[Leica] Looking after old customers

[Alex Hurst <corkflor@iol.ie>]

Tom Kumagai wrote (amongst many other things):
>
>Nippon Kogaku used to make good cameras (Is F-5 good? dunno, but at least
>it does
>not attract me),
>and many of which are - according to Nikon lovers that I know - still
>serviciable.
>According to them Nikon takes good care of their old customers, and that's
>why they
>are sticking with F mount, (but I
>think another reason is that as their flagship cameras are named F-<sequential
>number>, if they
>change the lens mount they would have to start all over with X-1 or such...
>Considering Nikon as the
>leading camera manufacture of Japan, at least they think so, their pride won't
>allow that to happen.
>Kinda Samurai issues.

Tom - love to know what you mean by a 'samurai issue'. You mean Nikon would
lose 'face' if they changed the basic mount? Or was it simply that they
(like Leitz) got it right in the first place, so there's no need?

I agree the F and F2s are wonderful cameras, and last of a line in terms of
being almost entirely hand-built. I have great fun swapping between my
Leicaflex SLs and Nikon Fs - both have their virtues and their drawbacks,
but they're both classics of their time.

Nikon have, as you say, been very helpful to owners of the 'golden oldies'
like me by ensuring that most modern Nikkor lenses will fit their oldest
cameras. Leitz aren't too far behind - I can use modern three-cam lenses on
my SLs - not that I would as two cam lenses are a lot cheaper.

And it looks like Mr Yasuhara is going to produce a LTM- based state of the
art TTL rangefinder - not bad for a mount standard finalised 60 odd years
ago.

I just hope that the current problems of the Japanese economy don't kill
off this sort of innovation.

Slan

Alex



Alex Hurst
Cork Florists
19 Winthrop St, Cork
Republic of Ireland
Tel: +353 21 270 907
Fax: +353 21 271 248
email: corkflor@iol.ie
Website: http://www.flowerlink.com/corkflorists
Home website: http://homepages.iol.ie/~corkflor/