By a Former Leica Fanatic...

I had a couple of hours and came up with this:

 

"The Charge of the Leitz Brigade"

 

I

 

Half a grand, half a grand,

Half a grand upward,

Into the valley of Debt

Rode the $6,000.

"Forward the Leitz Brigade!

Charge for the lens!" he said.

Into the valley of Debt

Rode the $6,000.

 

II

 

"Forward the Leitz Brigade!"

Was there a clerk dismayed?

Not though the dealer knew

Someone had squandered.

Theirs not to make reply,

Theirs not to reason why,

Theirs but to spend and die.

Into the valley of Debt

Rode the $6,000.

 

III

 

Canon to right of them,

Nikon to left of them,

Sony in front of them

Credit cards melting;

Gazed at with shock and awe,

Boldly they spent and well,

Into the jaws of Debt,

Into the mouth of hell

Rode the $6,000.

 

IV

 

Flashed all their money bare,

Flashed as they felt despair

Buying the cam'ras there

Charging an arm and leg!

All the world wondered.

Plunged into bankruptcy-broke

They almost had a stroke

Crosseyed and fussin'.

Bank account is now a joke

Savings all squandered.

Then they rode back, but not

Not the $6,000.

 

V

 

Canon to right of them,

Nikon to left of them,

Sony behind them

Tortured and lured them;

Cam'ras all digital,

Put on a pedestal.

They that had spent so well

Came through the jaws of Debt,

Back from the mouth of hell,

All that was left of them,

Left of $6,000.

 

VI

 

When can their Debts all fade?

O the wild charge they made!

All the world wondered.

Honour the charge they made?

Honour the Leitz Brigade?

Not with $600!

Walking around Manhattan last Sunday I was amazed by the number of Leica photographers wandering around. Old and young, they were photographing everything in sight, probably spurred along by great weather. Some were even using old screw mount lenses on M cameras. Let's face it, Leica sales look good regardless of price.

... "The Charge of the Leitz Brigade" ...

Although quite clever, I have to say inaccurate. Leitz hasn't been in business for almost 40-years; when they were building cameras, they generally only out-priced Nikon and Canon by about 20%.

 

Nothing like Leica today!

Leitz, like the Zeiss Stiftung and VEB Pentacon and others, live on forever in our hearts and minds.

 

They can try to change the names, but we know that it's still the Sears Tower.

 

Nice poem :)

In the time of horse charges the light brigade was no match for machine guns,

 

Leitz mechanical prowess was no match for robotic plastic, so morphing into a fashion -trade-accessory still helps to shift their lesser merchandise-

 

Nevertheless their optics remain cosistently highly desirable. Although their useless digital -camera-trendy equipment frippery can only be avoided by using silver halide.

 

p.

About 15 years ago, we had a limerick competition here. Really funny, like this great parody

It's "Charge of the Light Brigade" and Charge For the Leitz Brigade. I never understood why people pay so much for new Leicas and lenses. At least with the Leica film cameras you have to buy it once. As long as their film and the means to process it, they basically last your life time.