A big day at Leica yesterday… The famous German camera maker announced the new Leica M Monochrom ($8,000), the new X2 ($2000), and the new 50mm Summicron ASPH ($7200) along with a whole host of typical and tasteless special editions. As a diehard Leica fan, I find myself incredibly disappointed. It seems as though Leica is quickly becoming more and more focused on fashion and upscale retail rather than art and photography. It’s a shame…
In any case, you can get details on the new products here.
Let’s get this out of the way first. Fifty-bones is too damned expensive for a key chain bottle popper. Even so, I love the design aesthetic and the work behind the limited edition “Respect” bottle opener. In fact, I like a lot of things about the maker of this little jewel.
Details here.
I love photography. I’m not all that great at it, but I love it. What I don’t dig on is carrying around a camera. For years, I lugged around a Nikon DSLR plus lenses for work and grew to loathe the logistics of taking pictures. And then, compact cameras started to get really capable. Before I knew it, I had gotten rid of all my DSLR cameras and moved into mirrorless cameras like the Leica M8 and then the new Fuji X-Pro 1. Both are compact and both take incredible images. In fact, I doubt I’ll ever own an SLR again. I’ve, quite literally, seen the light.
If this works as well as it could… Well then, it’s absolutely brilliant. I use my iPhone/iPod in the car all the time and the dual interface mess it creates often sucks. And even if you do have a car with Sync or something of the like, the car’s interface can never quite live up to that of the iPhone. This little idea kicks the middle man in the ass.
I can’t help it. I love Filson… American Made and what not… This guy took a vintage “original briefcase” and made a camera bag out of it. Brilliant.
If you are in the market for a camera bag, hold your horses. We’ve got lots of camera bag reviews in the works.
Check this out… A .45 ACP super compact made out of titanium. Get yours here.
My everyday in-ear headphones are made by Shure and cost me almost $300 a couple of years ago. They are magnificent instruments with sound quality second to no headphone I’ve ever owned. Hell, I might even go as far as to say that they are worth every penny I spent on them.
