[LRflex] Re: Reading the LR2 manual.....
- From: Douglas Sharp <douglas.sharp@xxxxxx>
- To: leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 03 Oct 2008 00:32:40 +0200
wildlightphoto@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
Steve, it might be helpful to recall the anger and frustration of Nikon
users before the D3 and D700 were announced. A very common sentiment was
that Nikon was hopelessly behind the competition, they were ignoring the
needs of their loyal customers, and their silence was an insult to their
fans. Does this sound familiar?
IMHO the S2 is a brilliant move on Leica's part: they saw a hole in the
market that Leica is uniquely suited to fill, and that nobody else appeared
to be moving in that direction. It doesn't do much, if anything, for the
existing M or R user, but it should bring new users to the brand and the
technology developed for the S2, paid for by S2 sales (assuming the market
next year will support ANY camera sales) will be very usable and more
affordable in future M and R system cameras because of economies of scale.
I couldn't agree more, Doug, what they're attempting is to catch an
opinion making high-end of the market - like High-end audio where price
is no object, only perfect sound - a reference by which all else is
measured.
Audio ratings always have a "reference' amplifier or speakers, so why
shouldn't Leica produce a 'reference camera' - i.e. the S2. Assuming the
electronics and many of the parts are identical, like the selected
components of high-end amps are, the R10 should only be a problem of
downscaling the sensor and body size and picking the cherries out of the
existing Leica-R cake to keep people like us satisfied.
Leica never lost any of their technical or optical expertise, they were
only short of funds until Dr K came along.
I see the R10 being 'affordable' when seen on a 'reference scale' of
what Leica has produced in the past, there is no point whatsoever in
comparing Leica prices with those of competitors, and there never was.
The only problem I see is in producing a 'last for ever' camera with
'new every year' digital technology. This can only be solved by
upgradeable electronics and sensor technology. Seen in this light, the
M8.2 is an upgraded M8, it is, at the same time, possible to upgrade an
existing M8 to virtually the same specs. This must be the shape of
things to come.
I am also frustrated that the R10 is taking so long to be developed, but I
believe that Leica'sxperience with the S2 technology and development will
result in a better R10 and M9 than if Leica had not pursued the S2 market.
Frustration that was probably felt at Leica too, perhaps one of the
reasons Mr Lee had to pack his bags, the Leica R&D team must have been
working flat out on the S2 for quite a while and, knowing the way German
perfectionists work, they wouldn't have liked being forced to work on
something else before the S2 was perfect.
It is notable that many Leica specialists made redundant by Mr Lee's
policies were taken on again almost immediately after his demise. The
fact that a court case is still pending apropos his severance deal seems
to show that Doc K. was very unsatisfied with a person who had obviously
been seen as a viper at Leica's bosom.
Cheers
Douglas
Doug Herr
Birdman of Sacramento
http://www.wildlightphoto.com
Original Message:
-----------------
From: Steve Barbour kididdoc@xxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2008 14:07:23 -0700
To: leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [LRflex] Re: Reading the LR2 manual.....
On Oct 2, 2008, at 1:42 PM, David Young wrote:
Steve commented::
they are either ahead of the game... or 6-7 years too late....
Hi Steve:
If, by "they", you mean Hr. Kaufmann and the current team at Leica,
they cannot be "6 -7 years too late" as they have only been there
about 2.5 years.
oh by they, I mean Leica...
I know, from talking to both Hr. Kaufmann and Steven Lee, that Hr.
Kaufmann has a great commitment to Leica and to the R system. This
commitment is one of the reasons that Lee was hired... he was a long
time R user, before coming to Leica.
Hr. Kaufmann knows, I'm sure, that he is "a day late and a dollar
short", but he is committed to deliver an R10 that should satisfy
most R users. I think it would be here, now, except for their
desire to bring the S2 to market. With Leica's low production, high
value products and long development cycles, the S2 is ideally suited
for them. But they only have resources for one major project at a
time.
I would like to have faith in them, but with all the fainting and
weaving, experience has taught me to remain entirely unimpressed by
what they say...
and David, forgive me, but it's risky for you to be an apologist for
them...we are on the same team, but at times you sound like a hostage
advocating for the terrorists.
The R10 will be a "tougher sell" for the general market...but I
think that if they do it right (going for the R7 size/weight is a
good start) the R10 will be introduced to great sales, as R users
move to it as M users moved to the M8. Whether they can garner
more of the general dSLR market, after that, will remain to be seen.
However, people buy small Nikons and Canons because the Pros use the
large Nikons & Canons. If the S2 captures a decent share of the
pro market, those looking for an upscale dSLR will buy the R10
because the Pros are using Leicas. Hell, it worked for me. In 1965,
I bought a Nikon F because the pros were using them!
Only time will tell, but I think Leica is on the right track, even
if it isn't the track for us, until sometime in 2010.
Cheers!
---
David Young,
Logan Lake, CANADA
Limited Edition Prints at: www.furnfeather.net
Personal Web-site at: www.main.furnfeather.net
Stock Photography at: http://tinyurl.com/2amll4
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