[Leica] FS MP, BP 35 Summicron

[hoppyman at bigpond.net.au (G Hopkinson)]

B.D. that's an thoughtful take. I wonder though if the M camera range will 
just be a flagship line, without necessarily generating
the most profit for the company? Didn't the company report profits for the 
last year, but not from the film camera division? I
wonder if the folks that buy and appreciate MPs might be less likely than M7 
owners to go digital as the M8 gets out there? If so
maybe the M7 might fade away and the MP remain the figurehead. My guess 
would be that folks using an M professionally would be less
likely to choose the MP.
Given that new leadership, both the Austrian owners and the new heavy hitter 
from US of A, I predict more C Lux type products. I
just really hope it works for them and the brand remains afloat. I think 
that the D range is sort of an insurance bet in case the M8
doesn't succeed. Also I imagine the badging of lenses for Panasonic might be 
a significant portion of their activity? They seem to
be paralleling Zeiss in some aspects of this. Interesting times
Cheers
Hoppy

-----Original Message-----
From: lug-bounces+hoppyman=bigpond.net.au@leica-users.org 
[mailto:lug-bounces+hoppyman=bigpond.net.au@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of
B. D. Colen
Sent: Sunday, 8 October 2006 14:55
To: Leica Users Group
Subject: Re: [Leica] FS MP, BP 35 Summicron

If the M7/MP sales were 'not significant,' Leica would have gone out of
business by now - because the R sales were certainly not keeping the camera
business afloat. The camera business was M sales and lenses. Lenses may
continue, what with the new Tri-Elmar, etc. Although on the other hand,
given the cost of the new body, people may look for used lenses - 21 becomes
28, etc. It's really not a question of the Osborne effect, but rather
whether the fact that Leica is endorsing digital will, in effect, drive
Leica out of the film business, and whether the digital business can then
keep the company afloat. Only time will tell.


On 10/7/06 3:53 PM, "Richard" <richard-lists@imagecraft.com> wrote:

> Well, I predicted a bumper crop of film Ms being put on the block, and I'd
> say a casual checks on various sites bear this out - there is a good number
> of MPs being put up lately. Of course this happened when M7 comes out and
> then the price of used M6s dropped significantly. Now of course the key
> question is not the sales on used Ms but the sales on new M7 and MP: will
> the waiting for the M8 dries up the sales? On tech world, this is known as
> the Osborne effect. When Osborne II was announced but was going to be
> available "Real Soon Now," people stopped buying Osborne I and thus
> depleted it source of income and killed the company. OTOH, may be the M7/MP
> sales are relatively insignificant that it will not make much different?
> Leica probably has anticipated this and writing off M7/MP sales for the
> next few months. The key is whether they can execute the M8 plan and start
> delivery in Nov. If so, then the increased M8 sales will probably more than
> compensate. If not,...
> 
> At 05:29 AM 10/7/2006, you wrote:
> 
> 
>> Noting that Leicaholic community is shedding film Ms the way maples shed
>> leaves in October - and to continue a crappy analogy (sort of) stashing 
>> the
>> cash toward an M8 purchase the way the squirrels are stashing acorns for 
>> the
>> winter, I have to wonder what the long-term economic implications of this
>> are for Leica. The quick answer is, "this switch to digital guarantees 
>> their
>> long-term survival." But does it? Will Leica sell enough $4700K digital
>> bodies to not only make up for what will probably be a real crash of film 
>> M
>> sales but also reinforce an already weak bottom line? Will people buy two,
>> three, digi bodies the way they bought film Ms?
>> 
>> No, predictable responders, I'm not trashing Leica or wishing the company
>> ill, and I am impressed by the initial reviews of the M8. I'm just asking 
>> a
>> question that just occurred to me as I read all the recent FS posts.
>> 
> 
> // richard (This email is for mailing lists. To reach me directly, please
> use richard at imagecraft.com)
>