Is Leica the Naim of Photography?

I tend to prefer shooting landscapes, so the "Q"'s 28mm 1.7 Summicron lens fits the bill pretty well. It really is a superb lens, and the camera itself is such a pleasure to use. The large full-frame sensor means you can crop an image substantially without too much worry. You should give one a try Graeme.

tonym posted:

I tend to prefer shooting landscapes, so the "Q"'s 28mm 1.7 Summicron lens fits the bill pretty well. It really is a superb lens, and the camera itself is such a pleasure to use. The large full-frame sensor means you can crop an image substantially without too much worry. You should give one a try Graeme.

Stop it...fingers in ears...lalalalala...

OK, I confess it does look like my perfect camera. The IQ looks gorgeous.

Damn!

G

Well to me Leica camera bodies  are good, and their lenses outstanding, but the equivalent of Naim in the photography world has got to be Hasselblad... it takes the whole process of creating images to another level rather than simply being a well engineered capturing tool. Also if you look at the company funding structures there are certain similarities too 

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

Well to me Leica camera bodies  are good, and their lenses outstanding, but the equivalent of Naim in the photography world has got to be Hasselblad... it takes the whole process of creating images to another level rather than simply being a well engineered capturing tool. Also if you look at the company funding structures there are certain similarities too 

I can't think of an affordable Hasselblad that would be the equivalent of, say, a Supernait, let alone an XS2. Hasselblad seems to be up there at Statement level - and is that typical Naim, or just an incongruity in the Naim range? But I do agree Hasselblads are marvellous.

Ok fair point... equivalent to Naim 500 Series and Statement Series then...

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

Ok fair point... equivalent to Naim 500 Series and Statement Series then...

So, the camera equivalents of Mu-so and Qb are............?

and Uniti..........?

and 282/250...............?

and 252/300.................?

and 552/500...............?

From DP Review...

A camera company making watches? That’s just silly. Why not pedal bins. 

I used to own a Fuji camera designed by Porche.

Very good it was too, but that was down to the Fujinon EBC lens.

SamClaus posted:

How about Naim watches? They should be good, with Naim's reputation for PRAT...

But not very practical.

Not powered by an internal battery, but a portable power pack (DR of course) the size of small suitcase.

fatcat posted:

SamClaus posted:

How about Naim watches? They should be good, with Naim's reputation for PRAT...

But not very practical.

Not powered by an internal battery, but a portable power pack (DR of course) the size of small suitcase.

Would Naim go down the Rolex route with diamond bling and hit/miss accuracy of ±2secs per day ?

or the GPS-derived atomic clock accuracy (think Garmin) with a plain leather strap ?

hungryhalibut posted:

A camera company making watches? That’s just silly. Why not pedal bins. 

Thats the next step - see what Apple has done:

As an avid birder (avian variety) I am completely sold on Leica binoculars .. I have had a pair of Leica 8 X 32 Bn Trinovid for over 20 years and a couple of years ago acquired a pair of Leica Ultravid 12 X 50 HD .. magnificent optics.  Lifetime guarantee.

To my knowledge Naim doesn't sell binoculars   ..  though, if they did I'd give them a go .. 

Ardbeg10y posted:

so my wife gave it to a crying kid in the car to play with.......The kid opened the window and threw it away on the highway

I'll bet the replacement key was surprisingly inexpensive.

winkyincanada posted:

Ardbeg10y posted:

so my wife gave it to a crying kid in the car to play with.......The kid opened the window and threw it away on the highway

I'll bet the replacement key was surprisingly inexpensive.

It is still on our actionlist to replace. We have an endless list of things which has to be done but have too low priority. Its a busy family here.

Meanwhile, the second key which came standard with the car works well.

Ardbeg10y posted:

I bought a bigger house 3 years ago. That was the startingpoint of a journey in Hifi. I auditioned a Supernait, I liked the fact that any music I threw against it worked well. Even simple mp3's or Spotify via the ChromeCast Audio. Now, being a bit further on my way, I still enjoy the Supernait driving Ovators now, but also my 72/140 or the AV2+Nait 5 which is serving my TV. My brother has an humble UQ2 and that is gorgeous as well. Any Naim set I've heared did keep something of apparently a certain sound signature which I feel attracted to. It is just right and it makes me dipping my toe in different music too.

I have been taking pictures since I was a kid, I've always been in the Minolta / Sony world (I use a Sony A58 now), though I'm impressed by the details, I still feel that there is much to learn, but also to improve on the gear side.

