I hadn’t given it a second thought for several decades. I just didn’t think it made sense to buy a viewfinder camera for an outrageous amount of money. When I asked myself, “What for?” I simply couldn’t come up with an answer.

Until the day I bought something “useful” at the Calumet store in Munich. And suddenly, there it was, sitting on the counter in front of me.

Leica M P with a 1.4 50mm

At first, my common sense kept me from even considering it halfway sensible. Then I picked it up and knew in a split second: I’m going to buy it… Well, at least “test” it. So I took it with me for the weekend. Took it along…

Actually, I already knew in the car that I wouldn’t be returning it, but I left the door open for myself to decide against the Leica after a thorough test. How do you even test a Leica? I just took it with me on a walk with the dog, and I was surprised at how good it feels to use manual settings and focus again. Of course, the pictures are sharp; of course, the camera renders direct backlighting charmingly with a wonderful “bouquet.” Of course, everything works as it should. The menu is wonderfully uncluttered and easy to navigate. But that’s not really the point. For me, it was suddenly “just” about taking pictures again. Having a camera that fits in any shoulder bag or doesn’t look oversized even when worn around the neck. Just taking pictures…No zoom, no autofocus (the focus is exactly where you want it), you don’t need automatic mode either, and it’s truly incredibly quiet. I once heard that the Leica is a quiet camera. It keeps a low profile… Yes, it’s incredibly well-built. Yes, it’s heavy, and nothing feels like it’s made of plastic. Yes, the lenses are a dream, and yes, it’s definitely not a bargain—nor should it be.