Video: Why Leica M is so unique

Just to add a real-life postscript to this, one of my friends/acquaintances (who's been referred to in my other posts before) who has a lot of extra spending cash and refers to himself as a "semi-pro photographer," recently asked me about my opinion of the Leica M9 after watching this same video. He's one of those guys who bought an large set of Canon L lenses and two pro bodies, ended up shooting things like family gatherings and such with them (making the most of the "semi-pro" status, of course), got bored, and then sold all of the Canon gear to buy the identical Nikon variants to see if it would "revive" his photography. So now the rangefinder foray. I explained to him how rangefinders work and how they differ from the digital SLRs he's been shooting with. His reply: "Okay, well, I don't mind shooting 'slower'. It's what I end up doing when I'm taking pictures for fun. In fact, I got a taste of that when I was messing around with camera apps on my iPhone and I actually didn't mind it that much!" :p

Then I offer to lend him my Yashica Electro GTN so he can get a taste of rangefinder photography. He's elated. Picks up the camera, posts a picture of it on Facebook to show everyone he's now "into rangefinders" and loads it up with some drugstore film.

Two months pass without a word from him. I'm in China anyway, so can't really keep in contact. When I get back, I ask him how he's liking the Yashica. He wrote, "it's been fun, but I prefer an SLR. Will return the Yashica this weekend." Then I ask if he got any interesting photos with it. It turns out that in the two months he had he camera, he never shot more than one roll of film - and didn't even bother to develop it! "I don't recall taking pictures of anything interesting," he said. I don't know if I did him a favor by turning him off of the Leica M9 (by saving his wallet); at least he knows (I hope) that "a camera is only as good as the photographer behind it." So much for that Leica inspirational nonsense! :rolleyes: