[Leica] Re: Cheaper Leica

[lrzeitlin at optonline.net (Lawrence Zeitlin)]

On Feb 16, 2009, at 10:00 PM, Geoff wrote:

> The 'CL of digital' seems to have popular support on the internet  
> forums. It
> certainly sounds like Leica are hinting in that direction. I don't  
> see what
> you could remove from the M8 design to make it much simpler though.  
> If that
> is so, you need a much cheaper to manufacture body with an M mount.  
> If that
> means an EVF I think it would lose its rangefinder essence.


Not necessarily. The CL cost much less than the M series Leicas to  
produce. They sold retail for about 1/3 the price. I bought one new  
in 1970 for less than $400 USD. While I have no definitive knowledge,  
I suspect that the bulk of of the cost of the M8 comes from the  
mechanical and optical parts. With a digital CL using the mass  
marketed mini 4/3 components, it could sell for considerably less  
than the M8 yet still use an optical RF system. It all depends on  
whether Leica is making enough money from selling a small number of  
expensive M8s or wants to broaden its base by selling many more  
cheaper digital CLs. Remember that Leica killed the CL because it was  
selling too many of them and felt that it was cannibalizing sales of  
the M cameras. Perhaps Konica Minolta still has the tooling tucked  
away in some warehouse.

Alternatively Leica, or another supplier, could retrofit existing M  
cameras for digital photography by making a 4/3 digital sensor module  
to replace the inspection door in the back and incorporate digital  
electronics in a somewhat enlarged base plate. Everything else is  
already there, the shutter, the range finder and the view finder. You  
would have to advance the "film" normally to cock the shutter. In  
addition to extending the useful life of a generation of film  
cameras, the original back door could be replaced to use film if  
desired.

Leica, you can have my suggestion without a fee. I'll even let you  
have a couple of M3s to modify digitally, as long as I can get them  
back.

Larry Z