down. Less is more and that's how I like it. M240 battery life is to die for and zone focusing is faster than any auto focus.. .. Thanks mate...

[epstar]

Great video. I was telling a friend that ‘me’ of 5 years ago would have to eat my words because I used to think I’d never need or buy a Leica and now it’s almost all I use. I started out with the system partly out of curiosity and partly because I was shooting a lot of film and wanted to have a system that worked well for both mediums. I travel a lot and film / digi combination is perfect for me. I’ve also found the SL cameras are a good compromise if one needs a camera with sports / action capabilities are needed. Most mirrorless cameras don’t perform too well with M mount lenses due to the design of their sensors glass and IR cut filters, but the SL cameras were developed with this use in mind, so they perform well (though not as good as an M) on SL bodies, and when needed the SL bodies can be fitted with high performing autofocus lenses from Sigma / Panasonic or Leica if one has the budget…

[kevinbeacham]

After trying an X1 was surprised how I preferred the DNG files over the RAW from the X100V. In addition loved the simplicity and lack of menus to trawl through so took advantage of the V being worth more than I bought it for and traded it for a digital CL and some nice glass. No regrets. Good to hear you’re enjoying yours 👍

[blende.]

Nice video, nice thoughts.
Leica is expensive, yes but you get a perfect system for many years. I’m still using my 12 years old M9P, and I’m happy with this camera. So I’m sure, that my M10R black paint will be in my collection for many years.

[stanleyomar]

Having used a Nikon DSLR exclusively for paid work and film Leica M's (or MF cameras) for some paid and pretty much all other photography for years, I'd been feeling lately that it would really be nice to have a much smaller digital camera that I'd actually want to use both for work and play. 

After looking around a bit and seeing the love for Fuji''s and other brands, I began thinking one night that maybe a digital M would be the perfect solution. I landed on the M240, and I'm SO happy I made that decision. I already had the lenses, and if you're already used to making film work for a lot of things you'd also shoot digitally, there's really no way a modern digital sensor and settings suite could be more limiting. Add to this the bonus of having camera that feels just like the film camera you were already carrying everywhere, and what I've essentially fallen into is the setup I already loved, but with unlimited frames, flexible ISO, and images I can turn around a few hours after they'd been taken.

From reading so many reviews, though, it seems the experience is very different if a digital M was your first Leica camera.

[vinylisland]

Ms basically make every other camera seem cumbersome. Plus, you actually learn to take pictures. Oh, and you fall in love with your lenses, and photography, all over again. Worth every penny.

[bsmukler]

I’ve given up on trying to give up on the Leica M. I’ve always had other cameras, and do now, but there is something about the M bodies, analog and digital, coupled with the user experience as well as with the character and history of the company (especially regarding early efforts at treating employees well and the Leitz family’s positive actions before and during WWII), that always draws me back. As I have gotten older, there is an increased fun factor in getting sharply focused and steady shots, especially with the M11 60 MP sensor (surprisingly easy, by the way). It forces me to slow down a bit, examine the entire frame, and concentrate on breathing and stance. It’s a very different experience from using my relatively high-speed, more automated cameras and lenses. Finally, given the level of design and engineering, and the great care in production, I don’t begrudge the prices. Honest pay for honest work.

[Narsuitus]

Thanks for the video.

I bought my M6 for the reliability, the ergonomics, the image quality, the manufacturing quality, the attractiveness, and the status.

[TheVFXbyArt]

I would add, unique to fuji is its DR400 mode:
It underexposes the image while upping the mids and blacks.

Basically what you do in Lightroom, except this is done in camera as you hit the shutter.

Works in JPG AND RAW!

This allows highlights about 3 stops of headroom, avoided that clipped look in mid day shots that plague Leicas.

You also get tone curves for shadows and highlights.

This combo gives this very filmic falloff of highlights that retain highlight detail, even with high key desert shots.

If leica did that (which they can, its all software), it would make their street photography bullet proof, exposure-wise.

Also the x-trans 4 sensor and processor combo (xt3, xt4, xpro3, x100v, etc) made for very fast cameras, unlike the higher mp xt5 and xh2