[Leica] Leica future and diehard fans

[bdcolen at comcast.net (B. D. Colen)]

The issue to me, George, isn't backs or no backs - the idea of digital backs
for film cameras is a terrific one, and will undoubtedly keep several niche
manufacturers afloat and contribute to the variety of photography; I'm still
convinced that the answer to the digital M conundrum might well be a digital
back - (I know - it's impossible to produce one, just as many said it was
impossible to produce a digital rangefinder, until Cosina/Epson did it.;-))

My question is what can keep Leica afloat longer term, and I don't think the
answer is a digital back that maybe, someday, will ship 30 a month to the
U.S. What people love most about Leica is the glass, as demonstrated by the
veritable legions of Luggers mounting Leica class on Canon digital bodies.
And what might keep Leica afloat is making the glass more widely available.

As to my being "anti-Leica," that one is as old and tired as my criticism of
the company.;-) I am not anti-Leica, I am simply not a fanboy. I used the
cameras for most of my adult life; and I still own two M bodies and four
lenses, three of them the latest ASP glass and have thus far resisted the
impulse to sell them because I do still love them, even though I rarely use
them. But unlike many on this list, I feel no love or loyalty toward the
corporation, which I think has proven itself utterly inept when it comes to
finding ways to ensure its long-term survival.

B. D.    


On 8/25/05 10:15 AM, "george lottermoser" <imagist@imagist.cnc.net> wrote:

>> That brings us back once again to the suggestion that if Leica is to have 
>> a
>> future, that future probably lies in producing lenses in Canon and Nikon
>> mounts, or selling Leica lenses with red dotted Canon and Nikon adapters,
>> rather than wasting money on trying to produce digital backs for a tiny
>> handful of diehard fans.
> 
> B.D. - I have no idea what the future of Leica, Leaf, Imacon, Sinar, or any
> other 'high-end' camera/digital/back mfg's may be. Apparently they're all
> shuffling to figure it out. They all have small niche markets to figure 
> out.
> Comparing them with Nikon and Canon makes very little sense. The Sinar M
> camera can take lenses from anyone. Sinar doesn't make lenses. Sinar used 
> to
> make view cameras. Then digital backs (sort of) and now a multiformat 
> camera
> body. Leaf back folks freaked out last week because Kodak bought a bunch of
> Scitex and the 'Leaf niche' wants nothing to do with Kodak tech support. 
> and
> on and on and on. I, for one, love the idea of 'digital backs' - rentable,
> upgradeable and adaptable to existing systems. So do medium format 
> shooters.
> Leaf, Imacon, PhaseOne, Sinar, and Mega-Vision backs all cost 2 to 5 times
> more than Leica's back. They're all 'pro niche market' items. They're tools
> that may or may not work for you. They have nothing to do with 'die-hard'
> brand loyalty. Your constant background drone of what sounds like 
> anti-leica
> mantras really does little to help our understanding of what is going on
> technically - be it optical, digital, mechanical, electronic or otherwise.