[rollei_list] Re: <for sale> 11/20/09 (including pictures)

  • From: Thor Legvold <tlegvold@xxxxxxx>
  • To: rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:07:12 +0100

Hi Jim and Elias (and others),

as I mentioned, I'm sure that your prices are more than fair. If I had $1000 lying around I'd buy it myself just to see what all the Leica hubub is about (and of course based on the excellent impression I had when using a M6 recently in NYC, it was an excellently built tool, that was obvious) and to support a fellow Rollei user :-). It is a wonderful camera, no doubt about it.

I'm just amazed at the prices Leica commands in general (eBay and otherwise) for what is a very nice camera, but the gear doesn't make the picture. The person behind it does. Plenty of the photo's that have made a huge impression on the world have been made on Contax, for example ;->. No, seriously, Canon, Nikon, Hasselblad, Pentax, Mamiya, Minolta, there are a range of professional cameras that *in the right hands* will produce excellent images. I think knowing your equipment is more important than which brand one chooses (although obviously you need to choose something of quality, and something that fits your workflow, ergonomics and photographic vision), at that point it becomes a discussion about angels dancing on heads of pins and lpm resolution charts (yaaaawwwn!).

A friend of mine at University did a lot of nature shooting with his Nikon gear, and got amazing shots, truly awe inspiring. I did completely different stuff with my Bronica and got the same response from others' to my work. Was it the gear? Not at all. Although I coulnd't have taken his nature shots with the Bronnie and he would have had a difficult time getting the same tones and focused ears that I did with portraits.

I'm more interested in the results, and what tools help you arrive at those results as efficiently as possible. Obviously that will be a personal matter for many people. The nice thing with the M6 I tried is that the finder is a good deal easier to see compared to the Contax and it had some sort of built in meter. Since I always have a Digisix in my pocket, it's pretty much the finder that remains as a real difference. The Contax is also built to very high standards and is completely mechanical, and very quiet in use (but not as quiet as a Leica). The Leica was a bit smoother in focusing, which was nice, and the bigger finder window made it easier to focus. I have a Bessa body for my Contax lenses, and find that it works fine, but does have a plasticky feel and a loud shutter. I think I paid $600 for it, which isn't far from a M4, but the Zeiss glass costs a *fraction* of what the Leica glass does. And while several people have pointed out that the Zeiss glass is 'old' formula, I'm not shooting digital, and I like the look of older photographs! :-) So if it's not the latest greatest lens forumlation is not a huge problem for me.

Anyway, I'm just rambling out loud.

Sure, I'd love a Leica, and could afford a body no problem. But I'd never be able to justify the premium for the glass compared to other stuff I shoot - Contax, Nikon, etc. Maybe if I was a pro it would be different. At this point in my life I'd like to keep photography as a hobby. And 35mm will (for me) always be for snapshots, so I don't really think the difference between a blurry street shot on a Contax is going to be that much different than the same shot on a Leica. When I really want to go out and create something, I take one of the Rolleiflexes and shoot medium format.

Enjoy your weekend!

Cheers,
Thor






On 21. nov.. 2009, at 18.21, Jim Brick wrote:

Thor,

Check eBay completed sale listings and you'll see that these prices are below what this equipment typically sells for, plus, mine is all pristine and includes all of the original packaging. The 35/1.4-M has already sold at $2100. So for those folks that want Leica M, this is a bargain.

:-)

Jim


On Nov 20, 2009, at 8:09 AM, Thor Legvold wrote:


That aside, do people actually pay these prices?!? Seems pretty far out to me (Leica prices in general, not your asking prices specifically). Or are these simply status symbols for well heeled collectors (a la the 'anniversary' Rollei TLR limited production runs)? There appears to me to be a disconnect between the quality and the price. Great gear - absolutely. 2x-5x greater than anything else? Hardly....

Back to my trusty Contax IIa and Nikon FM3a...

A good weekend to all!

Thor


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