Hi Jono,

I (mis-?) understood the reference “(Leitz Canada)” ..in those brackets.. to be – as is normally the case here on Macfilos – the credit for the photograph. As in “(Image Jonathan Slack, reproduced with permission)” under one of your pics in the article ‘RocknRoll Straps rescue the new Panasonic Lumix S5 II with its slots instead of lugs’.

I’d have realised that it was simply a ‘Leitz Canada’ lens if the caption read “The Leica M6 2022, with 50mm (Leitz Canada) Summicron”.

I think the rest of my comment ..”I’m looking forward to Ford re-making the Model T so that I can hand-crank the engine..” etcetera.. still stands.

Yours with best wishes, David.

HI David
I quote:

“The caption to the 1st photo shows: “The Leica M6 2022, with 50mm Summicron (Leitz Canada)” ..but as far as I can see, Leitz Canada now makes circular saw blades, not cameras.”

. . . and then you carry on from that observation.

But Claus only said his M6 was made in 2022, and 50mm Summicrons were made by Leitz in Canada for many years.

. . . which seems to make the rest of your post pretty beside the point?

All the best
Jono

Dear Mr. de Kruiff,

thank you for your kind words and it is a pleasure to meet a reader of my own website here! And let me assure you: I don’t think it’s the fault of the engineers that things turned out the way they are now (I wanted to be one myself, and I still have to “engineer” things in my profession (apart from the inevitable medical requirements), so I can relate).
As to the “not understanding” Gentleman, what irks me is not that he is of another opinion, but that he is very rude about it and doesn’t seem to realize it.
But yes, us being all Amateurs, we are allowed to indulge in “the process” itself, as fortunately there is no client awaiting results.
And I miss Erwin Puts.

All the Best,

Claus

You mean the to stone tablets

best Paul

Annotations and Clarifications:

“Nostalgia’s not what it was..” ..I’m sorry that this went over some people’s heads: it’s a (..well known?..) Joke. A bit like “Deja vu all over again”. It’s ‘self-referential’ ..it means that some people long for a previous version of nostalgia which was better than the one we have today. That some people – not anyone here, of course! – are never satisfied with what they’ve got, and long for an older, or re-hashed-older, version of it.

Glad I cleared that up! (Did I..?)

Mike says “..there is great demand for nostalgic products among the younger generation..” ..very true. But – unless I’m hopelessly wrong – I don’t think that Claus belongs to “..the younger generation..” and I get the impression that he’s more my age (..just turned 76 three days ago ..aaarrggh). So the appeal of a re-issued old Leica, for Claus, is, I think, NOT the same as its appeal to a “..younger generation”. Apples and Oranges.

“..I went to a store yesterday in Tokyo that has an entire floor devoted to selling vinyl records and the sales of this product are increasing and outselling a more modern one like compact discs?..” ..COMPACT DISCS? ..are “more modern”? ..they’ve passed and gone. They’re next in line for a nostalgia revival: music is downloaded or streamed nowadays ..keep up, Stephen. (Joke.)

There is no need to feel personally insulted, Claus. You decided that you wanted a new-old M6. Why be insulted if I choose not to? ..What suits me clearly doesn’t suit you, but why should you pay any attention to my opinion? If my opinion doesn’t match yours, then just ignore mine. My opinion carries no weight; I’m just one of many millions of people. What suits you, suits you ..you don’t need to pay any attention to me.

You asked a question, ““Was it a madcap idea to shell out the best part of €4,000..” etc ..and I responded. I’m not saying you were wrong, I’m just saying that in my opinion – because you asked – I think it’s daft. But I’m just a person with an opinion which doesn’t coincide with yours ..it’s not the end of the world; no need to feel offended. I like the photos of Monsieur Lartigue: I think they’re ‘innocent’, delightfully framed, convey a simple love of life ..whereas others may think them ‘self-indulgent’, reflecting a privileged lifestyle, inconsequential ..different people have different attitudes ..there is no ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ ..just individual opinions.

I like the photos which I take ..other people may think they’re rubbish. That doesn’t bother me, as I take them for me, not for others’ approval. I have no interest in what other people think of my photos, or my hobbies, or my photo equipment ..I enjoy it all for what simple pleasure it gives to me only.

Your delights and mine may differ ..so what? ..Don’t let that spoil your weekend.

..My views really are unimportant for you. Enjoy, instead, your own ideas ..and enjoy your M6!

Paul,

There are some of us (me included) who do not do “post processing”. At least not yet. For me, shooting jpegs only is a little like shooting slide film: you think before you shoot if you want to be pleased with the result.

One other comment: not to be argumentative, but Moses did know what to do; he “read the instructions” !

Thank you for your most interesting article regarding the new Leica M 6. I normally read your articles on your own website, to keep my German ship shape .I fully understand your fascination of owning a brand new mechanical Leica Camera. At my 14 years birthday I was presented by my mother a brand new Leica IIIg Camera which I still own and use . After only 48 years the shutter was worn out and must be repaired, which was possible. But how “disappointing” I thought Leica was for lifetime, as the ads said when I was a boy. As you can imagine this is som time ago.On the other hand my Leica M9 after 3 years needed a new sensor, and it can no longer be repaired.

I fully understand your frustration over modern technology which can’t be repaired ( In am myself partly responsible as I am an engineer) I have travelled around most of the world with my camera if there was something wrong with it I was myself able to repair it.. But people who are able to make such repairs are more and more rare. Repairing by myself my modern camera is not longer possible. If I take my digital camera apart I would be standing as Moses by the red Sea and not knowing what to do because I could not get any spare parts.

The gentleman who don’t understand your fascination on the fully mechanical camera and the other older mechanical things , ( he may think it would be more appropriate with an app on his smartphone)is probably not teknical educated and do understand the term technische Schönheit it’s common in your language and in my language.

if I was a professional photographer I would use digital cameras because it functions, it’s cheap and it’s quick. I believe that most of the readers of this block are amateurs and do photography for fun. As amateur I am interested the process , it is not the results which are the most important part.

The main difference between digital photography and photography with film is that you are forced to think think forward .In digital photography you don’t have to think, you have to correct your mistakes in some kind of software. I fully understand why the late Erwin Puts switch back to film photography.

I hope you will continue to write your interesting articles on your website.

Yours sincerely

Paul de Kruiff

As Stephen says, there is great demand for nostalgic products among the younger generation. For several years, Leica M6 “classics” have been growing in popularity among young film enthusiasts. So much so that prices of these last-century models have grown apace. It’s not uncommon to see £3,000-plus price tags for well-presented M6 and M6TTL models, so the leap to a new M6, as described by Claus, is not all that great.

Answering your point, Martin, I believe there will always be nostalgic interest in products of yesteryear, often products made just before one was born. I have this feeling about old cars and motorcycles, not to mention old cameras, and I still keep a couple of manual typewriters on a shelf in my office. They come in very useful for filling forms, and I often get one of them down, stick in a sheet of paper, and type randomly as a perverted form of relaxation. The deep path of the keys, the familiar old clack-clack-clack, and the perambulating carriage can be thoroughly therapeutic. Each to his own.

Nostalgia has been very strong with my generation (Called baby-boomers in the USA).

But we are dying out. Will later generations take up the nostalgia mantle? Have they already?