"Click If You Can Afford It" (New York Times)

<p>From yesterday's <em>Times</em>: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/20/fashion/leica-cameras-favored-by-celebrities.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/People/J/Jolie,%20Angelina?ref=angelinajolie">(link)</a></p>

<p>Emmy Rossum in the first picture is actually fiddling with a Fuji X100, not a Leica. </p>

<blockquote>

<p>"The rugged camera, hand-built in Solms, Germany, is still a pro’s tool. With a minimum of automatic features, it demands expertise to master.But it is also a luxury item, as evidenced by the special-edition Hermès models sold over the years. This past week, the company introduced its latest flagship model (simply called the M) at a splashy unveiling at the Photokina show in Cologne, Germany, with a list price of $6,950 for the body alone; lenses cost $1,500 to $11,000. - As an object, then, "<strong>the Leica is bling without the bling</strong>" - “Carrying a Leica around can be a little like driving a Bentley,” Mr. Holve said. “Just because you can afford it doesn’t mean you’re a good driver.” <em><strong>Alex Williams NY Times</strong></em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>Fascinating...</p>

<p>Ai Larter and Dqkota Fanning are sporting M6s. Ms Fanning has used tape. These are not expensive cameras. </p>

I pre ordered my M last night - does this make me a celebrity?

<p>Philip, you are a celebrity. Please may I request your autograph? I would like to see it on fleabay and make some money to buy a new Bessa. Thank you, kindly!</p>

<p>Now we know where KEH gets their <strong>BGN</strong> M's.</p>

<p>Thanks for the reminder. I've got to pre-order my M too before all those cameras get snapped up by Hollywood. </p>

I am going from the M8 to the new M I skipped the M9 (and also the M7)

<p>In the days of film, we would discuss the subtle but evident advantage of going from film A to film B of similar ISO. That was fine, as we only had to upgrade by a few dollars per roll, if that, to get the improvement. Going from an M9 to an M is a $7000 expense (maybe only 2 or 3 thousand dollars if one trades in the 9, or 5 thousand with an M8) that I have no present need to invoke. My M9 files are quite large and detailed and I doubt the M would offer me very much better resolution (although for some the increased ISO would provide that magic). I may buy a $1200 NEX-7 and a few hundred dollars M lens adapter for the advantage of live view and its tiltable screen, but if I wished significantly better resolution, $3000 might be better spent on a 36b MP Nikon D300e. Leica is an expensive obsession. It's small incremental improvements from model to model are really designed to extract maximum revenue and not so much to favor the Leica photographer. </p>

<p>Being the grump I am I still think of it as being the M10. M indeed. Okay, I started with the M2, then the M4, then M6 and now M8. I've always skipped the "odd" ones. The camera formerly known as the M10 is now the M. Anyway, it's a pretty interesting camera to be sure. Good luck to those of you getting those early models. [Note: yes, I know the M2 actually came out after the M3. Details, details. LOL.]</p>