>>3649225Okay, so, basically there are two reasons that people buy Leicas.
One, yes, is just for the aesthetics. They’re expensive status symbols, so there’s a certain class of people who buy them just to show that they can afford an expensive status symbol. You can tell these people by the fact that they never actually take photographs with them.
The other reason is that it offers a materially different shooting experience than a non-Leica camera. And in a lot of ways, it’s a “worse” shooting experience—far less automation, far fewer bells and whistles, no through-the-lens focusing and framing, ergonomics just one step better than a brick, it’s difficult and uncomfortable to use a telephoto lens and zooms (not counting tri-elmars) are basically off the table, etc. So it’s natural to wonder why someone would want to pay *more* for a camera with *fewer* capabilities.
The usual analogy thrown out is with a regular economy car vs. a sports car that’s more complicated and finicky. I made that analogy here:
>>3648226Another one would be a regular modern suburban home vs. a rustic cabin in the woods. Even if the cabin is smaller, lacks modern amenities, you have to chop wood to stay warm, etc, some people just prefer that life. It makes them feel more connected and present. It’s definitely not for everyone, but it’s definitely for some people. And there are people who have a regular house they stay in 99% of the time, but really enjoy taking the occasional weekend getaway to their cabin. And there are also people who would just buy a cabin because they saw some influencer talking about how fulfilling that simple rustic life is but then they’d never actually use it because simple rustic life is hard and there’s no indoor plumbing.
But don't confuse "some people only buy these as expensive fashion accessories" with "These are only expensive fashion accessories".
