St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

Wabbit Loc: Arizona Desert

Hey Doc ...... I knew there was a reason

KeithF199 Loc: Frisco, Texas

Very impressive, master craftsmen and women at their best. Thank you.

Tom G Loc: Atlanta, GA

The M9 Digital (body only) costs $8K. Plus lenses from $2K to $7K. Whew that's a lot of money for the "Red Dot".
The Canon 5D Mark iii is $3.5K body only). Including a 24-105 lens it's $7.8K.
So, how much better is a Leica than a Canon? Maybe 00.001% better? Maybe not.
Easy decision for me.

PlushToy Loc: Nebraska

Great video thank you.

Turbo Loc: Raleigh, NC

The Canon 5D MkIII is $3.5 K ( body ) with a 24 -105 it is $4.2K, not 7.8

Tom G Loc: Atlanta, GA

My mistake. An even better deal though. (Math was not my strong subject).

john901 Loc: Lancaster, PA

You have, obviously, never closely examined a Leica camera. This is the finest metallurgy and precision workmanship you will ever see. It is ridiculous to mention Canon in comparison.

Don't get me wrong, Canons are fine cameras and excellent picture takers. That is not the issue. It is fit, precision, metal quality and finishing, a level of manufacturing excellence that is unsurpassed. In former days when I was more closely associated with the situation, a worker served an apprenticeship of several years before he or she was rated "qualified" to assume a finishing position.

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

Remember it isn't the camera, it is the person using it.

Tom G Loc: Atlanta, GA

You are right john 901, I have never inspected a Leica closely. But I do understand metallurgy, machining tolerances, and quality manufacturing. And, Leicas are probably the best camera ever made. I'll concede that without argument.

But please explain the metallurgical superiority of the Leica, is it vacuum degassed titanium, platinum, or maybe iridium, what?

And to what tolerances do Leica craftsmen work, are they 00.001mm, 00.0001mm, or unbelievably 00.00001mm?

And manufacturing excellence, like what?

The real question that I have is: How much better is a Leica than the best Canon or any other high quality camera, 10.0%, 1.0%, 00.1%, 0.01% better?

Leicas are mainly for the super rich and those who are image conscious, just like the Roll-Royce, Rolex, and the Duesenberg automobile of many years ago.

Sure Cartier-Bresson used a Leica but in his day there were few alternatives, and his choice was excellent. And the cost of Leica was probably no so exorbitant as today - I'm guessing here.

Yes, Leica is the best camera in the world, hands down. But is the "above and beyond quality" worth their price? And who can distinguish that without using a magnifying glass to view the results.

dawgtired Loc: Raleigh, NC

I own a Leica M9. I make a good living, but am far from super rich. I'm not image conscious either, as I drive a Volvo with about 400,000 miles on it. I own a Leica because of the simplicity of it. I don't want, nor do I need a lot of bells and whistles to make a photograph. I don' t want a portrait mode for example. I know how to manipulate the camera settings myself.

For me, I just got tired of carrying around a big Nikon with heavy Nikorr lenses. Everyone keeps saying, "It's not the camera, it's the photographer". I couldn't agree more, as I've seen more than enough poor photographs made with Leica cameras. However, that statement completely misses the point in my opinion. If you count pixels or look at the bokeh, then I do find a difference between how the different brands perform. Those factors were important to me, but the simplicity, the design, the quality, and most of all the lenses were what sold me. Oh those gorgeous lenses!!!

Wabbit Loc: Arizona Desert

If you actually understand all of the above you already know the answer, so why ask.

Mercedes in Germany promotes their automobiles this way ..... "it's not how fast you go, it's how you go fast"

rocar7 Loc: Alton, England

Leicas weren't prohibitively expensive once upon a time. My father had a half-share in a Leica before the second world war. He and his friend also did their own processing. The lens on the camera was removed to become the enlarger lens.