[Leica] Modern marketing

[AlastairF@bhs.grampianshealth.org.au]

Leica is not immune to modern market forces. Let me warn you that many
manufacturers I have now spoken with claim that it is CHEAPER to have a 30%
fault rate in delivered goods, and replace them without complaining, than to
try to weed out the faults with quality control. Let the customer do the
quality control work. Here in Australia, some companies are advised by the
manufacturer to buy 30% more than they need to cover this "wastage". Now I
don't for a minute believe that this is the case with higher end and more
expensive gear, but the trend is there. The companies I've spoken with claim
that even though they deliver faulty goods, many people put up with them and
do not bother to return or replace them. We are a strange lot indeed ;-)but
I for one am not immune. I really did not want my R8 to be faulty, so it
took a lot of dud shots for the first 6 months to really convince me that I
should do something about it. Just to add that the replacement continues to
work like a dream, and I still find it the BEST manual SLR I've used or
tried. Why are images taken with Leicas better than other cameras. In my
hands, it is not the lens quality, it is the fact that the Leica forces M6
or allows you easily R8 to THINK. Even my aged brain is better than anything
Nicanolta can squeeze into a mini-computer, though I admit it is a tight
contest ;-)

cheers