[LRflex] Re: Violent agreement!
- From: Philippe Amard <phamard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 12:45:21 +0200
Violently agreed Keith ;-)
Thanks for the text, too.
Porsche info: they've just bought shares in VAG so as to have a large
basis for their technologies to rest on. Which means they were
financally healthy. The comparison with Leica must stop there I'm afraid.
Yours
Phil...X
KEITH LONGMORE wrote:
>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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