But it's mot than a luxury item. It's a camera revered by pro and semi pro photographers because of its history in the hands of some of the preeminent photographers of the 20th century.
From Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank, Winogrand, Friedlander, Nachtwey, etc. Lots of up and coming photographers want to imitate the masters of the past and present and see they use Leicas --so even though photography has changed to them the manufacturer of choice remains Leica, if they can afford it. So it's a bit of traditionalism.
>But it's mot than a luxury item. It's a camera revered by pro and semi pro photographers because of its history in the hands of some of the preeminent photographers of the 20th century.
Actually only the history of the camera and the company is revered by pros. The camera not so much, and hasn't been for at least 2-3 decades.
And the people you describe were mostly "art photographers" and high-end story photographers for LIFE magazine, NG and such, not the typical (99.99%) of photojournalists and photographers in the field.
Here's how Leica describes their expensive new Leica M-P digital camera: "For connoisseurs who appreciate the details." Not photographers, "connoisseurs."
From Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank, Winogrand, Friedlander, Nachtwey, etc. Lots of up and coming photographers want to imitate the masters of the past and present and see they use Leicas --so even though photography has changed to them the manufacturer of choice remains Leica, if they can afford it. So it's a bit of traditionalism.