Thanks for the reminder, Alex I forgot my R3Mot :-) But I don't need another one. What I DO need is a battery holder for the Leicaflex motor on my SL2Mot Cheers Douglas Alex Hurst wrote: > 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 > ------ Unsubscribe or change to/from Digest Mode at: http://www3.telus.net/~telyt/lrflex.htm Archives are at: //www.freelists.org/archives/leicareflex/