Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/10/11
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Thanks for this report. Makes me think a few shares in Leica might prove a good investment afterall ;-) Cheers > Hi LUG friends! > > I have resubscribed after a fairly lengthy absence to bring you all up to > date on what I have learned about Leica Camera AG and its future at the > LHSA > meeting in Wetzlar ten days ago. Had an opportunity to visit at some > length > with Andreas Kaufmann whose Company has bought full control of Leica > Camera > and also with Steven Lee, an American who has assumed a senior management > role with the Company. Both are photography and Leica enthusiasts and have > a > shared vision of where they hope to take the Company. As you doubtless > have > read, Leica introduced not only the M-8 but also three other digital > cameras. The Leica booths at Photokina were mobbed, especially, naturally, > that of the M-8. > > What is most impressive is the enthusiasm at the factory. All of the > feedback from our friends at the Company made clear that there is a new > sense of excitement at Solms, that the tacit concern amongst employees for > the Company's survival is gone. A truly great sense of optimism invests > the > place. As several staff members put it, everyone is eager to come to work > again. Evidence of this is that despite the fact that Tuesday 3 October > was > a national holiday and almost everyone takes off the Monday (2 October) to > make a long weekend, production workers on the M-8 came to work > voluntarily > to ensure that the Company continues to produce enough cameras to meet > demand. > > I had a chance to read only a very few M-8 comments in the LUG archive and > will comment on just one issue, the coding of older lenses for the M-8. I > am > ill-equipped to answer this technically but as I understand it, because > of > the oblique angle at which light rays from shorter focal length lenses > reach > the sensor, Leica has placed before the sensor a device that adjusts the > rays to reduce or elminate that effect. The code on older lenses tells the > camera what adjustment is indicated for that focal length. I have been > told > that this is more important for lenses under 50mm, that the deleterious > effect at 50mm is not too great and at the longer focal lengths, the > lenses > probably do not really need the coding. > > The LHSA meeting really was pretty wonderful, on Friday a good day of > programs and projection presentations and the banquet at which both Mr. > Kaufmann and Steven Lee spoke about their enthusiasm for Leica and briefly > about their plans for the future. Saturday visit to Photokina in Cologne, > Sunday back to Photoboerse, a massive trade fair, Monday factory visit and > visit to Braunfels and the castle, Tuesday a luncheon cruise on the Rhine > and a medieval banquet and departure Wednesday. Twenty members stayed on > through Wednesday for a Leica Akademie program with the M-8. > > Surprising number of our members attended carrying..........digital > cameras! > We're not all old f-rts stroking our - you will pardon the expression - > Thambars! > > Cheerio all, > > Seth > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >