Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/02/27
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]<< Sorry, Rich, but everything that you list says that the MP is targeted toward collectors, not professionals. There is not one thing on the list that would make me choose the MP over the M7. Tina>> Hi Tina, Hope you have been well. A better rangefinder and a mechanical shutter are two things that would make SOME professionals choose that camera over the M7 (Also the SS knob matching some older cameras if they are used to that from older M's.) ...however there are many other professionals who would choose a M7 for aperture priority or even more likely a Nikon F5/D1x or Canon EOS for autofocus, quickness and superb long lenses. The majority of pros don't use Leica's, but for those "retro-pro's" who do...some will prefer the MP over the M7. Some pick M6's over M7's right now...in fact quite a few from what I read on this list. I can't claim that I'm one of them as (for the same price) I might still pick the M7 because of the speed of handling. (I rarely go to the arctic or the desert...so battery freeze up isn't much of an issue for me.) Actually, I'm pretty sure if I went back to being a pro again I would choose a Canon 1Ds now...so what am I even saying? Why pay for film to print a 3" pic in a magazine?<g> I think Leica is doing a pretty good job making a bunch of "retro" cameras that fill a whole bunch of different "wish lists" that I have heard from users over the past few years. A much better job than they have done in the past for sure. They ARE listening to feedback is what the MP says to me. The prices for Leica cameras have always been shockingly high and my observation of it is that it rarely hampers the sales of the cameras. Like a Rollei TLR, Leica's do something no other camera really does, tangible sometimes and not others Those with a taste for that "something" will pay for it 9 out of 10 times. Their are many other conisseur products that are paradoxical like this. The more it costs the more some will want it. In looking at the many photos posted here of the MP, the first thing that hit me was that the "Leica" script on top was a bit to the left...clearly making a spot for some sort of "commemorative" engraving. So, the collectors will probably get that "Nuclear-Proliferation in North Korea" edition or something like it in the near future... (just a joke, not based on anything I have heard.<he he>) That is a-ok with me, not just for some extra sales...but for the idea that it keeps Leica in business. Those cameras won't be $2700, they will be $5k anyway. Few pros would care abotu them at all. I doubt anyone on this list would want to see Leica go out of business and a key part of Leica's survival has always been the mass market of collectors. It is a bigger market than one might imagine. It would be nice to see them also address the mass market of digital camera owners, the market of serious amatures, fashion photograpers and what have you...but it hasn't even been what Leica does from what I have seen. Several of these markets are so well served by giants the likes of Sony, Canon, Nikon, Minolta/Konica, etc etc. that maybe their strategy isn't as stupid as many say it is. They may have to wait unitl they can find a hook in those markets that will once again make them a conisseur product, not just a late player in a already tight market. Whenever a pro says to me that they "hate collectors" I always tell them that we should all THANK those collectors for their aid in bringing about new products each year and for keeping a strange and anachronistic camera company afloat for so long. OK, that is my two-cents tonight. :) leicaly, Rich - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html