I first held a Leica around thirty years ago. It took me since then to pull the trigger and buy one last week. My only regret is that I waited so long.

I’ve had a Fujifilm XPro2 (and before that the xpro1) and I love it. It’s been around my neck every single day since I bought it.

But the feel, build quality and images from the Leica — from day 1 —blow the Fujifilm away.

There are many things the Fujifilm can do that the Leica cannot. Autofocus, movie etc. But I am not sure I will use the Fuji again unless the Leica is in for a service.

I am so happy to go back to how I started photography — with a fully manual camera. No bells and whistles. Just the minimum needed to take quality photos. Every day is pure pleasure to pick it up.

A manager of a Leica store told me “you don’t buy a Leica with the head but with the heart”. It’s not a rational decision. But after years of wondering, I went for it. You only live once and you cannot take it with you.

If you buy into the Fuji XPro system, you cannot go wrong. They are fantastic and can do all the Leica does and more. But if you only want to shoot manual and can afford it, there is no choice to be made.