Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/02/13
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I think the market is in for a shake out. I agree with Don that Minolta, Olympus and maybe Pentax might not make it. Heck, even Nikon is having it's issues and if they screw up the 2Dx they are probably out of the pro game for good. It's getting pretty crowded out there and the market pie is only so big. Again, I just don't see how 4/3 is going to survive with higher MP count and still maintain competitive noise levels. Heck, Kodak doesn't seem to be able to get their full frame chip working over 400 asa. And as far as Leica is concerned, I think that's a little more difficult to predict, since they have been a niece player for so long. My guess is they will manage to produce a digital M, but they will be very late to the game. Will it hurt them? Probably not as much as if they were Canon or Nikon, but they are not a mainstream company. They will probably introduce a line of lenses similar to Nikon's DX line that are optimized for the x1.5 or x1.3 mag factor of the chip, unless some miracle happens and we get a full chip camera. They may even manage to produce a more reasonably priced, manual focus R, by integrating the R-Module guts right in to a body. They would either have to be a lot dumber than is allowed in Germany or completely strapped for cash not to do so. If they were smart they would come out with a cheaper prosumer body. Personally I think Leica should split their line up, like everyone else. Pro and Prosumer cameras. Keep the all metal M and come out with something less rugged in both SLR and RF cameras to move bodies and lenses. feli On Feb 13, 2005, at 7:24 AM, Don Dory wrote: > B.D. > > First, the following rant is frustration that we will probably lose > another camera maker that can not keep up. > > So far Leica has not abandoned their lens line. Olympus did. That was > my take on Mark's comments. With Pentax, Nikon, Canon, and now Minolta > I can use all the old AF lenses with very few restrictions. Olympus ________________________________________________________ feli2@earthlink.net 2 + 2 = 4 www.elanphotos.com