Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/02/03
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Stephen,
No "photogs should be lining up to picket Solms" about the R8's 2-fps
winder. In a free market, the value of any product is communicated to
its producer ONLY by customers buying or not buying that product. If
it is true that a 2-fps winder is inadequate for the needs of Leica R8
customers, "the elves at Solms" will "get the picture" only when those
customers decline to buy it.
Art Peterson
______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re: [Leica] R8 Wonder Winder
Author: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us at internet
Date: 2/2/98 5:58 PM
Alex Hurst wrote:
> This is one on which I can wait for ever.
snip
> everyone's far more interested in (would
> you believe) a _winder_ (not even a motor drive) for the R8.
Well Alex, I strongly disagree. I think Leica is just brilliantly
marketing an unbelievably inadequate and outdated product.
If Leica had introduced their pathetically slow--and therefore
practically useless--2 fps winder with the camera, any photographer with
a full film cassette would have howled in protest how useless and
outdated a 2 fps winder is.
The first Nikon motordrive for the SP rangefinder FORTY years ago was 3
fps. Nikon has not marketed a new winder since the low end beginner EM
in 1979.
Now, only NINETEEN years after Nikon's last 2 fps winder, R8 gullible
are getting excited about a miserable 2 fps winder which equals the
blazing winder speed of Nikon's least inexpensive SLR ever. The
mechanical RapidWinder for the M's should be able to do that. Big deal
R8 faithful.
It's a great marketing scheme, though. I would not have believed how
well it's working.
If Leica had shipped winders with R8 bodies from the start, they would
have barely been able to give them away. Photogs would have seen it for
what it is, and laughed at it's pathetically slow speed.
Yet, by brilliantly delaying the "Motor/winder's" introduction by a
year or so, Leica created a Motor/winder scarcity. Now the winders
are desirable because they are rare and over due. Now photogs are
lining up to buy those useless anchors and hang them from an already
heavy body.
damn, it's one of the greatest photo cons of all time--and probably the
only way they could sell a 2 fps winder. too bad Leica had to
resort to it. They really have no excuses not to have introduced the R8
with at least a 6 fps motor. Leica doesn't even have to worry about
auto focus tracking in the R8, yet they can't bring out an adequately
fast motor. And no, the promised 4 fps motor isn't adequate
either----- not for a top of the line flagship SLR.
Only by demanding Leica live up to it's reputation as the best, are we
likely to get the best. The M line has just been beefed up with great
new wide ASPH Lenses as well as a very welcomed High Magnification
finder. Solms just has no excuses why they should try to pass off
inadequate efforts as a Leica product, whether it the new R8
"Motor/winder" or the long rumored and greatly anticipated nuclear
powered motorized combined cable release and missile launcher.
Instead of lining up to buy the new 2 fps wonder winder, photogs should
be lining up to picket Solms. Perhaps then the elves at Solms would get
the picture that adequate isn't good enough for Leica, or Leica's
customers.
Stephen Gandy
Yep, I get a lot of laughs