Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/08/22

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Subject: Vs: [Leica] Why Minolta?
From: "Raimo Korhonen" <raimo.korhonen@pp2.inet.fi>
Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 18:07:18 +0200

Well - the answer is - obvious.
All the best!
Raimo
photos at http://personal.inet.fi/private/raimo.korhonen

- -----Alkuperäinen viesti-----
Lähettäjä: Dan Cardish <dcardish@microtec.net>
Vastaanottaja: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Päivä: 22. elokuuta 2000 16:58
Aihe: Re: [Leica] Why Minolta?


>Do any of you experts actually use modern Minolta lenses? (I do)   Or are
>you the sort of people who look out the window and conclude that the Earth
>is flat because it is obvious?
>
>
>Dan C.
>
>At 10:20 AM 22-08-00 -0700, Dan Post wrote:
>>Axel-
>>I thinkthe question is a bit more involved than a simple "no'- just in my
>>opinion. Not wanting to start a flame war, I will say that in part I agree
>>with you. MInolta chooses to sell to a much broader market. They make and
>>sell lenses that are servicable to a large portion of the market, and while
>>they are probably indistinguishable from the issue from Canon, Nikon, and
>>Pentax, they serve the purpose for which they were designed- and built.
>>I am sure that when they make the lenses for Leica- and I have had a couple
>>of them, that the materials, and quality control standards are those of
>>Leicas, and that Minolta 'raises the bar' so to speak, higher than they do
>>for their own products. They also have to charge more. I am  sure that many
>>of the modern lens makers- from Cosina, to whatever, could and would make
>>lenses of the same quality as Leica if the market would support it, but
>>Leica has firmly entrenched itself in the 'quality' high end lens market,
>>and it would be quite costly, and probably not cost effective for say,
>>Cosina, to make its lenses to Leica standards. They are satisfied, for
>>example to have a 'runner up' status, and sell a lot of their Heliars and
>>Skopars at a lower price- all the while knowing they don't quite match
>>Leica's quality, but being good enough to draw the audiance they do attract!
>>I see a Hologon on sale for $8000, and while it might be what a narrow
>>market will buy, I can see that Cosina with a $400 Heliar will make a lot
>>more money, and sell many more lenses at that price. It goes without saying
>>that they probably could copy the Hologon, and make it to the same standards
>>as Zeiss, but then, they would be competing with Zeiss head on and would
>>likely sell very few lenses. In a way- they 'Know Their Place'! And they
>>continue to sell relatively large numbers of Heliars to the Hoi-polloi like
>>myself, because with it gets down to an 8x10, or a web photo- the difference
>>between the $8000 lens and the $400 lens is not all that apparent.
>>Sure, I appreciate a fine single malt (trying to stay on topic here!!!) but
>>there are time, like when I have a taste for a Scotch Collins ( Oh, I can
>>hear the moans!), or as we call it here- a pink lemonade- that I use a
>>blend. It'
>>s cheaper, and serves the purpose as well or better than mixing a single
>>malt (Heresy- burn him! burn him!)
>>So- In short.... Minolta probably COULD build a lens of Leica calibre, but
>>NO they don't, since it wouldn't be practical for the vast majority of their
>>market.
>>Dan ( Humming "If I Only Had a Brain" while I type!) Post
>> > > Does Minolta match the high optical knowledge and quality of Leica?
>>>
>>> No. 'Nuff said.
>>>
>>> Axel
>>>
>>
>>
>>