Re: [Leica] Re: Leica's Development and Management

[Mike Dembinski <mdembin@it.com.pl>]

Ted wrote:

> "we should get in on this Leica range finder thing, so why don't we
>resurrect the Nikon SP in a new and modern day version? Heck we got all the
>toolings and what we don't have we'll just make. Then go for the RF crowd
>that Leica appear to be loosing ground with from lack of service and
>delivery."  "Why we could even create an incredible demand using the
>nastalgia thing and the unobtrusiveness of a rangefinder camera."
>
>The SP in it's day was a great camera and I understand still commands a
>"more than princely price" if one can find one. So imagine Nikon coming out
>with a competely new 1998/99 updated version, lenses included. And while
>we're at it, a silent winder!
>
>I wonder if that wouldn't just shake the corporate heads of Leica into mega
>action.
>
>Remember folks this is completely imaginary!!!!!!!! What think you all?
>
>ted

I for one am up for it. There's something about the Contax II/Nikon
RF/Nikon F lineage that grabs me from the purely aesthetic point of view.
I'm currently toying with the Soviet 'Contax II', a Kiev 4a. Why? It was
cheap ($20 with three lenses) and I like the bayonet mount and long R/F
base. But it's a toy. As I've previously posted, the Jupiter-8M and
Helios-103 f/2 53mm standards just don't cut it. I recently bought a pair
of Jupiter-3 f/1.5 50mms on Marc's recommendation and will get results back
tomorrow.  But the thing shows its 1936 vintage despite being built in
1979. No frame finder, the external bayonet is grunchy in the extreme, and
it lacks lever wind-on. So it's not a professional tool, like the M-series
is.

Now; Nikon could easily resurrect the S3 or SP, update it (internal meter),
adapt AI-S optics to suit the rangefinder... and Bob's your mother's
live-in lover. Oooh! I could go for it in a BIG way - especially if it were
priced around the same as a new FM2N (and why not - a manual mechanical
with motordrive capacity, still good for a professional to use). And the
heritage - from Korea to Johnson-era Vietnam, the PJ's tool of choice.

Ted- you got me slaverin'!

Mike