[LRflex] Violent agreement!

  • From: KEITH LONGMORE <keith@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 10:36:04 +0100

Flexers
You know, I think we have unleashed a phenomenon so prevalent in 
committee proceedings nowadays - violent agreement!!

Date: Sun, 13 May 2007 18:18:17 +0200
From: Douglas Sharp <douglas.sharp@xxxxxx>
Subject: [LRflex] Re: Interview with Steven K. Lee (current issue of Leica

Philippe,
Biggest problem for Leica is to get their hands on FTBs and create a 
whole new customer base, and you don't get to that with high prices for 
what to new buyers or low to mid income consumers, is a more or less 
unknown brand, whatever you're offering, full frame , APS-C or 4 /3. The 
bracket in which Leica can presently be sold is too limited. Medium to 
top earnings, few or no children, or retired and reasonably  well off. 
Give it another twenty to thirty years and a large proportion of Leica's 
core customers may well be literally dead and buried along with the company.
Cheers
Douglas
Ooops, FTB = first time buyers

I couldn't agree more!

Here's the AP article: (apologies and acknowledgments to AP copyright)

106: back from the front
www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

MAGNUM photographer Costa Manos recently wrote: 'When I received a Leica 
M8 test camera in mid-August,I was delighted
first of all to see and feel that,yes,it is truly an M camera- the 
digital descendant of the legendary M cameras'
As product manager of the Leica M system I have worked closely with the 
engineers and specialists who developed the M8.
 I wrote the first technical specifications for a digital M in 2002, but 
it took until September 2006 to present the product .
The question of how to position a new modern camera within a 
long-standing tradition was the key element in all discussions.
Why did we integrate digital technology in a system that is rnore than 
50 years old?
Using an existing system with a number of existing lenses offers a lot 
of advantages  for customers. It generates value retention for loyal 
customers, but
also gives new corners access to a big second-hand market. We would not 
accept any compromises in the image quality or ergonomics of
the M8, and we had numerous discussions about small details, both 
internally and with professionals and amateurs. We also followed speculation
in internet forums and the media.  The short distance between the rear 
lens element and the sensor in the M8 rneans light strikes
the sensor at an acute angle.  Dealing with this required unique 
structural changes to the CCD.  Developrnent couldn't start until 2004 when,
together with Kodak ISS, we found a solution to adapt a sensor for the M 
system.We had to develop a completely new concept
for the menus and buttons of the M8 to reflect our traditional 
concentration on essentials.The M mount was upgraded with a six-bit
coding systern, allowing the camera to 'see' what lens is used and to 
correct and improve the image.We also had to accept that to keep the 
compactness and the quality of the system we would have to use a sensor 
smaller than full frame.Then,in the launch phase we had to quickly solve 
last-minute quality issues.
Why did Leica choose this difficult manner of integrating a new 
capturing technology in an existing system instead of starting something 
new? My
experience tells me the reason for this is the difference between the 
typical European and Japanese approaches to development processes
I have seen first-hand how Japanese engineers put all possible efforts 
into a product to make it as innovative as possible.Once they have 
finalised the work they accept the result as it stands and do not spend 
much time on any further enhancement When a new project comes up they 
would rather start completely afresh with a 'blank sheet of paper' This 
enables them to be fast and innovative.  The typical European approach 
of product development is to take a lot of time optimising a product 
based on its own traditions. The Porsche 911, for example, has retained 
its essence despite constant changes and improvements over the years. 
There is a risk in periods of fast change that we might lose track of 
the concept when applying optimisations. This is what Leica experienced 
in the early years of the digital revolution. But there is a specific 
potential in the long run to be unique and combine tradition and 
modernity.  The European approach offers photographers the advantage of 
using a system that teaches them to see in a distinctive way. Many of 
our customers, including Costa Manos, had a yearning for such an 
approach We are confident our approach will now show its benefits. AP

Stefan Daniel joined Leica in1984as an apprentice in precision 
mechanics.  Having completed his apprenticeship, he became a service 
technician working in Leica facilities in Wetzlar, Solms, and Paris.  He 
became product manager for the company's projector division in 1995, and 
has been product manager for the M system since 1998.

Well, there you have it!  No change there, then....  I can't say that 
this approach inspires me with confidence for the R series' future.  
Citing the Porsche 911 is saying 'niche market only'; but Porsche make 
many other models, as well as being a very strong consultancy, and those 
models are pitched at a wide range of market sectors.  In my 34 years in 
the automotive industry, I have seen many people have a comparable 
career path to Mr Daniel; and the industry is littered with the corpses 
of such careers......  and what has happened to the UK motor industry?

Time will tell.
Cheers
Keith Longmore

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