Excitement this Saturday morning in London. It's the first outing for the new Leica M-D and Adam Lee has come along as well to give us some film I input. We are here at Leica Store Mayfair borrowing an M-A to take out for the day. Comparisons later.

Rathbone Place in London’s West End, just west of Tottenham Court Road and north of Oxford Street, has something of a reputation among photographers. Not only is there the upstart, Park Cameras' London store, to delight visitors, further up towards Charlotte Street, is one of the capital’s gems: Aperture. I’ve spent many a happy hour chatting to Patrick and his colleagues against the backdrop of the cabinet of used Leicas and accessories. And next door is the TAP No.36 café, rumoured to have the best coffee in London.

This morning I set out to visit the South London Camera Fair at Sidcup, Kent, with the new Leica Monochrom (Typ 246) and 50mm Apo-Summicron round my neck. An ordinary sort of Sunday, but an extraordinary combination of camera and lens. After a couple of hours immersed in old cameras I made my way along the M25 in search of old and new motors—always to be found at the Brooklands Motor Museum.

For the past few years I have always bought my phones direct from Apple, without contract, and have assumed that it is the cheapest way to smartphone ownership. I am always suspicious of the carriers’ hire-purchase deals which are seldom the most cost-efficient solution. I buy new and sell after a year or two and the difference is my ownership cost. But what if I forget all about ownership and regard the phone as a rentable commodity?