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Leica cameras are incredible. Hold one in your hand and you’ll have a tool that wants to become one with you as you walk around and photograph the world as it happens around you. They are some of the best meditation devices that we’ve used when it comes to the walking meditation that street photography can be. If you read around the web online, some folks will say that you can only be good as a photographer if you own a Leica, shoot Kodak Portra 400, and show your images off on social platforms for likes. That previous statement may not be true — but is it really? Of course, we’re joking, but there’s surely a trend amongst Leica shooters and the passion that their cameras help the photographers exude into their images. But prices have changed — and is Leica really a luxury brand anymore?
High End Cameras are the Same Price
Hear us out: Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, and Hasselblad all have cameras that are all pretty expensive. Make no mistake, you’re going to be paying thousands of dollars for so many cameras. The crazy thing is that all of them are more or less using the same parts in different combinations and with their own unique tweaks. You might say that the Leica SL3s has the same megapixel count as your Nikon Z6 III. But if they’re all using variants of the same parts, what makes them different?
Modern marketing would say that it’s all about the tech. Hasselblad says that it’s because their cameras are medium format and have a different experience. Fujifilm often says that it’s about medium format and their innovations. Sony puts it all into their unique tech. Canon’s cameras are often second behind their lenses. And Nikon’s cameras are all about their perforamnce in real life. But the truth is that not all of us are all about the tech. What all of it is doing is making it easier for the photographer to just be replaced and to use less of the human mind to shoot photos.
The solid truth is that the technology has gotten so much better, but photographers still take photographs of landscapes in similar ways to photographer 15 years ago. The same goes for portraits. In certain cases, the new cameras allow us to do things that we’ve never done before when it comes to wildlife photographer. However, none of these brands have done much to push photographers to really make different images.
But what if you don’t care about the tech?
In fact, most photographers who work as photographers for a living don’t really care too much about the tech. And with that in mind, it’s more about the build quality and reliability.
The Build Quality
You’re actually getting better build quality for the price. Leica’s cameras have IP durability ratings and therefore also have the authenticity to back it up. But many of the Japanese camera brands don’t do that. Instead, they’ll say that their gear is weather resistant, but they won’t even back it up in their warranty. How is that not false marketing?
Mirrorless cameras aren’t like the way that DSLRs were. They often fall apart faster and recieve support for only a short period of time until the brand wants you to trade up and buy something new.
No Real Competitors
No one really makes cameras in the same way that they do, such as the M series. And while Leica’s sales might be learning more into what the SL eries offers to working photographers, lots of folks don’t consider them to be real Leica cameras. If we’re thinking that way, then the only real camera brands would be Canon and Sony.
I mean, how is a Nikon camera really a Nikon camera if they’re using Sony components and Tamron glass for their lenses? So, if there are no competitors for the M series, how are they luxury?
