THE LEICA. What’s so special about it?
As Leica, here I am referring to Leica M.
I want to write what is so special about it, and why no other camera matches that specialty. The Leica M is one of the costliest camera on the market right now. For the comparison, pro level full-frame DSLR or Mirrorless Camera with some of the best lenses are somewhat cheaper than Leica M and its standard lens.1Sony A9 with 35mm f/1.4 = ₹5,17,980/-
Leica M with 35mm f/1.4 = ₹8,23,502/- Also, they offer more features than Leica M. Yet, it is the costliest of them all. What makes it so?
Pros usually don’t buy a Leica M. Their first preference is always that pro level DSLR or Mirrorless Camera. It means that for practicality and utility, Leica M is on a down side against the Pro cameras. Surprising thing is – most of the customers of Leica are amateurs. I know, it does not make sense. The Pros click more than a million photograph with their camera, and the average amateurs click at most fifty thousand. If you apply economics, it is very easy to understand that clicking a photograph with Leica M is 20 times costlier than other pro level camera (that too with less of a technology).
I am a numbers guy, so I ran-checked features and tech. The only significant number the Leica M surpassed every other pro level camera was price only. This doesn’t make sense.
Few reasons I can think of. First is the Leica Lenses. No other lens can create the micro-contrast the Leica lenses create. Also, they are one of the few sharpest lenses available on the market. This we can say as advantage. But don’t be mistaken, there are other lenses on market which are on par with Leica Lenses.
The Leica Lenses are handmade. They are produced by artisans. To create something handmade, it takes unmatched efforts and unmatched human precision to achieve perfection. Lenses can not afford incorrectness.
But… one might argue that if precision is the ultimate aim, handmade or machine-made, what difference does it make. Why pay more when you can get the same thing? End product, precision, matters.
Then what’s so special? Lenses? Handmade? German? Heritage? Other cameras match this too. As a matter of fact, Leica is vulnerable to the speed of technology. It updates infrequently, and the updates are minor tweaks rather than revolutionary. This doesn’t make sense. Leica is a mad argument. Pros don’t buy it, mostly amateurs (actually Madmen) buy it. So does the price justify for the Madmen?
The answer lies in the question itself. It is only Madmen who pay extravagance. Many think they seek materialism, but I don’t think that’s true. To the Madmen, any price justify if it fulfills one condition. The only condition Madmen seek is the Zest for Life! Leica breathes that Zest for Life! And it justifies the price.
I don’t think anything more is needed to say. Arrivederci…