RE: [Leica] Lieca & Minolta - A perfect marriage

["Greg.Chappell" <Greg.Chappell@bankofamerica.com>]

Having used SLR's up until the last couple of years, I have to agree with
B's assessment at the bottom. When I started looking for my first
Pro-Caliber camera, Minolta was never even in the thought pattern as to what
to buy. Two names came to mind: Nikon & Canon. Leica was there, but was
totally unaffordable for me. I have always thought it would be fun to own an
SL or SL2 with a couple of lenses & I may still one day, but I would never
consider any Leica SLR after the SL2. It's too bad Leica did not, or was not
able to establish a working relationship with Nikon or Canon from the
beginning, both from a technology AND marketing position.

That being said, I now use my "M" bodies for 95% of my photography.

Greg 

- -----Original Message-----
From: 5521.g23 [mailto:5521.g23@g23.relcom.ru]
Sent: Monday, August 16, 1999 1:10 PM
To: leica-users
Subject: Re: [Leica] Lieca & Minolta - A perfect marriage


Kotsinadelis, Peter (Peter) wrote:

> LUGites,
>
> I think Minolta would help Leica especially from a financial
> perspective.
> Since Leica really has a very small piece of the SLR market, imagine a
>
> Minolta/Leica R9 with AF lenses made by Leica.  WOW!
>
> (BTW, AF technology was originated by Honeywell, Minolta was just the
> first
> to put it in an SLR and Konica the first in a point & shoot)
>
> You'd finally have some real competition for Nikon and Canon!  Minolta
> is
> probably the best ergonomically engineered camera on the market.
> Always
> very easy to use. The Leica name has great value in the photography
> market,
> so combining this advantage and a state-of-the-art (albeit not a
> collectible
> piece just yet) Minolta made R9, would really help both companies form
> a
> financial perspective.  Minolta may help getting things out to market
> in a
> timely fashion, perhaps even build in a motor drive so one doesn't
> have to
> wait a great length of time in the hope they finally become available.
>
> The only caveat is that they both are poor in the marketing
> department, but
> this is easy to remedy.

The result may be great, technically, but many technically great product
have failed on the market. Marketing is the problem I see with this
Leica-Minolta team. Leica SLRs are still being accused of being
overpriced Minoltas. And let's be fair; Minolta is the last of the
Japanese Big Three. Minolta is not a "pro's choice" in the people's
mind, and when you look at the statistics, it's not only in the people's
minds. Compared to brands like Leica, Hasselblad, Linhof, Sinar et al,
Minolta is a "cheapo-brand".

This is not to say anything against Minolta, but they are positioned in
a totally different market segment than Leica.

B