Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/09/17
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]on 9/17/05 10:54 PM, Nathan Wajsman at nathan.wajsman@planet.nl wrote: > I used to say > that all these special editions were a good thing if they gave Leica > some extra cash with which to develop new products, but I am no longer > so sure. Leica is a small company, and even though the product > development that went into this is modest, it is still a distraction and > does use some resources that could be better used elsewhere in the company. I don't think a special edition distracts much in the way of R&D resources, but one word you used - "disheartening" - probably touches on most of the complaints about this camera. It reminds me of the Alpa reflex cameras in the 1970s, which IIRC seemingly had to be dressed up in colored leathers and special finishes in order to sell at all. It just seems like the death throes of the product line and from this perpective it's disheartening to me as well, but as a short-term money maker while Leica's real R&D work is on the digital M, it's a smart move IMHO. Leica's capitalizing on what it can offer while hopefully preparing a digital M for market. I seriously doubt the people who are working on the digital rangefinder were taken off that project to design this special edition so I see the distraction as negligible and the rate of return on the MP3 as quite good. Doug Herr Birdman of Sacramento http://www.wildlightphoto.com