An interesting article by Kirk Tuck on the desire for technological perfection in photography. In this case it is a Leica M9 (digital) and a 35mm Summilux f1.4 lens which I did aspire to before settling for a new lens (35mm Summicron f2 on my old old M4-P rangefinder body.

Tuck says:

So, would I buy it? Would I invest in the system? I'll admit I can't justify the $9000 for the camera and the $4900 for the lens at this point...If money were no object I'd own everything in the Leica catalog in a heartbeat ....when I look at my budget and then I look at the gear I want there is always a disconnect. Let's call it a chasm. I want the best stuff in the world but I'm only going to see the difference when I shoot in a way that I don't usually shoot. I love the look of the 35mm Summilux wide open but I rarely shoot that way. I love the way the Leica lens and a camera blow up. But my clients are looking for work that fills magazine pages and websites...I think I'm over an important hurdle.

If the Leica M rangefinder camera body is generally one of the few designs of the 20th century which industrial designers reckon is so perfect that they would never try to change, it is the Leica M series lenses that are the real lure of the M system for most available light shooters. Their optics are second to none---the emphasis is on high apparent sharpness and great rendering of micro fine detail---but the trade-off has always been the very high cost of those lenses.