| I have always lusted over Leica cameras and lenses. All of my favorite photographers have used them at some point or another. I finally got a great deal on M6 with a 50mm Summicron. Now I have a M9P. For a while, Leica was the only camera company to produce cameras with the same ergonomics of older film cameras. It may have been stubbornness on their part, but I loved the fact that I could have a digital camera that allowed me to control aperture with my left hand, change shutter speed with my right, and have all lenses have focus markings on the top. I feel that Leica is in danger due to companies such as Fuji, who are creating cameras that have even more options for control than ever before. Want manual focus markings? There are lots of new lenses from Fuji and Olympus that allow you to shoot with auto focus, then pull the barrel back and enter manual mode so you can do things like zone and hyperfocal focus. Want to change aperture on the lens and shutter speed on the top? The xt1 and x100s both have it. Sorry for hating, but if Leica's answer to cameras such as the Fuji xt1 is to throw up a camera resembling a Sony NEX 3 with a "better touch screen" is kind of a joke really. They're coming from totally left field with this one. They can try and hold on to their legacy of amazing lenses such as the Noctilux, but Zeiss(sony) and Sigma are doing a lot of innovation on fast glass, and will soon probably come out with a 50mm f/.95 or faster lens just to shove it to Leica. You can view my photos at "moarbokeh" on flickr if you're curious. |