Leica has invited selected journalists and the great and the good to a “photographic fest” on January 18 and 19 at headquarters in Wetzlar. The apparent trigger for this event is the welcoming of a new addition to the Leica Hall of Fame, Joel Meyerowitz. The invitation highlights a quote from Meyerowitz: “Carrying a Leica is like a free pass for the unexpected.”
All this is seems a bit over the top and rather extended — two days after all — for a Hall of Fame event. Clues lie in the word unexpected and the use of das Wesentliche (the essential), more often than not associated with product announcements. Could there be a hidden agenda, perhaps not unadjacent to the arrival of a long-awaited new camera? Mmmm, I wonder…..
If it is a new M then I wonder how long it will take before the bulletin boards fill with posts suggesting improvements for yet another in the M line
About two seconds after the announcement I imagine! It’s a never-ending circle of wants and disappointments. I think an M3 with a digital back is the ultimate desire among rangefinder rangers (but then they would want 35mm framelines).
The guys on the Leica Forum will be working themselves into a lather with speculation. I will wait until any new camera appears and then judge it as it is. If it is a new M, I am hoping for some ergonomic improvements over the M240 line.
As for Mr Meyerowitz, congratulations to him. I expect that, unlike a certain Mr Zimmerman, he will actually turn up to collect his gong.
William
I hear there is new ‘M’ camera coming ….
…Conscious of the clamour for thinner, smaller models, Leica are replacing the rangefinder with a clip on accessory viewfinder. It will be different to the models used on the M240 and the TL systems, and a snip at £4000.
There…
I have set my expectations to a level commensurate with that of a Leica user, so now I know I will not be disappointed with the ‘unexpected’.