A small topic is camera accessories. There's a lot available. But you don't really need a lot of it. Some things are just sexy or simply trendy right now.

    Like the ThumbGrip, for example. At first, I just thought, "Wow, that looks professional," when I saw the first photographer using one. A little later, I had my first ThumbGrip on my X-T2 and my current backup camera, the X-Pro 2. And the ThumbGrip actually does make sense. You simply have a better grip. Do you need it? Not with Fujis. Maybe more so with a Leica M. But overall, you don't really need a ThumbGrip.

Autofocus. I have to admit, as a beginner, this was very important to me. Simply aim, press the AF button, and then maybe make some minor adjustments to the composition. I especially enjoyed doing this in the beginning with my Canon 5D Mark III. Which isn't a bad thing. After all, everyone has to start somewhere, and you learn by doing. And if the 5D comes into use again from time to time, then I also use the AF on this DSLR.

Unlike with focal lengths, I can't contribute much here.

    Many say f/1.4 is among the best aperture values. I personally wonder why. Have those who claim this ever taken many photos at f/1.4? I've taken many pictures at f/1.4 and can say for myself that the value is too high. Yes, the blur, the bokeh from Japanese photography, can look good. But you have to use it subtly. What's the point of having the model in focus in a street shoot, for example, but not being able to see the background? The same applies to product photography. What good are the pictures if the product and those further back aren't in focus?

As a beginner, you don't really ask yourself this question yet: Which are the right focal lengths? I remember when I started with photography and used a well-recommended zoom lens: a 24-70mm equivalent in 35mm format (35x24mm).

Do we have the M that doesn't need maintenance here? There's no rangefinder. You have to do without the classic M focusing via the rangefinder. Focusing is done here, as with the Q, via focus peaking and the digital magnifier. And let's not forget zone focusing. If that's enough for you, you can continue using your collection of M lenses with this M without having to worry about whether the physical rangefinder will ever need servicing.

Can you only photograph with an M-D like you would with a film camera? Is the M-D the only true way? I think not. You have to ask yourself, "How do you like to photograph?" Yes, I used to enjoy taking photos with my X-T2 and its back LCD, holding the camera freely away from my body. And before I knew what zone focusing was, I even used autofocus. But today I like to take my time. I just want to take "a clean picture." No spray and pray. You change as a photographer. And I don't need an M-D to photograph in "my style."

Royal Class "M" system. The measuring probe, a physical component. Very precise, and it works. I stand by what I've already written about the M-System. It's the top of the line. But. The M-System has several aspects that I find negative.

In my opinion (in digital photography), nothing comes closer to the feel of old (analog) photography than the Leica M with its optical viewfinder. There's just something about the rangefinder. It's simply fun to photograph using the prism principle. You look through "glass" and orient yourself using the focal length lines.

Today, when my Leica M8 broke down, something dawned on me. I immediately thought, "Oh God, now I'm not enjoying photography anymore. If the image metadata doesn't say Leica, I'm miserable."

The Leica M. For me personally, the pinnacle of photography. Analog photography excluded. Digital, meaning for me, Leica M. The last vestige of mechanical photography in the digital age. Even a Hasselblad XD2 100C, with its EVF, isn't first-class for me. I came to know and appreciate the M-Experience with the M8.

What makes photography exciting? What fascinates it about us photographers, us artists?

     I see it from a rather melancholic perspective. If you don't want to be an active part of society, if you've turned your back on it, what are you then, living only for yourself?

Let's be realistic. Nobody's going to read this blog. This blog is for me. I want to document my journey as an artist here. How one grows. How one develops. To philosophize and to comfortably put my thoughts down in a lounge chair with a hot cup of tea, using my MacBook.