Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/02/07

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Subject: Re: [Leica] LUG Darkroom User Survey
From: D Khong <dkhong@pacific.net.sg>
Date: Mon, 08 Feb 1999 06:32:14 +0000

>Until the Rolex/Audio Research/Bentley/Armani/ crowd starts 
>rabidly doing their own darkroom work, don't hold your breath....
>Leica won't be able to make it on the $499 they could get from 
>the 100 pros and serious amateurs in this country who do 'some'
>darkroom work while using Leicas....most of them work with someone
>else's darkroom gear (academics, newspaper, etc).

I am also thinking of the folks beyond leica users who are brandishing
their Contaxes, Nikons, Canons, Fujicas, Mamiyas, Topcons, Xpans and a
zillion other makes and who would be interested to buy an EL-Leica to
replace their existing brand X lens.   

I also see an increasing interest in photography amongst the young who now
enrol in photo courses which also has darkroom modules.  They use someone
else's darkroom for training and are exposed to Componons, Nikkors and
Rodagons.  They eventually tend to buy the same when they decide to do
their own darkroom work. Why not produce a good Leica enlarging lens at an
affordable price and get the Leica name into young people's minds?  Who
knows, they might be converting into Leica cameras and lenses when they
start earning more. It might even be trendy to do so.  

Imagine Joe Cool walking into the club darkroom one day with his new Leica
enlarger lens.  If Joe's eyes are not too weak and hands  are not too
shaky, he should be able to produce some nice negs to exposed through his
new lens.  Imagine the surprise of his classmate when his prints show
beautiful results and gets complimented on how his Leica outperforms the
Apo-Brand R, Brand N and Brand S enlarging lenses.   At an affordable
$399.99, everybody will be talking Leica language.  

One day Joe and his buddies can afford BMWs and some other trendy set of
wheels.  They also want some nice new cameras and in the camera-shoppe,
they are shown cameras made by Brand N, etc.  They also see cameras made by
Leica.  Does the salesperson need to convince Joe and his buddies that
Leica is der best?

Dan K.