Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/02/05

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Subject: [Leica] Lens cap threads and the digital mass market
From: "BIRKEY, DUANE" <dbirkey@hcjb.org.ec>
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 9:37:56 -0500

Mark Rabiner wrote>>>>>>

Me, I'm not an Art Historian or an esthetician. I'm a photogeek. I wana
know how he did it. I wanna know what kind of lens cap he uses.<<<<<<

Please.....Lets not start a lens cap thread........  

I rather talk about the red dot, filters and black electrical tape on a 
Leica  then lens caps.

I even prefer wild speculation on how long it will take for digital to 
overtake mass film usage........ than lens caps.....

(my 2 cents..... it's going to be a long time...... there are millions of 
film users and  millions (figure of speech) of mini-labs around the 
world.......    APS has been way below expectations of the experts and so 
will digital cameras and prints for the mass market....  The below 
analysis is coming from my business degree and the 3 years I worked in 
photographic retailing management.....  

Basically the only way you are going to get people to switch is to make 
their cameras obsolete......   People shot on disk film and 110 and 126 
and even 620 until either their cameras were unrepairable, they couldn't 
buy film or couldn't get it developed....   Don't forget that people 
don't want to throw away a perfectly good $40, $100, $200, $1000  or 
$$$$$$ Leica camera to buy some digital thing that requires an expensive 
computer, software and a relatively expensive printer to make prints..... 
plus time,  effort and knowledge.   Photoquality paper for a digital 
printer still isn't exactly cheap..... Let's face it,  it's a whole 
easier to drop the film off at Walmart and for the average consumer the 
results are probably better than what they would get at home......  The 
average consumer in the U.S. only shoots a couple of rolls of print film 
a year.... digital just doesn't make sense for the masses.

Anyhow  I can't speak for HCB.....  I only use lens caps on lenses that 
don't have filters and have collapsible hoods like the 90 Summicron cap 
(14289).   Although I do like the over the lenshood version (14043) for 
my 35mm Summicron ASPH as the (14038) cap requires the removal of the 
lens hood....  I rarely use either....

And I'm not sure where the cap is for my 50 Summicron is ..... (14038)  

But please no lens cap threads  : )

Duane Birkey

HCJB World Radio
Quito Ecuador