Having that doubting / itchy feeling, I ended up in watching a youtube video by Thorsten Overgaard where he mentioned 'perceived sharpness'. He explained that the sharpness you perceived is not necessarily related to the megapixels (obviously, I knew that), but mostly realized by a good lens. And in his perception, Leica does that.

Going back to my Naim domain, my AV2 renders more details from audiofiles, but my Supernait is simply better. It portrays the music on an empty canvas - it feels.

So, in my simple perception, both Naim and Leica focus on actually having the analogue side of things right first, before even thinking about digital.

Both Naim and Leica seem to have iconic designs.

Both Naim and Leica seem to have rock solid build quality.

Is Leica the Naim of Photography, and should I really start collecting coins for lenses which start (!) at Euro 1200?

I owned a Leica and it died after a couple of years. Never again.

John Willmott posted:

As an avid birder (avian variety) I am completely sold on Leica binoculars .. I have had a pair of Leica 8 X 32 Bn Trinovid for over 20 years and a couple of years ago acquired a pair of Leica Ultravid 12 X 50 HD .. magnificent optics.  Lifetime guarantee.

To my knowledge Naim doesn't sell binoculars   ..  though, if they did I'd give them a go .. 

IMHO both Swarovski and Zeiss make superb binoculars too.

Quality and prices of the three brands are quite close.

What is the photography equivalent of PRaT ?

I read the title of this post and thought  "Golly, they've got that wrong, it should be the other way round."

I was a photographer long before I began to take music seriously and Leica has always been the pinnacle of excellence, so the title of this thread should surely be "Is Naim the Leica of audio reproduction?"   And the answer must be 'Yes'.

Well, I read the OP, so I guess I should now read a few more posts, but I was keen to promote the expertise that's synonomous with the name Leica, after all, Ernst Leitz was there with his cameras way before Julian Vereker started with his amps, about 59 years I think.

So, in terms of dreams come true or lifelong objectives achieved, one out of two 'aint bad...  I use Canon  cameras, not Leica, but I have Naim audio equipment.

Bananahead posted:

What is the photography equivalent of PRaT ?

Hey, I know the answer to that, Bananahead... I have an O level in photography... and I remember, its  SOAP.

(Shutter Or Aperture Priority)   

Bananahead posted:

What is the photography equivalent of PRaT ?

An interesting thought which I had never considered. Are you some kind of management consultant who drops in to organisations who throws a metaphorical stone into a pond and watches the ripples?!

Off the top of my head, it would include a fast lens in the golden hour.

I'd say it's contrast.

Christopher_M posted:

Bananahead posted:

What is the photography equivalent of PRaT ?

An interesting thought which I had never considered. Are you some kind of management consultant who drops in to organisations who throws a metaphorical stone into a pond and watches the ripples?!

Off the top of my head, it would include a fast lens in the golden hour.

Prat in photography would apply more to lenses indeed since the best fast lenses allow the camera to make the photo sharp even in low light circumstances.

One of my legs for a nocticron.

alainbil posted:

John Willmott posted:

As an avid birder (avian variety) I am completely sold on Leica binoculars .. I have had a pair of Leica 8 X 32 Bn Trinovid for over 20 years and a couple of years ago acquired a pair of Leica Ultravid 12 X 50 HD .. magnificent optics.  Lifetime guarantee.

To my knowledge Naim doesn't sell binoculars   ..  though, if they did I'd give them a go .. 

IMHO both Swarovski and Zeiss make superb binoculars too.

Quality and prices of the three brands are quite close.

 

Indeed .. though I believe Swarovski just edge out Zeiss on quality they totally outstrip them on price .. But, but ... just like audio it is a matter of personal taste, and, as one's ears differ from your couch mate's .. so does the visual .. [I feel like this might be a significant moment .. a proof maybe ?]

Ardbeg10y posted:

Christopher_M posted:

Bananahead posted:

What is the photography equivalent of PRaT ?

An interesting thought which I had never considered. Are you some kind of management consultant who drops in to organisations who throws a metaphorical stone into a pond and watches the ripples?!

Off the top of my head, it would include a fast lens in the golden hour.

Prat in photography would apply more to lenses indeed since the best fast lenses allow the camera to make the photo sharp even in low light circumstances.

One of my legs for a nocticron.

Although Leica lenses are fantastic and some of them are optically at the very forefront of what’s possible, it’s their cameras and the philosophy of representing which makes Leica and Naim similar. There is something stubborn and original about a Flat earth way of seeing things - and then you have Leica making cameras with a monochrome sensor.