Those of you that have followed The Gear Journal long, know that I loathe Leica. I mean, sure… I have thousands of dollars wrapped up in Leica products, but the company itself drives me bat shit. Sincerely.

When a tool company transitions from their core competency to high margin fashion, I have grievances… and that’s exactly what Leica has done.

BUT, Leica does have a saving grace. In this day in age… In 2022, they are still serving the film camera market. And that’s something. It’s not everything, but it is something. And I appreciate it.

Introducing the new Leica M6 35mm rangefinder. It’s not gonna replace the M6 I’ve been shooting with for over 20 years, but it is RAD that Leica released this camera. I don’t even care that they priced the damned thing at over $5,000. Assholes.

Details.

A number of years back, I reviewed a Microsoft Surface Book. The innovation of the product and the build quality were only let down my the Windows operating system. Otherwise, I thought, the product was a slam dunk and ready to take over the world.

It’s close to five years later… and what do I think?

I now have a lightly used Surface Book that is out of warranty and a fire hazard so dire that Microsoft can’t tell me how to properly dispose of it without exposing themselves to legal trouble. The lithium battery that Microsoft chose to use is prone to swelling. A simple Google search shows how devastating this problem has become. Fires, mayhem, and other crazy repercussions from taking a chance on early tech.

Obviously, I don’t want another Surface product – not that Microsoft would replace this thing (I tried). But, I did want them to tell how to properly dispose of it… They couldn’t. Think about how absurd that is.