[Leica] Erwin telling it like it may be

[crbirchenhall at googlemail.com (Christopher Birchenhall)]

Vis Putts on death of R/F

While I value Erwin's input on lenses I am not sure I give so much
weight to his analysis of markets and, to my surprise, his comments on
the R/F format. While Leica can not compete head-to-head with Canon
and Nikon it can sustain a niche role with working relationships with
suitable allies. Defining and redefining that niche will require
experimentation and imagination. It will continue to be a bumpy ride
but my guess Kauffman is in it for a good while yet. I see no
compelling argument that the digital revolution precludes a R/F
solution. Where Erwin is right is to question whether Leica can work
with a design model that starts with the premise that products are to
be as long lasting as a Leica III or a M3. The upgrade concept is
symptomatic of this issue. The analogy with personal computers is
strong. Digital will see a continual process of upgrading, which means
a continual process of dumping defunct kit. Leica needs affordable
upgrade paths; the suggestion of upgrade options for the M8 will work
insofar as the structure of the camera is not too limiting. It is
possible to imagine a ?1000 ($2000) digital M body with a limited life
expectancy but it would be very different from a Leica M8. I am not
sure that will be the Leica way. The question for we Leica users is
where would we put our money on the price-durability trade-off curve?
To put it another way how much money are we willing to right off every
year? If you bought a M8 what did you expect it to be worth in 5
years?

Chris B