[LRflex] Re: Leica R rumours?
- From: Jonathan Lee <jlee@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 10:09:47 -0400
IIIa (Summar)
M6 TTL (50)
M7 (35)
R9 (19, 35, 100, 250)
Jonathan
On 31-May-07, at 10:04 AM, Ed Willoughby wrote:
> A few:
>
> M3 (50 mm)
> Minilux
> CL (40 mm)
> R7 (24, 50, 135, 250 mm and 2x)
>
> Ed.
> Gary Pinkerton <gpinkcp@xxxxxxx> wrote:
> Nothing like you guys, but, more gear than I actually have a need
> for:
> R8 x 2
> SL
> IIIc
> Mini II
>
>
>> From: Douglas Herr
>> Reply-To: leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> To: leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> Subject: [LRflex] Re: Leica R rumours?
>> Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 05:33:54 -0700 (GMT-07:00)
>>
>> I'd be curious to see how many of us have multiple Leicas like Alex
>> and
>> Douglas.
>>
>> Mine:
>>
>> Leicaflex Standard x2
>> Leicaflex SL several
>> Leicaflex SL2 x2
>> Leica R4
>> Leica R4sP
>> Leica R8/DMR
>>
>> Doug Herr
>> Birdman of Sacramento
>> http://www.wildlightphoto.com
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Alex Hurst
>>> Sent: May 31, 2007 4:43 AM
>>> To: leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> Subject: [LRflex] Re: Leica R rumours?
>>>
>>> Douglas wrote in part:
>>>
>>>> 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).
>>>
>>>
>>> Jaysus, Douglas, you're as bad as me! Last count was:
>>>
>>> LTM: 1926/27 I converted to III, 1932 Standard, IIIa, IIIf.
>>> M: M2 (2), M3, M4-P, M6, CL.
>>> R: SL, SL2 (2), R3 MOT.
>>>
>>> All of these get used in regular rotation, apart from the R3, which I
>>> don't get on with. Anyone want a nice R3 MOT plus slightly
>>> temperamental winder? Email me off-list - sorry, it's not Friday.
>>>
>>>
>>>> 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".
>>>
>>> This is a problem for the LHSA too - there weren't that many
>>> youngsters at the Wetzlar meet last year.....
>>>
>>>> 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.
>>>
>>> Not sure that the sage advice of us ancients is not heeded by Solms.
>>> After all, most of us seem to have also embraced digital in some
>>> shape or form, so we look forward as well as back. I went the Nikon
>>> D200 route, and am very happy I did.
>>>
>>> Our problem is that we have a significant investment in the past as
>>> well as the future of Leica. If they fudge the issue of backward lens
>>> compatibility for a new DSLR, then there's little incentive for us to
>>> buy a new body. Nikon have addressed this successfully - I can use
>>> nearly all my MF Nikon glass on the D200 with focus confirmation and
>>> matrix metering, and do so frequently. I hope Leica can emulate them.
>>>
>>>> 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.
>>>
>>> It would indeed. I suspect Leica don't know themselves. OTOH,
>>> received wisdom is that the M8 is still flying off the shelves
>>> despite its high price, and I can't believe that this is entirely due
>>> to the old guard upgrading. If it is, then the future for Leica is
>>> indeed as bleak as Douglas implies.
>>>
>>>> It may be hard for some of us, but for Leica it's a matter of
>>>> survival
>>>> in a predators market.
>>>
>>> That's why I hope that a new digital R will not be too little too
>>> late, as was the case with the 'flexes. R&D is moving at such a pace
>>> in the DSLR field that it's going to be very difficult to offer a
>>> product from scratch that is even competitive, let alone a
>>> market-leader designwise.
>>>
>>> Best
>>>
>>> Alex
>>> --
>>> Alex & Carmel Hurst
>>> Waterfall
>>> Near Cork
>>> Ireland
>>>
>>> Tel: +353 21 454 3328
>>> Mobile: +353 87 245 7048 (A)
>>> +353 87 988 9927 (C)
>>>
>>> email: corkflor@xxxxxx
>>> Home Pages: http://www.iol.ie/~corkflor
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