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A Leica T Review

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71–80 of 105 posts

Re: A Leica T Review

#71

Allow me to preface this by saying that I currently own four cameras, two digital and two film. My digital cameras are a Fuji X100s and a Fuji X-T1 (I used to have a Canon 5D Mk II, but decided to go all in on mirrorless digital cameras). My film cameras are a Leica M6, and a Hasselblad 501C/M. I use all four cameras on a regular basis, and have made photos with each one within the last week. I love my Leica M6. It's…

Ken Rockwell has an amusing satirical essay on this subject:

The Leica Man: http://www.kenrockwell.com/leica/leica-man.htm

Re: A Leica T Review

#72

Allow me to preface this by saying that I currently own four cameras, two digital and two film. My digital cameras are a Fuji X100s and a Fuji X-T1 (I used to have a Canon 5D Mk II, but decided to go all in on mirrorless digital cameras). My film cameras are a Leica M6, and a Hasselblad 501C/M. I use all four cameras on a regular basis, and have made photos with each one within the last week. I love my Leica M6. It's…

Ken Rockwell has an amusing satirical essay on this subject: The Leica Man: http://www.kenrockwell.com/leica/leica-man.htm

That article might be tongue-in-cheek, but he's not exactly rational when it comes to Leica: http://www.kenrockwell.com/leica/recommended-lenses.htm

Nor is he a particularly reliable source.

Re: A Leica T Review

#73
post #54

The Leica T ($1850) + Summicron T 32mm ($1950) = $3800 The Sony A7 ($1499) + Zeiss 55m f1.8 Sonnar ($999) = $2498 Thats a differential of $1302 Now lets get a few things out of the way -- Yes the Leica is a 35mm equivalent and the Sony is a 55 mm equivalent. But I wanted to compare the best prime lens in each setup (in Leica T system, that is the only prime lens available so far) - The 55mm is arguably currently the…

Agreed across the board with the one caveat that the T does have the A7 beat on size (the leica is a bit longer, but thinner and more pocketable) and weight, though the A7 is quite small as well and the fact that it is as small as it is and has a full-frame sensor is still pretty incredible to me.

Sony has almost completely converted me to being a Sony shooter (previously I had almost all Canon gear).

I still use the Canon body I have when I need superfast phase detect autofocus, but if the next A7-alike has autofocus speed similar to the A6000 I might be all-Sony on bodies very soon. (I still have a lot of Canon lenses I like and use them on the Sony A7 with adapter, along with native FE 55mm, 35mm and the kit 28-70mm zoom, a bunch of old Olympus OM Zuiko glass, some Minoltas, Canon FD, etc.

Re: A Leica T Review

#74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the review was nicely written, but after seeing the sample photos it steered me more towards the Sony RX1

I'm really not trying to be negative but it was very poorly written and more of a love letter than anything else. "...the most hyped and anticipated camera I’ve ever seen" "...Leica partnered with Audi Design and the result is inarguably stunning." "...typical Leica. Simple and elegant." Simply put Leica digital cameras are not representative of value and are luxury goods, if that is what your after well you found yo…

Meanwhile, the important elements in the review, like image quality and results, tended to be along the lines of well, the RX1 is better, but... this is Leica!.

  The T may be painting with a smaller canvas than my 
  previous camera, the Sony RX1, but it’s still managing 
  to paint beautiful ones.

   Yes, the Sony RX1 does a superior job at capturing detail, but the Leica seems to have pretty good noise performance and renders images with wonderfully calm color.

  it does seem to suffer from inaccurate auto focus in
  poor light. I haven’t been too bothered as I’m coming 
  from the Sony RX1 and the Fuji X100 before that; both 
  known to lack in this department.
So why not, then, get the RX1 instead? Sure, it takes better photos, but it's not Leica, and so it "lacks soul".

And taking some of the pieces of the review together makes it seem even more ridiculously hagiographic:

  The T refuses to battle in the megapixel wars or 
  *include gimmicky features.* Everything about the 
  T is about removing the extraneous and getting the 
  best performance out of the materials at hand.

  The T even has built-in Wi-Fi and can connect with an 
  iOS device using the Leica T app. [really!?]

  Turning the power switch beyond the on position will 
  eject the *built-in flash.* [a small, P&S popup flash...]

  The strap connects to the camera using a *proprietary 
  locking pin* that simply clicks into the camera.

  As you may know, the Leica T is *hand polished for 45 
  minutes* before the final finishing stages.
No, no gimmicky features at all...

Re: A Leica T Review

#75

I think there's too much focus these days on what you can get for the money, and not what you can get. You have one life, why fill it with particle board and Chinese plastic smell? Why not save up and buy things that last. That bring joy to your life and enrich it. Why buy a three dollar Chinese screwdriver with an imprecisely cut point that strips every fifth screw, when for ten dollars you can get a precision cut,…

"Why not save up and buy things that last."

