[LRflex] Re: OT: please, Leica marketing ears, open up!

  • From: Richard Ward <ilovaussiesheps@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Tue, 21 Jun 2011 12:25:27 -0400

Hi Xavier,
   I agree with the concept you're presenting! A small camera with great lenses 
that's simple to use are the concepts that Leica was built around from the very 
beginning. I suspect that Leica Marketing is already closely monitoring the 
situation because of some of the news items I've read here, on L Camera Forum, 
and some speeches posted on the Net by Leica Executives. The Shining star 
amongst the tidbits is that Leica says explicitly that they are faced with the 
obstacle of their customers aging out of the market solely based upon their 
eyes deteriorating and making RF focusing unreliable in wide aperture 
situations. Leica wants a camera they can sell these folks to both let them use 
their existing M lenses and sell them new af lenses. If I recall it right, the 
designs for this new interchangeable lens af camera constitute the long awaited 
and long lambasted 'r solution' which has been so often theorized, designed, 
derided, cried out for, etc on this forum. 
  As for this micro 4/3rds revolution underway which Zeiss and the Gang are 
joining, don't forget that Leica already had a standard 4/3rds mount system in 
their stable before their latest, greatest near death experience. They are also 
still partnering with Panasonic on their m4/3rds offerings, so Leica hasn't 
exactly stayed completely out of the market. If, like Zeiss, they jump into 
m4/3 big, they can have their own designs built in japan by panasonic. 
  I do wonder if Leica can meet the twin goals of giving a quality Leica small 
camera experience using the 2x crop sensor sizes of the 4/3rds system while 
also filling a stated aim of giving existing M owners and Users a nice Leica 
route to have af with their existing lenses. Even the widest of Leica M lenses 
is just an ordinary focal length on a 2x crop sensor and the most common lens 
focal lengths the majority of M owners will have bought equate to standard, 
short tele, and tele. I think Leica, as an aspirational retail company, would 
like to avoid a me-to jump into 4/3rds and put out a more aspirational 1.3x or 
better a full frame offering based around the digital viewfinders and small 
cameras a'la the m4/3 paradigm. Pannasonic already can cut em checks for 
selling 'leica' glass in the 4/3 market without the hassles of designing their 
own camera system. A big sensored small af camera that functionally uses M 
lenses well gives them leverage over in the M side of the shop to keep selling 
lenses to existing M owners while also giving those same lenses a market of 
buyers who won't buy a manual camera or an RF camera. Slap an 'r solution' 
sticker on it and they can check that box off.
   
Once again: +1 to your idea Xavier. 

I suspect and hope it's a more aspirational camera they come up with than a 
Leica wrapper on the generic 4/3 sensor. 
 
Richard in Michigan 


On Jun 21, 2011, at 3:26 AM, Bille Xavier F. wrote:

> Hi Richard, All Among the rumors from the same site, Komura, Zeiss and Sigma 
> are joining the micro 4/3 club!
> And even Olympus is going to offer lenses like the 12mm/f2... At this stage, 
> although the lenses look good and nice, the u4/3 suffers from the lack of 
> focals with great specs. It's My turn to launch a rumor: Let's imagine that 
> the excellent Olympus EP2 view finder is attached to a G3 electronics having 
> the look  of a Leica S2 (but smaller, dwarfed) with a magnesium body, rugged 
> and IP qualified.  We may retain the touch screen of the G3 module but with 
> the corner buttons on the S2 (same look and feel).  Let's imagine we can buy 
> a u4/3 set of lens like a 10mm elmarit, a 16mm summicron, a 25 summilux (soon 
> to come, me think) , a 33mm Macro Elmarit  40-100 vario elmar F4 constant, 
> etcThe lenses are compatible with the specs of the u4/3 standard (in terms of 
> focus by flywire, aperture, etc) Let's imagine we can mount the Panasonic 
> Lenses on the body, especially those with mega OIS.... Let's imagine we can 
> download "modes" from the website, each "mode" is  a set of optimised param
> eters to use the "legacy" lenses, such a the R24 elmarit, the 100 APO 
> Elmarit, etc, etcThe modes are to be written on the SD card in a directory, 
> the camera offers to browse and select the mode. If the system keeps the 
> "pocketable" aspect of the u4/3, it might be a nice R system I suggest we 
> call it the Leica "uR" system, (micro R system or by reference to the very 
> first Leica "Ur", camera) Rumor mode is off, now, the marketing team may run 
> to the desk and draw their "profit margin" curves. When the "uR-10" model is 
> presented to the Photokina?  I'm sure that this system is as profitable as 
> the VLUX20 of their latest point and shoot with a 10x zoom. YMMV, etc...
> --------------------------------- 
> 
> Xavier F. BILLE 

________________________________

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Average minds discuss events.
Small minds discuss people.
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