[Leica] Doomed: Leica MP 0.58x

[feli2 at earthlink.net (Feli)]

On Jan 23, 2005, at 9:14 AM, B. D. Colen wrote:

>  If Leica can put out a Leica quality $1500 body, and $750-$1500 
> lenses, the move begs two questions - a. Why not just buy Cosina or 
> Zeiss?

Personally I'm not too crazy about he Cosina/Zeiss. One thing is the 
shutter is louder
and the Cosina at lest is not as well made. Not bad, just not as good...

>  Two, what the hell have they been doing ripping us off all these 
> years? ;-)

Where are the pitchforks and torches?


> 2. The landscape is not littered with people waiting to jump into the
> world of film. The world of film is the Titanic with it's stern in the
> air; most people have already made it into the digital boats, or have
> slipped into the ocean, and there is a handful of diehards clinging to
> the stern rail screaming "film forever!" The question is not how to 
> attract new masses to Leica, it's how to hang on to the fanboys (and 
> girls) and what kind of digital product to introduce to hopefully 
> capture a new user base.

I agree with you on your Titanic comparison. The market for film based 
M cameras is going to continue to shrink and will mostly consist of 
artists, film diehards and Robert Capa impersonators, until someone 
tells them that he was a Contax man. I suppose the question is, how 
much more is it going to shrink? M shooters aren't exactly mainstream 
and even in this day and age I still run into a lot of people that lust 
after one. Personally I already own more bodies than I will be able to 
wear out in my lifetime, unless they are stolen, destroyed lost or I 
win the lottery. My body buying days are pretty much over same for 
lenses. I would like a 1.4/35 Summilux ASPH, but that's about it...

> Oh, and as to the idea of an M that requires new lenses - good bleeping
> luck. The only thing that will now draw people to a Leica digital RF -
> well, will draw the people who are NOT prepared to buy everything Leica
> builds simply because it has the name Leica on it - is a desire to use
> the lenses in which they have invested so much money, and which are
> clearly high quality. But an entirely new digital product that requires
> all new lenses - at Leica prices? No way.

Not sure sure about that. I really think there is a market for a 
professional level, full frame (or close) digital rangefinder. People 
dropped lots of cash on the Mamiya 7 series when it came out. I know a 
few people who shoot in the theater and film production, and they 
wouldn't mind a small, unobtrusive camera with fast lenses that puts 
out pro level images.

Feli

> B. D.
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