"Kinon O'Cann" wrote in message
news:UYdQg.1$1B.0@bos-

Then
again, to put things in perspective a Patek Phillipe men's watch STARTS
at $12000, but a Leica isn't made of gold.

An excellent analogy......There are dozens (perhaps hundreds) of watches on
the market that can (and do) tell time as well as a Patek Phillipe. So, the
owners of such a watch are wearing jewelry, and not time keepers. - Much the
same thing might be said of the owners of Leicas. It may capture images as
well or better than anything else on the market, but to pay $5K for one, and
over $1k per lens, is a bit of overkill for the minute, mostly unobservable
difference, don't you think? So, the Leica owners are basically carrying
jewelry, rather than cameras. And, in doing so, they give up one important
thing. They can no longer blame their equipment for their bad photos....:^)