Camera bodies are pretty much the last thing I want to spend extra on so they "will last"; there's still so much more room for rapid improvement (just look at how Sony is killing it right now with sensor tech compared to nearly everyone else). When it comes to lenses and other stuff (camera and non-camera), I'd agree somewhat with your premise, but any camera body I buy currently I expect to have for only about 2-3 years before I upgrade.

Re: A Leica T Review

#76

How did this make it into "Hacker News" ?

I suspect that it appeals to hackers who have an appreciation for visual aesthetics. You know how dogs can hear sounds that humans can't? Well, some people can "hear" and appreciate the language of design in ways that maybe aren't apparent to everyone. I sometimes strain to hear this sort of thing and I can appreciate that perhaps some people don't "hear" it at all.

I see some people have down-voted you. I'm going it up-vote you because I believe it was a valid question, if maybe inelegantly put.

Re: A Leica T Review

#77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ken Rockwell has an amusing satirical essay on this subject: The Leica Man: http://www.kenrockwell.com/leica/leica-man.htm

That article might be tongue-in-cheek, but he's not exactly rational when it comes to Leica: http://www.kenrockwell.com/leica/recommended-lenses.htm Nor is he a particularly reliable source.

Ken Rockwell has a lot of things to say about photography for someone who does very little of it.

Though, to be fair, so do most of the famous professional photography bloggers: Steve Huff comes to mind.

The only prolific gear blogger I can recall having a solid body of work is Ming Thein.

Re: A Leica T Review

#78

Allow me to preface this by saying that I currently own four cameras, two digital and two film. My digital cameras are a Fuji X100s and a Fuji X-T1 (I used to have a Canon 5D Mk II, but decided to go all in on mirrorless digital cameras). My film cameras are a Leica M6, and a Hasselblad 501C/M. I use all four cameras on a regular basis, and have made photos with each one within the last week. I love my Leica M6. It's…

Not to mention Leicas were far more accessible in their heyday than they are now - there is a widespread misbelief that Leica has always been crazy-expensive, as a justification for their current prices. The Leica M3 was $288 USD in 1955. That's $2560 in today's dollars. New Leica bodies are $7000. The original pricing of the Leica, before they became a piece of jewelry, is in line with modern prosumer cameras, not t…

Reminds me of this article on the price of Rolex watches and how they have increased as Rolex watches have evolved from a professional tool to a luxury item. http://www.ablogtowatch.com/rolex-prices-past-60-years-revea...

Re: A Leica T Review

#79
post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm really not trying to be negative but it was very poorly written and more of a love letter than anything else. "...the most hyped and anticipated camera I’ve ever seen" "...Leica partnered with Audi Design and the result is inarguably stunning." "...typical Leica. Simple and elegant." Simply put Leica digital cameras are not representative of value and are luxury goods, if that is what your after well you found yo…

Meanwhile, the important elements in the review, like image quality and results, tended to be along the lines of well, the RX1 is better, but... this is Leica! . The T may be painting with a smaller canvas than my previous camera, the Sony RX1, but it’s still managing to paint beautiful ones. Yes, the Sony RX1 does a superior job at capturing detail, but the Leica seems to have pretty good noise performance and rende…

Right, it's like instead of a camera I could actually use and has things I need, like a viewfinder, all that was traded for a useless camera strap pin and an app that doesn't even work on the platform of smartphone I'm using.

Re: A Leica T Review

#80

Allow me to preface this by saying that I currently own four cameras, two digital and two film. My digital cameras are a Fuji X100s and a Fuji X-T1 (I used to have a Canon 5D Mk II, but decided to go all in on mirrorless digital cameras). My film cameras are a Leica M6, and a Hasselblad 501C/M. I use all four cameras on a regular basis, and have made photos with each one within the last week. I love my Leica M6. It's…

i realize you're not saying this, but in my view the writing, and the site in general, has an aesthetic which could only be described as 'digital hipster' aka insufferable elitism disguised by / given a pass by being young and pretty.

i counted at least 3 times the author was trying to rationalize deficiencies in the product, which is considerably more expensive than a macbook air. the author clearly holds apple as the bar, and this product doesn't even get near that bar.

i have a ton of audio/video/computer electronics and the only single piece of gear i've ever spent $2k on is a mac pro i bought in 2009 for work that i still use today and will probably use for 10 years. my huge plasma tv wasn't even that expensive. a pro-sumer camera (not a professional, working unit) will deliver nowhere NEAR that level of utility, even if it lasts 10 years.

cameras are also giant targets for theft, that's something to keep in mind as well.

having said all that, it sure does look awesome. that's probably good enough for a lot of people to buy it.

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