Do people recognize your Leica M?

PJRiley · 03-25-2008

I have followed with interest the threads on street photography and candid RF shooting in general...do strangers on the street come up and ask you about your Leica? Or, is the 'Leica mystique' fading in an age of silver digital point and shoots?

sepiareverb · 03-25-2008

I had somebody at the Post Office the other day ask me about the MP3, first time I've had interest in what kind of camera I was using instead of why I was shooting. It was kind of nice.

Brian Sweeney · 03-25-2008

On a recent trip to Williamsburg, Va- Five people came up to me and asked about the Leica.

marke · 03-25-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Sweeney

On a recent trip to Williamsburg, Va- Five people came up to me and asked about the Leica.

Brian, you must have run into the "Williamsburg Leica Club"!

Keith · 03-25-2008

I've never once had a comment about any Leica I've ever been using but strangely had the occasional comment asking about the Ikon. When I used to use my Fed 2 a lot more there were often queries about that and when you told them it was a Russian camera from the fifties they were doubly fascinated and always wanted to touch it!

This current lack of attention is annoying ... I'm going to start carrying my Crown Graphic around!

etrigan63 · 03-25-2008

90% of the people ignore the camera (they are wondering about the weirdo behind it)
05% ask if it is digital
03% ask if it is film
01% tell me "nice old-school camera"
01% ogle at the Leica.

marke · 03-25-2008

Since getting my first Leica about a year ago, I think I've had a total of three people recognize it as a Leica. One of them was a young woman, who made a comment as she walked by with her boyfriend. She couldn't have been more than 20 years old, so that kind of surprised me.

tbarker13 · 03-25-2008

Every so often it occurs. But I can't really say it was all that different 10 or even 20 years ago.
Generally the comments (whether I've been using an M3 or an M8) run along the lines of: "Oh, look at that old camera. Does it still work?"

tbarker13 · 03-25-2008

oops. double post.

principe azul · 03-25-2008

Yes, a few. I'd read threads like this before I got a Leica, and I thought it was just Leica lore, but yes, it really does happen!

They've all been blokes, natch, but none of them have been Wetzlar snobs or asph snobs or anything. :-) Some just like pure manual gear (mine's an M4), some have them or had them, but I've found only people who knew what they were came up and talked.

It's realy quite pleasant, living in an anonymous city, to end up chatting to a complete stranger about what films they use, what photographers they like and so on.

Keith · 03-25-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by tbarker13

Every so often it occurs. But I can't really say it was all that different 10 or even 20 years ago.
Generally the comments (whether I've been using an M3 or an M8) run along the lines of: "Oh, look at that old camera. Does it still work?"

That reminds me of a very strange incident at a camera fair of all places. I had just got my M8 and was wandering around taking a few pics when a guy came up to me and looked at the camera, recognised it as a Leica and commented that it was good to see someone still using film!

erikhaugsby · 03-25-2008

No, but I recognize theirs!

jayjee · 03-25-2008

Yeah, I usually get the "nice old school camera" thing with my M3 and the "that's a weird lil' camera" by the musicians I shoot with my M6.

One time I was shooting Jeff Garlin and he commented on it, he has a Leica of his own.

To throw a curveball in here, waaaaaaay more people comment and oogle at my Hasselblad 500C/M than anything else I've ever owned!

julianphotoart · 03-25-2008

Only one person has ever come right out and made a comment. He was an elderly security guard at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, CA. He looked like someone who had done something else when he was younger.

myoptic3 · 03-25-2008

Only once. It was when I was out w/ a pristine M3 w/ a Dual Range and the chrome Leica lens cap. That thing looked beautiful. But the camera that always got remarks was my Canon A-1 w/ a 50 1.4 lens. There was just something about that black body, red dot, and blue lens coating that got your attention. For sure, they don't make cameras like either of these anymore. Nearly all of the time people never give my cameras a second look. They just usually look annoyed.

wontonny · 03-25-2008

Nope. People in "The OC" aren't very cultured.

dof · 03-25-2008

Yes, people do comment on it. The exchanges typically run along the lines of those who think it is a "cool old camera" and those who know what it is and admire it. Oddly, more women than men have approached me about it. Must be a west coast thing.

As an aside, I get about the same number of comments when I carry my FM2 around. However mostly they are from people who used to have one and remember it fondly.

ZorkiKat · 03-25-2008

Quickly heard in passing, when seen with an 'unusual camera' (Leica and other rangefinders included) : "Are you a lomographer?" :P

thomasw_ · 03-25-2008

I get asked about my Ms all the time.

Athos6 · 03-25-2008

I once approched a guy with an M6 on Capitol Hill in Seattle. He looked as if he was going to run away screaming "its mine, its mine." I was with my wife, I don't look thugish, and I wasn't rude, but he looked seriously uncomfortable that I noticed his M6. It was funny.

My Kiev-88 drew attention, as did my Balda folder. My F3Hp draws attention from photogs and babyboomers.

George Bonanno · 03-25-2008

Never with an M camera.

Although recently I was shooting a girl in a Chelsea club stairway with my IIIf and the Imarect finder attached. She said "I feel like I'm being examined by my doctor" but she kept on posing and I kept on snapping.

Aside from that instance people are not concerned about my camera type. They just like having their picture taken. I've never to date encountered an uncomfortable situation taking pictures in public. My guess would be that maybe some of you look or act creepy when taking snapshots resulting in undue dialog.

sienarot · 03-25-2008

I've never been stopped by anyone, but I did notice one guy recognize my M3. You could tell he was very excited to see it, but never struck up any small talk with me. Now my Hassy is a conversation starter when I'm out and about!

edho · 03-25-2008

Never stopped and asked by anyone. General public in Hong Kong don't recognize(or don't know) what Leica M is. They only know about digital cameras(Nikon, Canon.........etc). Non-photographers think that all people use digital nowadays, while photographers only care if their digital gears are the most updated models. Even though they see the red dot, they will think it is a Leica D-Lux............. something. It seems that it is hard for them to understand/share why someone still use film cameras. Kind of sad.

It only happened once that a middle-age guy saw my silver MP and stopped for 0.5 second looking at it. But he left without saying a word. Then it happened once that I was stopped by a few guys, not because they could recognize it was a M3 I was holding, but because they wanted to stop me shooting in their market place. It was a very rude and unpleasent experience.

Like it or hate it, this is Hong Kong.

DavidC · 03-25-2008

I was lugging a Canon P and 35/2,8 and a museum lady in Taiwan said: Is that a Leica? I had to admit it was a Canon. No one else has asked anything about the camera I use, but I see very few rangefinder users, especially of the Leica/Canon type.

lemalk · 03-25-2008

Never.
My M5 absolutely gets ignored.

Curiously, people freak out over my LC1. They come up & ask if it's a film camera. An Australian gentleman came up to me because he thought it was an M8. Strange.