For almost a year now I have been photographing with my Leica D-Lux 4. While being the easiest camera to use among the ones I own and also the one allowing me to take the quickest shots, it gives a fairly high-quality result. The one problem I repeatedly encounter is that by low light a sensor goes on for measuring purposes which triggers the flashing of a tiny red light. Many times I felt invisible enough to take a shot, but the tiny red gave my away.
Today the barista complained.
I am in Japan, mind you. Japanese do not cease to amaze me with their love for detail, their ability to stretch a minute into five and stretch an insignificant movement elsewhere in the world, into a fifteen minute activity that even a observing foreigner will suddenly accept as fully necessary.
The barista seemed to have been thrown off during his preparations for the next coffee and gently, but firmly made clear to me that he cannot work under those tiny red light conditions. My friends suggested I continue with my iPhone. Later I conveyed to them that I could fully understand his right and the legitimacy in asking, but that it also amazes me to the level of concentration, to which some individuals could rise (or fall).
Omotesando Koffee, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan / Leica D-Lux 4