Everyone's finances and spending proclivities seem to be quite different from one person to the next. Some who comment here are hellbent on saving me money instead of understanding that my idea of value in camera gear might be different from theirs. To wit, the recommendation for me, after reading that I already own a Leica DLUX8, that I should instead source a used Panasonic LX100ii from one of two shops that specializes in selling used equipment is kind of insulting. Well, not "kind of" it's just insulting.
I know about the LX100ii and it's a fine camera but it's no longer made, no longer sold new and not sold used with a manufacturer's warranty. Added to that is the fact that it's been off the market for years. You are basically buying a pig in a poke when you are willing to buy a camera that someone else didn't want anymore. Buying a camera with a limited store warranty is fraught with peril. If the store goes under so does the warranty. And if you are buying an older, used camera you are more likely to have to use the warranty which means that you lose the use of the camera as you send it off for service and wait for it to come back to you.
And you might just need that warranty since the camera in question, the LX100ii, had noted issues with dust on the sensor which could not be cleaned by the consumer and would have to go back to a repair shop for partial disassembly.
I have absolutely no patience with gear that dies. I'd hate to take the chance that I might have to deal with the frustrating and time consuming ordeal of going on vacation, deciding to take one camera, and having it decide to give up the ghost while I'm out spending money and having fun. The idea that I would have to get a return authorization, package up the camera, get it to a delivery service, wait a long time for the products return and be in the position of never trusting the camera fully ever again is too much. I don't have the patience for that. That's why I try to buy new products whenever it's possible.
While it's true that even new products can suffer unexpected failures it's also true that as the first and only owner you know how the camera has been handled, what stresses it has been subjected to, whether or not it has been dropped, or used extensively near the seashore. With a Leica DLUX8, if you purchase the camera new from a Leica dealer and register it with them within eight weeks of purchase you get a three year warranty. That's better than the industry average and provides a certain peace of mind.
If one buys a used camera from a good used dealer the longest warranty provided is 6 months at MPB and 30 days at KEH. Not the same at all.
The newer camera has a better EVF, a much, much better control layout, an infinitely better and less complicated menu system and, hopefully, is further along about preventing dust intrusion. Added to that is the DNG raw file system as well as Leica's very well regarded, Leica Fotos, phone app. And improved color science --- which is different than just sensor resolution and lens design. It's about software image processing. Which is something Leica does very, very well.
I also get a lot of grief from several commenters who are determined to "cure" me of buying and using Leica products by recommending various Fuji cameras. I am not ignorant in regards to the Fuji products on offer but I am amazed that people think I should shit can a pretty big inventory of very, very regarded cameras and lenses and wholesale change back to a system that I've already given lots of time.
Whatever the XE-5 offers I have absolutely no interest in adding yet another system of menus and batteries to those I already have. I'm sure the camera and lenses represent the state of the art for APS-C sensor cameras but I'm equally sure that I already have that covered with cameras and lenses that, again, I have already paid for, have learned to use well enough, and actually like. My CL cameras can use the same lenses as my full frame Leica cameras and vice versa. The difference between a 24 megapixel sensor and a 40 megapixel sensor is more or less meaningless in this day and age. If you really need more resolution than the legion of great 24 megapixel cameras can provide you might as well make a bigger step up and outfit yourselves with a 60 megapixel full frame camera. Sony and Sigma both make affordable models...
The Fujis (and I have owned eight or nine of them....) have awkward and illogical menus, are more fragile, and while the batteries have gotten better are still nothing to write home about. And too many parts are plastic.
I can only imagine that these aggressive assertions of logical camera buying are well intended. Perhaps the commenters assume that a former professional photographer probably lived a life akin to that of a monk and is barely surviving and probably impoverished. That these recommendations will save me boatloads of much needed money. But no matter how well intended, they are off the mark, have no idea what my personal situation might be and it's all akin to projection.
I've worked as a photographer for nearly 40 years. I've handled more cameras than most people will ever touch. I know what I like and I know why I like it. I can afford the cameras I want, not just the camera that covers my basic needs as a photographer. And no one needs "after the fact" or "after the purchase" advice about what one "should have" bought instead. It's insulting--- and not very polite.
I don't get paid to write this blog and I'm certainly not paid by Leica to buy and use their products. If you want to read about them here that's great. If you want to piss on what I've written this might not be the blog you want to read. I can recommend another one over on Patreon. They just published the third in a series about historically relevant photographs of wooden steps in old homes in New England. Might just be your cup of tea. Always very well written. Here? We talk mostly about photography and sometimes about swimming. That's it. We're not a debate club about which older, used cameras are better than anything currently available on the market. Or why my choices are wrong.
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