[Leica] Leica and Pricing

[Marc James Small <msmall@roanoke.infi.net>]

At 04:49 PM 1998-09-19 -0400, "B D" Colen wrote:
>While I think my M6 and its lenses are fabulous, I also think that Leica
>equipment is over-priced compared to other excellent photographic equipment.
>In fact, I would say that, with exception, much of the equipment is priced
>at least $500 per lens and body above where it should be.
>

There are some huge logical lacuna at play here.

First, the pricing is Leica's business, not yours or ours to gainsay.
There is no moral point where the price "should be":  Leica makes it and
sells it at a given price.  If the price is higher than you are willing or
able to pay, then stick to a lesser breed and hold your petty whinges to
yourself.

Second, excellence costs money.  It costs money to design, build, and
market a truly phenomenal lens.  There is a law of diminishing returns at
work here, and that jump from, say, 90% of perfection to 95% will double
the cost of an item.

Third, if Nikon or Canon chose to make lenses of Leica or Zeiss quality,
they certainly are fully capable of doing so (well, Canon is:  I'm not
certain Nikon has the available money for R&D at the nonce, as they're
still fiscally a-teeter, though not on the verge of bankruptcy as they were
four or five years back).  But, if Canon marketed a Leica or Zeiss quality
lens, then it would have the same price tag that Leica and Zeiss charge for
theirs, as the economics of production are pretty well fixed in a world
market, and perfection costs as much to manufacture East of the Moon as it
does West of the Sun.  

The Japanese make superb amateur astronomical equipment but very little of
it is marketed here, as their equivalent of a $3,000 pair of Zeiss
binoculars is every bit as good as the Zeiss glasses -- but costs $3,000,
so they concede the US and European markets to the Germans.   In the
meantime, we get their second-string gear, the Nikon and Fuzzinon
binoculars.  (Of course, if the yen continues its downward spiral, we might
start seeing some of the top-notch gear over here!)  

Let Leica charge what keeps them in business.  I can't afford these new
lenses -- but, someday, I'll find what I need at a show, used, for a decent
price.  In the meantime, my battered old gear continues to give me fine
service.

Marc


msmall@roanoke.infi.net  FAX:  +540/343-7315
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