Laughing while watching the camera reviewers genuflect to an old style compact camera dressed up nice. And moaning about Summer. And....

 

Noellia. In the living room. On the couch. 

And there they all are. The YouTube camera mavens. The Petapixel pundits. The various Leica store media pumps. To read them all in quick succession ("hold that thought!") one would think that Leica has single-handedly invented a whole new kind of camera never seen or heard of before. It's like the engineers at the world's preeminent camera and lens company sat around one day and said to each other:

"Goodness. We are getting so tired of making remarkable cameras based on a full frame format, using the best materials, and then topping off our recent achievements by also supplying our cameras with the very best menus and interfaces known to man. Let's get a bit jinky and try something a bit more down market. Let's invent a camera with a much smaller sensor. And with less resolution as well. We'll toss in the ability to do raw files to keep the picky people happy but we'll cripple it, like Sony does, by making it a 12 bit raw file instead of 14 bits of true color. We'll make the whole package small enough to fit in purses and into the pockets of men's "relaxed fit" Dockers pants. We'll use the same lens we supplied to Panasonic for years and years for one of their cameras, and we'll make sure the camera and lens say, "Leica" everywhere we can. Let's wrap its exterior to look like a miniature Q2 or Q3. Oh, and we'll further cripple it by finding a teeny, tiny battery for it and then charging $140 for additional teeny, tiny batteries ---- which everyone will eventually discover they desparately need more of. While we're at it why don't we charge something like $1,600 USD for it and then make it in China. Just to save a bit of cash..."

To which the marketing team responded: Brilliant. A small, crippled, camera with a so-so variable aperture, short zoom permanently welded to the front of the camera. The Vloggers will love it. But wait a second. Before we launch this let's "differentiate" our compact camera by making a bunch of very, very high dollar extra camera crap like we do for our $9,000 basic digital M rangefinder cameras. You know, $150 "custom" neck straps, $150 faux leather half cases, $90 shutter button extensions, a bolt on grip instead of just designing the camera to be ergonomic, and with these "necessary" accessories we can increase the margins per sale by 25-50%."

To which the engineers asked, "It's so obviously a cynical ploy. Will we be able to get people to buy them?

The response from marketing was immediate: "We put a red logo on the front and we'll have a waiting list for this product that goes on for years. Just like the rest of our cameras. By the time customers realize they just bought an iPhone competitor that doesn't text, make phone calls or have a really big, really nice screen we will have sold through the conventional camera models and be well on our way to tossing limited edition after limited edition into the market place. The beauty of all those limited editions is that no one ever shoots with them. They "collect" them. Which means we never have to honor warranties or deal with returns.  And, in fact, even if  we eventually have to discount the camera itself we'll make enough margin just on the batteries to keep us firmly in the black. Let's do it.

And so the Leica D-Lux 8 was born. And so a generation of Leica reviewers salivated and swooned. And all those people who could not afford the full frame, German cameras consoled themselves and convinced themselves to love the little camera by talking endlessly about the "Leica color science." And they were happy to be invited into the tribe. 

That's my cynical take about the new Leica camera which just today became launched. In Leica-Speak "launched" doesn't mean delivered. Or purchasable in the moment.  It means you are now invited to pre-order yours and wait for it. And wait for it. And wait for it. Still waiting for an SL3. The Q3s are still on backorder. Etc. Etc. Someday, long after you've paid to pre-order, you might finally get the joy of "un-boxing." If you do, please resist making another "un-boxing" video...

In my less cynical appraisal I think the Leica D-Lux 8 will be a fine camera for people who need or want a small camera that gives them good photographs without a lot of hassle. The perfect target market is my spouse. She has small hands and hates to carry around big cameras. When we travel she's happy just to bring along a Canon G15 camera and a handful of cheap Canon batteries. That cameras has a decent lens and a sensor that works fine in good light. Raw file capability. An optical viewfinder. Image stabilization and much more. I bought several of them five years ago for about $200 each, used. I bought several because they were going off the market and once I find something that works for someone in my family I tend to buy a back-up. And extra batteries. 

The D-Lux 8 has a much newer, bigger sensor, a good EVF, a nicer rear screen, and.... that's about it. The Canon menu isn't so complicated. The files look good provided there's enough light. Etc.

I'm sure the D-Lux 8 will out perform the cameras with smaller and older sensors. It's certainly pretty; if you like Leica's recent aesthetic choices. And really, $1600 isn't that much anymore. If I had no other cameras and only a passing or infrequent interest in photography I might certainly consider this camera. 

Instead, I'll just pull a Leica CL out of my desk drawer, pop an inexpensive Sigma 18-50mm lens onto the front and be much happier. Just sayin. Everyone's mileage will vary. That's just human nature. But the "gush fest" over the introduction of what is basically a seven year old Panasonic LX100 is a bit much. 

Hugh! Dude!! Please ---- hold that thought. 

other stuff

I bought another lens last week. I really didn't think I'd be buying any more lenses or cameras this year but a friend bought several 20mm and 21mm lenses to "audition" and decided to keep the high priced, German option and move the Sigma 20mm f2.0 Contemporary lens on along to a new owner. Specifically, he had me in mind. He knew that I'd spent a couple hundred bucks to buy the TTArtisan 21mm f1.5 lens for the L mount cameras and that I wasn't that excited about the lens. His Sigma 20mm was like new and in a box. I saved a couple hundred dollars buying it used. 

I've taken it out a couple of times but my enthusiasm for photography seemed to have hit a roadblock lately. Rebounding this week. Thankfully. 

The 20mm Sigma is as beautifully crafted as the other Sigma i-Series lenses I've bought over the years. The metal finish, metal hood and magnetic lens cap are all very cool. But cooler yet is the incredible sharpness of the lens even when used wide open. Since I've recently beaten myself into submission vis-a-vis accepting and using the 28mm focal length I guess I'll take a whack at making peace with this lens/  this focal length,  which is quite a bit wider. Why not? Lots of other people have made peace with weird, wider focal lengths --- why not me?

Apologies for lower frequency of content but...

...I've actually spent time this Summer practicing the business end of my craft. I've completed five multi-day projects since the first of May and while the projects are fun and the clients are nice it's still work. And work takes time away from the hobby side of my photographic addiction.

Then there is swimming which takes priority over blogging. Unless the blogging is about swimming...

But we'll try to keep things rolling.

It's hot. It's humid and we have the Saharan dust cloud settling in over central Texas. Probably not what the Chamber of Commerce wants to see broadcast. But there it is. Most of my friends have fled to the Southern hemisphere for Summer skiing. And one is off climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro with his sons. The rest of us are just sticking with the routine. Swim first thing. Outdoor projects in the morning. Long, light lunches, afternoon naps in the air conditioning with the ceiling fans spinning and much later dinners. It's a sound plan.