Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/02/18
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I think the real market for Leica cameras is tiny. Such a small market gives no chance of expensive R&D or tooling investment. The digital backs will be probably essential. Any other redesign or increase in spec to be similar to existing products will just drain the company, not make it more competitive. I like my Leica as it is for film. I will probably buy R digital and M digital cameras. Leica would have been dead earlier if all they made was an expensive exquisitely made alternative to one of the mass production behemoth's products, as many LUG pundits would have had them doing. Leica may disappear anyway, I hope not. Thankfully the LUG pundits are not managing Leica, otherwise it would not have lasted this long. Frank On 18 Feb, 2005, at 05:13, Peter Klein wrote: > I bought a 90 Tele-Elmarit new in the 70s. In the last few years, I > bought a new 35 Summilux ASPH and the viewfinder magnifier. > Everything else was bought used. > > I might have bought more things new if Leica prices were lower. But > Leica chose to follow the idea if you charge more, you can create a > higher perceived worth without doing anything else. I think they > actually believed it. All that stuff about "branding." Au contraire. > Perhaps they could have used a lower body price to sell lenses. > > Some people here have been having a great old time comparing Leica to > Japanese conglomerates, and gleefully pointing out how they come up > short. Doomed, doomed, doomed; ha, ha ha. > > That may be missing the point. You don't have to compete with Engulf > and Devour, Inc. on their own terms. Plenty of small niche companies > do fine because they are the best at what they do. I honestly think > that Leica was such a company many years ago. They still could have > been such a company. But they didn't really innovate, and that hurt > them long term. They could have come up with workable autoexposure > years ago. They didn't have to get sidetracked into "me-too" P&S > cameras and O-Leicas. They could have been in a better position to > ride out the transition to digital. > > I just hope the next LHSA meeting isn't a wake. I still value > craftsmanship. I still value the well-made tool that is beautifully > functional and a thing of beauty. I like M rangefinders. I've never > found a tool that fit my hands and eyes better. I wish there was > still room for such things to be made in this world. But maybe not. > Perhaps the very values that allow you to create such an object as the > Leica are incompatible with the modern world. > > If so, it's a poorer world. > > --Peter > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >