Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/02/18
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Predictions.... ( all of which are terrible, but likely to happen)... Hermes will pull out. There will be a Management buyout. They will sell off the Minox Line to Karl Heitz, in NYC. ( the Robot guys). They will sell off the Leica Binocular line to ??? It is profitable and selling well, and it will be sold as a profitable venture, as it IS worth something. That will leave Leica Cameras, without a cash flow. Tamarkin or someone else ( the guys in Vienna? Christie's ? ) will buy out the Museum pieces and the rest of the non-current inventory. The rest, or what is left, will go on as a repair, assembly, and real high end camera sales line. There will be 3 M cameras: the M7, the MP, and the M6TTL. There will be 2 R cameras, the R8 and the R9. No new R+D. Just keep the lines as is. The 50 Summilux ASPH will be available in minute quantities, the 75 Summicron will never be available in any commercial quantity. All other existent R and M lenses will be available in limited supply. Forget the DMR, the firmware will never work, and no one would trust a dead end ( repair and support) camera back that is electronic for $5K. For those of you wanting a Digital M... look elsewhere. John Collier will have the world's only black 50 Summilux ASPH. His old, and broken lens, will be sold on Ebay as a rare collectible parts item. Does it sound faintly like the ALPA situation of years ago? ( Also a Karl Heitz product line...) Nostradamus Filippone