[LRflex] Re: Leica R rumours?

William,
I use almost everything :-)
M2, M6, M4-2, CL, CLE (not quite Leica) IIIG, SL(several), SL2 
(several), SL2Mot, R5 and R7, when I have time (usually about 3 to 4 
weeks a year).

As to 16 mp - if you have the highest quality (not necessarily a result 
of so many mp) - you can always select the quality you want or need, 
but, apart from that it's a marketing thing. The Tri lenses will have to 
come - potential Leica owners in a new market at least will want 
something akin to the zooms they are used to.
The basic problem for Leica is their existing customer base - this 
limits the scope of what they can sell at present, and as I have 
mentioned before, is gradually diminishing through age. The demographic 
factor is the death sentence for Leica in its present form. Leica needs 
a new brand image and identity for a market that has not yet been 
confronted with the qualities and charisma of the Leica we all (most of 
us over 50 - and with perhaps. at the most,  20 to 30 years of potential 
Leica purchasing power ahead of us) know and "love".
Whether Leica sinks or swims is a matter of brand management and feeding 
the market where it's hungry, not where it's more or less saturated.
Leica relies on us for a "professional" view of what Leica tradition 
demands and what "conservative" photographers want, what this means when 
you get down to the hard facts is, we are a bunch of relatively 
"ancient" advisors whose opinions are treasured but only as a guideline 
about what NOT to do. Leica's lack of success is based on the fact that 
the market has been limited to people like us.
Leica has recently had a transfusion of big money, now the brand needs a 
transfusion of new blood in the form of new market segments within 
photography. The M8 , to me, is like climbing Mount Everest, "we did it 
because we can", a surprisingly successful gamble , but hedged by the 
number of die-hard Leica-ists who are still loyal to their brand. It 
would be interesting to see statistics showing the percentage of 
first-time buyers who purchased an M8 - I expect that it tends towards 
zero. This is NOT a sound basis for sustainable success.

At some time in the not too distant future Leica's core market will no 
longer be there in the numbers that can ensure survival, so we may not 
be angered, frustrated or annoyed - and least of all - surprised, when 
Leica suddenly comes up with a totally different product philosophy. 
This is the only way to ensure the survival of Leica asa brand and 
entails doing things for the market and not for individuals.
It may be hard for some of us, but for Leica it's a matter of survival 
in a predators market.
Greetings form Hannover
Douglas

BTW, most of my railroad shots are with a Leica M6, R7 or and SL2, the 
shots in dark sheds mostly with a CLE ( the automatic long exposure 
metering is so good) and those that were taken with a Canon 20D and an 
EOS 500N are predominantly with Leica glass
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/DMS/New-Old-Pictures/Railway-Heritage/


William G. Lamb, III wrote:
> Hello Douglas,
>
> Presume you are not an M-User.
>
> IMO this has zero to do with M practice.
>
> I know this is a reflex list..., but :-)
>
> Moreover, fixed focal-length M wides are significantly better performers
> than R wides..., on modern film and at their natural resolution. The
> Tri lenses distort at the short end and flare on the long end. For "image
> quality" they are compromises.
>
> A 16mp sensor might be handy for a pro in a hurry, for ad copy and
> some illustration. It's still a digital camera. You want HDTV or 
> "photography",
> i.e.., rich textures?
>
> Not just my opinion, BTW, but that of one of Leica's best M8 beta-testers
> and close friend in Germany..., who will not be selling either his MP 
> or M3. :-)
>
> Some recent snaps of M "image quality" from two weeks ago in some tough
> and very variable light. It doesn't get more "real" than this... 
> Looked just like this.
> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lambroving/Miscellany/Ringoes/LUG283.jpg.html>
> MP .58, 28/2 ASPH, f5.6 @ 1/250th, Portra 160 VC.
> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lambroving/Miscellany/Ringoes/LUG284.jpg.html>
> Same at 1/125th. Comments from another M8/MP friend: "The M8 won't render
> that sky with that exposure on the cab."
>
> Some M7, 75/2 AA "image quality" on 100 UC.
> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lambroving/Miscellany/Ringoes/LUG276.jpg.html>
> and detail.
> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lambroving/Miscellany/Ringoes/LUG277.jpg.html>
> Same trolley with 28/2 <http://www.delawareturtle.com/>
> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lambroving/Miscellany/Ringoes/LUG280.jpg.html>
>
> Best Regards,
>
> William
>
>   
>> Also around 90 % for an M9, 16mp sensor, wider ISO range, Live-view with
>> focus conformation and a 50-70-90 or 70-90-135 Tri-elmarit
>>
>> My tuppence
>> Douglas
>>     
>
>
>
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