Re: [Leica] Some statistics

["Dan Post" <dpost@triad.rr.com>]

GADZOOKS! I understand that!
The scales fell from my eyes-
Seriously, Erwin- I think that comparing the typical Leica user to an APS
user is futile. It is like comparing the market shares of a fine five star
'Cordon Bleu" restaurant to McDonalds- McDonalds sells 13 Billion hamburgers
a year, and the number of Beef Wellington sold will never come close. I
don't snuffle out old Leicas at flea markets- like a pig snuffling out
truffles, the same way I'd search for old Kodak folders! Kodak use to make
more cameras in one year that Leica has probably made in its entire history!
Looking at camera sales worldwide and trying to see if Leica is gaining or
losing may miss the point somewhat. Theincreased sales could be attributed
to several factors- not least among them- that the simplicity of the P&S and
APS cameras open up the world of photography to a lot of folks who may never
tried it! It appeals to the young- the latest baby boomers are perhaps
getting interested in taking pictures! Isee a lot of kids with cameras on
wrist straps, out and about! The fact that some of these cameras are stamped
out cookie cutter fashion by the millions and are becoming ever more cheaper
opens the market to even some of what might have been considered third world
countries- If photography is making inroads, even among the impoverieshed in
Latin America- a la the so called 'dump kids' that Tina told us about.
I think that Leica, for the market it targets, will be viable for a
while.... Even if they folded, their cameras would still be around for a
couple of generations, and probably find the  same niche as they do now! I
am sure that more than a couple of our number have an OLD Leica secreted
away in the bag- somewhere! C'mon, 'fess up!
Dan ( I SEE THE LIGHT! ) Post
- ----- Original Message -----
From: "Erwin Puts" <imxputs@knoware.nl>
To: "L U G" <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Sent: Wednesday, August 23, 2000 12:25 PM
Subject: [Leica] Some statistics


> Japans photo industry produced in 1999
>  33.9 Million 35 cameras,  -6% compared to 1998
> Of these were
> 766 thousand SLR, +3.6%
> 25 Thousand medium format, -9%
> 1.7 Million digital cameras, +41%
>
> The 33.9 M. is a bit clouded as it also encompasses the Single Use
Cameras,
> and will also cover the countless numbers of small compact cameras.
> Remarkable is the # of SLR's, which is down from 3 million in its heydays
in
> the '70 en '80. It is stable for the moment, so it seems.
> The medium format market is very small, as it is carved up by many
> companies, like Hasselblad Xpan, Contax, Mamiya, Pentax, Bronica, Fuji and
> the 4x5 inch field cameras. In a recent note, Zeiss remarked that the
Contax
> 465 is a great success, so that must be at the expense of the others,
> Digital is no surprise, but monthly figures for early 2000 show  around
300
> thousand/month, that wold make more than 3.5 million for 2000. The value
for
> digital cameras in 1999 is three times the value of the SLR market, so it
is
> easy to see where the Japanese are heading.
> APS has a figure of 1.5 Million, -2%  and in value is far below the SLR
> segment.
> Some food for thought I suppose. Reflect on Leica which sells 12000 M and
> 6000 R a year, and compare to the full medium and over market.
>
> Erwin
>
>
>