Nicholas O. Lindan wrote:
[Gag reflex off]
It isn't about the destination but the journey.
[Gag reflex on]

A Leica is just a nice thing to have, it is beautifully
built, nice to hold, makes a nice sound ... but it takes
the same picture.

Before I decided on purchasing a new camera system I had two choices. I
could get a Hasselblad or a Leica M. I looked at the pros on cons of
both systems. The final determination was that the Leica, though well
made had too many reported QC problems from users (the frame counter
that stopped working for example) and frankly, it did exactly what my
Nikon was able to do - take photos with 35mm film. The pictures would
look slightly different (contrast, sharpness, etc.), but basically it
would be still taken on 24mmx36mm film. I got a Konica Hexar with
silent mode to make up for quiet operation. Yes, the Leica was quiet,
but it wasn't as quiet as the Hexar. The only option over the Hexar was
that the Leica had interchangable f/1.4 aperture lenses. I decided on
the Hasselblad and haven't regretted it. The large negative and the
quality of the equipment was really good. The pictures definitely
looked different when enlarged compared with 35mm.

Now it appears that Leica folks will be faced with the same situation I
faced a decade ago. Do they spend $5645 for a Leica M8 or $4500+ for a
Canon or Nikon SLR that will basically get them the same 10MP picture
(yes, the Canon and Nikon have more pixels...I know)? In fact the same
folks can spend $2000 for a Nikon D200 or one of those new Canon 10MP
cameras if they want a fair comparison. The whole idea is that you can
basically get the same thing with the same quality or sometime better
at a cheaper price.

The silence of the Leica shutter might be the determining factor for
some, others will be the lenses that they may already own, others will
be the operation and maybe even the Leica heft, but they really need to
ask themselves if all those are worth the price of admission. For me I
think I'll just buy another lens for my "obsolete" Hasselblad.