Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2010/12/20

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Subject: [Leica] S2 success (or lack thereof)
From: douglas.sharp at gmx.de (Douglas Sharp)
Date: Mon, 20 Dec 2010 13:22:40 +0100
References: <C93492DB.80DC%mark@rabinergroup.com> <4D0F29A2.7000004@gmx.de> <AANLkTikSm5zRvn-vGn=fOtxsqdZ6tAvnvAmGTVzLF4+s@mail.gmail.com> <4D0F3462.8050406@gmx.de> <3DC7CBD5-EED4-4AEC-B059-338DB0C0AE63@sfr.fr>

Here's an "f" for you - it may come in useful.;-)

Cheers
Douglas

On 20.12.2010 12:49, philippe.amard wrote:
> Agreed Douglas,
>
> I said quite a while ago that Leica needed a paradigm 
> shit if they were to survive and prosper.
> Now the move they've made doesn't suit me, what can I 
> do ...
>
> But they will always find Davos dwellers, Rolex, 
> Veyron, and cruising ships owners who will want an S2.
> All the better for them all.
>
> Were I one of them, I'd give it a try, and sell it if 
> not convenient
> Well sell? why? no need to get through the ordeal of 
> doing so.
> My time is more precious to me.
> Just forget about it.
>
>
> In the meantime, I hope I will anyhow enjoy viewing 
> some beautiful results some day :-)
>
> Frohe Weihnachten
> Philippe
>
>
> Le 20 d?c. 10 ? 11:48, Douglas Sharp a ?crit :
>
>> Richard,
>>
>> the fact is that Leica have been absolutely 
>> overwhelmed by the success of the M9 and the S2. The 
>> are working their wotsits off trying to catch up 
>> with an order backlog like they've never seen 
>> before.  It doesn't matter one iota who is buying 
>> the gear - if it is making Leica a going concern, we 
>> can all be happy. Leica is doing a lot of PR trying 
>> to make the S2 better known to professionals (at 
>> least in Germany, so far) and has, as yet, had only 
>> positive feedback - even down to things like how 
>> long you can shoot with one battery charge.
>>
>> Maybe lots of potentates and oligarchs are buying 
>> it, but so what - the more S2s there are out there, 
>> the more people become aware of it and the brand, 
>> and more will be ordered and sold.
>>
>> As to the M9Ti, the book that's included with it 
>> states clearly that it is Leica's "concept car" and 
>> has features that could be employed in later models.
>>
>> The new design is clear, simple and unostentatious - 
>> precisely what Leicas have been right from the word 
>> go - maybe purists don't like it, but purists even 
>> shied away from the idea of a digital Leica R 
>> (sacrilege!!)at first,  and when they didn't get one 
>> (R10), they all started moaning.
>>
>> Is there a better way of paying for your R+D costs? 
>> I doubt it. A very clever move by Leica, and one 
>> that highlights their joint sponsoring efforts with 
>> the VW Group (and Audi as a premium brand)  e.g. 
>> http://www.sbc2010.de/ It's pretty obvious where 
>> their target groups are - and it's not us.
>>
>> Leica are getting their products placed in the 
>> rarified atmosphere of premium events like this and 
>> are accessing the segments where money is no object.
>>
>> Good for Leica! Their radical turnaround project has 
>> worked (although a gamble) and the company is on a 
>> relatively firm financial footing for what is, after 
>> all, a very small company. They still have quite a 
>> way to go, and I, for one, wish them well.
>>
>> It is perhaps interesting to note that what turned 
>> Leica around was the fact that they declined to 
>> produce what Leicaphiles were asking for and went 
>> their own way for a change.
>>
>> Maybe dyed-in-the-wool Leicaphiles are what was 
>> holding them back - now they've thrown this age-old 
>> conservatism out of the window they seem to be back 
>> and doing rather well.
>>
>> Cheers
>> Douglas
>>
>> On 20.12.2010 11:07, Richard Man wrote:
>>> Come on guys. I know no one controls where a thread 
>>> goes, but do we have to
>>> hijack it to yet another rant against M9Ti or 
>>> whatever horse$hit that
>>> someone happens not to like?
>>>
>>> My conjecture is that just based on some random but 
>>> imho educated guesses,
>>> the S2 will do all right by Leica. No one has 
>>> either call BS on it or agree
>>> to it, but yet another tangential rant.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
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>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for 
>> more information
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>
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Replies: Reply from daniel at dlridings.se (Daniel Ridings) ([Leica] S2 success (or lack thereof))
In reply to: Message from mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner) ([Leica] S2 success (or lack thereof))
Message from douglas.sharp at gmx.de (Douglas Sharp) ([Leica] S2 success (or lack thereof))
Message from richard at imagecraft.com (Richard Man) ([Leica] S2 success (or lack thereof))
Message from douglas.sharp at gmx.de (Douglas Sharp) ([Leica] S2 success (or lack thereof))
Message from philippe.amard at sfr.fr (philippe.amard) ([Leica] S2 success (or lack thereof))