[LRflex] Re: Interview with Steven K. Lee
- From: "Neil Gould" <neil@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 13 May 2007 15:44:26 -0500
Hello Juan,
Thanks for providing these interesting and enlightening excerpts from the
interview.
> From: Juan Gea-Banacloche <banacloj@xxxxxxx>
> Leica Fotograf Date: Sat, 12 May 2007 13:56:11 -0400
>
> The current issue of LFI has an interview with Mr. Lee that I found
> very interesting.
>
> "Take the Leica R system: the R crowd are the most die-hard Leica
> fans of all. I have a Leicaflex SL, R4, R4s, R4s2, R5, two R7s and
> six lenses. I am a die-hard Leicaflex guy and a serious fan of the
> Leica R".
>
Interesting that his collection doesn't include an R8 or R9. I can only
hope that his taste has an impact on the envelope of the R10.
> "[...] The R of today is a big camera with an add-on digital back.
> We've got to do something about that, too!"
>
Well, the R8/9+DMR is not the only bulky digital camera on the market. C &
N "pro" models are quite a handful, too. Frankly, if I wanted to lug
around that much bulk, I'd take my 6008i instead, because it's smaller,
probably lighter, and provides a significant boost in image quality. ;-)
> "What do the customers really need? Do they really need a 60 percent
> MTF at 40 lppmm at f/1.4? That's not a need. If you build it, you'll
> kill yourself making it, and sure, everybody will go "wow!" - but
> that doesn't mean it will sell. (...) A need state is knowing you are
> in posession of something superior".
>
This has some interesting implications.
> From: Steve Barbour <kididdoc@xxxxxxx>
> Leica Foto Date: Sat, 12 May 2007 11:05:46 -0700
>
> good try Steven...a nice butter up job...
>
> but the sort of thing people, businessmen, politicians, doctors say
> when they don't have anything to say, or they don't want to say
> anything......
>
What would you have Steven say that would impart more information about
the direction he is taking the company? I think his credentials and
experience bodes well for Leica.
> From: "a aa" <classwp@xxxxxxxxx>
>
> I interpret this to mean they will release 'cost effective' lenses for
> the R , not unlike the 28 Elmarit Asph, which are not necessarily
> performance-first designs.
>
Not being an owner of this lens, I would appreciate your insights into how
its performance suffers. In comparison to what?
> Quite frankly, I don't think a 4/3rds camera is the sole answer to
> Leica's digital problems. At the very least they will need to have a
> full, or nearly ful-frame sensor system, to replace the current R
> line, and perhaps market a 4/3rds Panasonic based system in parallel.
>
I don't see much of a future for 35mm format sensors. The trend is toward
sub-35mm sensors with better performance. I'm hard pressed to come up with
a scenario that would impact this direction. Consider the DMR and M8 as
indicators. Those who have invested "heavily" in lenses for 35mm format
will just have to adjust their expectations.
> From: Douglas Sharp <douglas.sharp@xxxxxx>
>
> And what if 4/3 goes the way of APS-film cartridges?
> That was supposedly a revolution too - Leica must, IMO, address the
> people who want a 28mm lens to create images that their users are used
> to seeing from a 28mm lens - they won't even get past first base
> without a full frame sensor - Canon did it with the 5D at a
lower-than-Leica
> price - that's what Lee means with competitive.
>
I don't know about that. Where does the 5D stand today? Will there be a
full-frame successor? Given that the smaller sensor size of the DMR and M8
provide performance that some here feel is superior to the 5D, what is the
motivation to launch a product that would have to sell for considerably
more than either of those cameras due to the cost of developing a new
sensor that would have a such a small production run (even if they could
build the expertise to manage the manufacture of such a sensor)? To
paraphrase the excerpt, Leica could kill themselves making it, and a few
people would go "wow", but could they sell it? I think that may be in part
what Lee meant by beinig competitive.
Neil
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