Commodity fetishism lands Leica in hot water on Threads.
The brand drew fire to its social media account of over 96 thousand followers today with a post that romanticized ownership of their gear more than their followers were willing to take:
“Leica is not just a brand — it’s a lifestyle.
“It’s the reason why people love to take our cameras out on the town.
“It’s the camera that you want to sit next to you in the passenger side of your car.
“It’s the only piece of jewelry that is reciprocal to others because you can give an image as a present.
“It becomes a part of you.”
Leica makes famously expensive lenses and cameras that can fetch well over $10,000 new and more than most other cameras when bought used as well. Their price is usually justified by the quality of the design, assembly, and materials that make their tools durable, fun to use, and capable of capturing very sharp photos.
Leica is also celebrated for its history (famously, the company helped hundreds of Jewish people out of Nazi Germany in 1938-1939, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leic…). The company has recently celebrated 100 years with the addition of (reasonably priced) 35mm photographic film to its roster of products: analog.cafe/r/film-photogr….
Leica is not shy of lending its name to numerous other companies, which over the years have generated a large ecosystem of accessories, clothing, and more.
However, the social media team’s post that dressed up the Leica brand as a “lifestyle” has struck a nerve with the photographers.
“This kind of pretentious nonsense makes me want to sell my Leica.” — @fredrikplam.
“When the camera itself gets romanticized more than the work it creates, when the priority becomes posing with it, showing it off, or treating it like an accessory or ‘jewelry,’ that’s when the tool starts overshadowing the art. And that’s not the kind of ‘lifestyle’ I’m interested in.” — @illkoncept.
“As someone who’s been shooting with Leica’s for almost 2 decades and has been published in LFI Magazine, I just don’t have the words to express how cringey this post is.” — @dezfoto.
“This is not the flex you think it is…it makes Leica owners seem like a bunch of posers more concerned about how they look rather than the art itself.” — @denizdemir.photos.
And it keeps going (so far, there are nearly 600 responses on the original post: threads.com/@leicacameraus…).
Leica’s social media team has been exceptionally active on Threads since they came online, one of the fastest large camera brands to reply and post their takes on the Meta-owned app.
In an attempt to respond to some of the posts, the company attempted to double down:
“Ramon from the marketing team 👋
I wrote the post so let’s talk about it. Two things can be right at once. It can be an instrument and a part of your daily routine. I’ve been to Wetzlar to see how these products are made and you’re right — they are engineering marvels.
But let’s be honest, I’ve never heard someone refer to their camera as ‘my precision instrument’. But a camera is your lifestyle if you carry it daily to make photos.”
That effort appears to have fallen on deaf ears, as the comments condemning Leica’s original thread are in the hundreds and continue to multiply as more people are becoming aware of it.
Dmitri Aug 17, ‘25