RE: [Leica] Leicavit, After Market Products, etc.

["Kit McChesney | acmefoto" <kitmc@acmefoto.com>]

I did not say "remanufactured Leicavit." I said "redesigned product." There
is quite a difference between those two concepts. Let it be known that I did
not say that Tom's winder was a knockoff of the Leicavit. It is a product
redesigned on the model of the original Leicavit to perform the function of
the discontinued original Leicavit, a design that eventually improved upon
and outshone the original Leicavit.

And with this post, I have officially overspent by four messages my
self-imposed limit of 5 LUG posts per day, so I'm outta here! Sorry it had
to be used up on a rhetorical discussion! See y'all tomorrow! ;-)

Kit

- -----Original Message-----
From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
[mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of Stephen
Gandy
Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2003 1:29 PM
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: Re: [Leica] Leicavit, After Market Products, etc.


the Rapidwinder is NO way a remanufactured Leicavit.   the only thing they
share
in common is the idea of a bottom trigger advance mount to an M camera.

the internal designs are completely different.  The Rapidwinder is a much
simpler, better designed, and more reliable than the original M Leicavit.
The
original Leicavit M has proven itself a somewhat troublesome beast, in
contrast
to the amazingly robust and dependable Rapidwinder.

time has proven the original Leicavit much inferior to the Rapidwinder in
terms
of reliability, a verdict I expect will also befall the new Leicavit M,
which is
more than twice as expensive as the Rapidwinder.   As far as Leica's R&D,
they
could have done a better job.  At PMA,  Mr. Kobayashi of Cosina says the
closing
lock that Leica is using on the new Leicavit M is patented in Japan by
Cosina.

Stephen

Kit McChesney | acmefoto wrote:

> With MORE all due respect to everyone, including Tom, there is one factor
> that we haven't actually factored into this equation: Tom's products would
> not exist in their current configuration (if at all) had Leica not
invested
> in R&D in the original Leicavit product when it was first introduced. That
> fact may or may not be relevant now, but it is true that it would be much
> easier for one to take apart an existing product and remanufacture or
> improve upon the original design, than to make a totally new design,
> completely from scratch. There is engineering and design time and
investment
> in the original product that is absent from the manufacture of the
> redesigned product made by an after-market concern. Not only that, but
there
> is a tremendous investment in the total product line, with hundreds of
items
> from lenses to cameras to parts ad infinitum, that is absent from the
small
> after-market operation. Every Leica product that is currently manufactured
> is part of a manufacturing matrix, a web of products that are
interconnected
> in thousands of different ways, both in design and in overall cost to
> create. Don't forget all that.
>
> Reducing the price differences to whether the CEO drives a company-leased
> BMW is ... well, I won't say silly, but ... how about simplistic? (Sorry
> Austin, but we've had this discussion before about gray market costs
versus
> authorized market). The expense of a car lease or other costs for travel
and
> meals, and whatever--if in fact there is one, and we do not know if there
is
> a car lease, remember--are probably less relevant to the price of the unit
> in question than are other costs related more directly to research,
> development, manufacturing, transportation to market, etc., which are much
> higher overall and more directly related to the price of the product. Yes,
> compensation is a factor, but we are also talking about two very different
> kinds of companies, too. One a very small company, the other a company
with
> a global reach and a wider range of markets.
>
> My .02 cents. ;-)
>
> Kit




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