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

[Stephen Gandy <LeicaNikon@earthlink.net>]

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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