You're absolutely right that a Leica takes technically equivalent (inferior, if you're pushing the sensor) photos. However, that's not really what they're about

You're absolutely right that a Leica takes technically equivalent (inferior, if you're pushing the sensor) photos. However, that's not really what they're about. I owned a Leica M9 for 3 months last year. My "keeper" rate was 36% higher on the M9 than on previous (or subsequent) digital cameras[1]. I sold the M9 due to its limitations, but you shouldn't underestimate the value of a form factor. [1] I use lightroom, which lets me get pretty good stats. For reference, my "non-M9" keeper rate is 5.5%, my M9 keeper rate was 7.5%. My film keeper rate is 19%.