by Gavin Seim: I’ve given thought what I would say about Leica. I was even told I should not write about this. In the end decided that I would give my honest thoughts on this brand.

Let me first say that I’ve never owned a Leica personally. I’m fairly confident they make a good camera and I confess I have felt the draw of owning a Leica. Their fairly small, high end and retro. I’ve felt that voice that says “If you own me, you’ll be way cooler than you are now”. So while at PMA 09 I decided to stop by and give Leica the chance to convince me why I should pay more for one of their cameras.

I was escorted to the Leica PR guy who was more than a little defensive about the my question, which was essentially this. Why Leica? Why should we photographers spend 6k on a rangefinder body and 4k for a 50mm lens? Understand I don’t mind saving and paying thru the nose for gear that’s worth it. I wanted Leica to show me why theirs was.