[Leica] Leica's Future

["B. D. Colen" <BDColen@earthlink.net>]

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Let me make a few heretical comments in response to the Leica's future
thread...

Looking at the numbers of cameras and lenses sold, and looking at the kind
of observations Ted made about the scarcity of the products in the
professional pack, it is foolhardy to suggest that today's Leica is anything
more than a niche product. Yes, there are some pros who swear by the Ms or
the Rs and produce stunning work with them. And certainly there is a
fanatically dedicated group of "amature" users.

But if the company is to survive, it is going to do so by producing
equipment that melds the best of the past with the best of cutting edge
technology. What does that mean? A rangefinder with a 4000th to 8000th top
shutter speed, multi-mode auto exposure and true spot metering, and the
traditional M lens mount that will allow the use of virtually all the
current and older lenses.

Yes, this camera will be bigger than the current M, and yes, it will be
noisier. However, on a trip with my daughter this weekend I was playing
around with her Olympus OM4 and noted that that REFLEX body, with what is
reputed to be THE best metering system in any pre-autofocus camera-
including a true spot meter that can average up to eight seperate readings -
is neither as high, or wide, as the M6 (reflex housing aside) and feels like
it weighs a bit less.

It is possible to get a great deal of technology into a small, light, quiet
package. It is possible to come up with a multi-magnification viewfinder
system. It is probably also possible to come up with an autofocus system
that would allow true manual RF focusing.

Will such a camera appeal to the LSM diehards - of course not. Will it
appeal to the M6 users? Probably to a large number of them, as a second body
if not as a first. But the more important question is whether it would
appeal to many of the EOS/F5 users, and I, for one, believe the answer to
that question would be a resounding "Yes!" Those who have become wed to the
modern technology would be able to make use of the best of both the RF and
TLR worlds - with the best of modern technology. And Leitz might then be
able to live on into the 21st century as a healthy company, hopefully still
producing a "traditional" M body along with the new camera or cameras.

But, hey, what do I know? (:o{ )#x

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