Fuji is the new Leica…
X-M1 (body only or with 16-50mm) – USA: AmazonUS / BHphoto / Adorama / DigitalRev / Pictureline EUROPE: DigitalRev / WexUK / PCHstore
XF 27mm – USA: AmazonUS / BHphoto / Adorama / DigitalRev / Pictureline EUROPE: DigitalRev / WexUK / PCHstore XC 16-50: WexUK / PCHstore
18 Responses
They also have a season of Stargate for $999. Think of the savings!
Can Leica compete with Fuji X camera’s you mean. 😛
Imho they both have their purpose, they’re not really competing.
The thing that everyone is so angry about is simply the lost potential.
So people find in Fuji the Leica that could have been. ‘s all.
+10
It’s my opinion that there’s little point in comparing Fuji and Leica. Ultimately they should serve the same purpose, the purpose of taking photographs, however, depending on which side of the bank your balance you are on, Leica has become overshadowed by the status symbolism of their products and hence there will always be the irrefutable belief that the product, its price point and the undeniable heritage are something of an automatic guarantee that they are in a class of their own. There is no doubt that some of the lenses are phenomenal and that there is an element of “rightness” about just holding a Leica that undoubtedly aids the attainability of superior and highly creative photographs. But, like all things, there is no guarantee that just being able to afford one will enable the user to lock into a “genuine talent” mode held secretly within the camera, at the end of the day it won’t be able to see a great photo where the user can’t. In my opinion Fuji surpasses Leica in many ways, if for no other reason, being value for money. In the hands of an average user it provides equal image quality at (in some cases) a fifth of the price.
But if other reasons are required then its worth looking at the uniqueness of the X-Trans sensor, the build quality of the lenses and their affordability, the constant upgrades to firmware and the sheer freedom it offers DSLR users to shed themselves of the need to carry hefty amounts of equipment. OK the last one can be said for Leica as well, except they are at a disadvantage in that the average DSLR user couldn’t afford to buy into Leica in the same way that they can with Fuji. Happily there is a need for both and a place for both, not all Leica owners are “more money than talent” photographers and not all Fuji users are destined for greatness and an invitation to join the ranks of Magnum just through buying a Fuji. They both meet the needs of the photographers who aspire to their products, whats important is the joy they both give to whoever is using them. I’m firmly committed to my Fuji XPro1 and feel no need to look elsewhere for the time being I’m confident that they will keep one step ahead of what I’m looking for in photography and certain that my creativity will flow from using a camera that releases me to experiment and play more with the core essentials of photography, those essentials that, up until now, has started to become devoid of pleasure. For my part, my XPro1 gave photography back to me. I dare say a Leica could have done the job equally as well, the only really important factor is that I’m having fun with photography again.
tl;dr
Short version: Yes.
Lol, get over yourself. Fair point, it was a lengthy thread. You have your own views and you expressed them. You could just have easily done that with your own thread without your arrogant response to mine.
A well put together piece with much I would agree with. Several points spring to mind.
Firstly we don’t need a ‘new’ Leica. the original is doing very nicely.
Secondly, why do (some) Fuji owners and users feel the need to make the comparison anyway? I’m on my 7th. leica and 3rd. Fuji X cameras at the moment. Both have strengths, both have weaknesses, I don’t feel the need to have a “My other cameras a Leica’ sticker on the Fuji.
Thirdly, camera ownership isn’t a competition. We don’t get marks for the camera we own. There is plenty of room for both companies in the marketplace.
Fourthly, while Fuji have obviously embraced the ‘Leica aesthetic’ in camera design, so have many others in the past and currently. Contax, Nikon and even Canon made rangefinders, some of which were excellent. They (and their owners) never felt the need to be (and own) the ‘new Leica’
Finally, the Fuji X system is excellent in its own right. It has no need to stand comparison with anything else and indeed Fuji themselves have never pushed any kind of ‘new Leica’ image. They make retro styled cameras with high-tech interiors and try to marry the best of the old with the best of the new. As time passes they succeed more with this and I hold out great hopes for the future development of the system. They make great lenses, which is always a help and once they get over their desire to over noise reduce, the sensor and the lenses should produce images that have the potential to be one of the best, if not the best out there. I’ve always thought a lot of Fuji owners are too defensive about the system, when in fact they should celebrate what it can do. One of the best high ISO systems you can buy, very good jpgs. and a classy build quality, which while still some way short of Leica is pretty good for a mass-produced camera. Rather than see the system as a rival or competitor to the red dot, I very much see it as a camera that shares a respect for a tradition of cameras that seemed consigned to history only a few years ago. I would be sad if Leica disappeared, but then I would also be sad if the Fuji X system disappeared. I’m just glad we have both.
There you go. A piece about Leica without mentioning the price. Ooops!!
Well said – thank You! And now lets all go out and enjoy photography for what it is and brings to all of our lives….
They way things are going I think Sony has a better chance than Fuji … but for BS pricing, I guess Fuji with the M1 or the 27mm, is getting close 😉
i think xm1 will kill sony if the potential buyers are mostly SOOC jpeg user.
Could be … but the RX1/R is really nice design and has a big fat “Carl Z” on the lens and apparently they are going FF is a really big way. The brand power alone is awesome; cameras, TV’s, mobiles, consoles. The design is really high class.
The M1 is nice too … my take is that Fuji have hobbled it to differentiate against the existing X cameras and this will not turn out well for them. Like the XF1, awesome camera, but needs two hands to operate … and the SOOC crowd don’t really want that. The M1 has no level sensor (also used for panorama shots, what are they thinking, pano is big feature), and it has the old sensor, AND its priced as if it were almost a E1!?!
Sony, meanwhile, is going mad with larger sensors in smaller cameras and making the established brands look a little silly. And the have the big CZ on the lens … can Fuji really compete against all of that with retro style and a different sensor?
Leica, on the other hand, has near 60 years of M system. Most of the Ärger is envy … because those 60 years are worth something that most people can’t easily afford – but over the longer term probably represents better value than that Fuji or Sony.
The M1 looks nice, but then so did the XF1 and eventually I did not buy that. I can’t help but think Fuji is pushing on a piece of string at the moment … and putting the x100s sensor in an XP2 as the next step will not be enough I fear. The competition is RUNNING away of into the distance.
I wonder — is this some kind of money laundering scheme?
Well spotted, 10k is the magical limit … perhaps that explains Leica pricing 😉
Its a place holder price. This is often done when there is no stock or they have not set a final price yet. Its pretty much an industry standard. Lots of stores do this.
good price. it’s just under my $10,000 limit. i refuse to pay more than $10k for a camera
There is so much to agree with here. I went through the struggles with the Leica M8 & 9 as they entered the digital world but, had fun with the whole experience…the distinctive images created by those magnificent lenses and those wonderful machines. Then, I began to have my own struggles with eyesight and the manual focus lens. A trip to Israel and Jordan created 3000 images with virtually half of them out of focus. I necessarily left Leica for the bulk of Canon and autofocus. Then, came Sony’s Nex-7…ah, small, light, autofocus. And, THEN, came the X-Pro 1 offering for me much of the Leica experience…distinctive images created by those magnificent lenses and a wonderful machine…with a measure of SLR functionality. Like Mel, the fun has returned to my photography. I simply can’t wait for what Fuji has in store for us in the X-Pro 2 and other adventures down the road. Sadly, it would appear that my Leica friends have a long wait for a camera with the capabilities of almost any Fuji X…not fun!!
They always have those kind of prices on the pre-orders as they don’t know the final price yet but want to place the item up already for people to see and get interest.
+100000000000000000000000