Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/02/28
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]As Nathan says, Leica's association with Panasonic (and we may add Zeiss' association with Sony) is not new, so a new Lumix model is unlikely to bring any additional harm to the Leica brand... The 35mm world end up dominated by Canon and Nikon, but Canon alone seems to dominate the digital 3/2 world. The APS-sized Nikons simply do not compete with the full frame Canons, which is not surprising. Canon is not only a top camera+glass maker as Nikon, it is also a top producer of digital technology. Sony and Panasonic are, precisely, top producers of digital technology. As such, provided they get the right optics, they look in much better position to compete with Canon than Nikon (and other traditional photographic brands). Somewhat uncharacteristically, Sony (that has tried to impose funny formats in other product lines in the past) seems now in position to start competing in the "traditional" 3/2 phot market very soon. (The latest Sony super digicam comes with a 10Mpx APS-sized sensor!). Panasonic, in the other hand, wants to give a chance to the 4/3 format. If it doesn't work, it can simply shift to the 3/2 format! So has done Sony in the past with other "wrong" standards... I'm not a physicist, just an economist, but I have the feeling that any problems observed in the Olympus sensors at high speeds are perfectly unrelated to the 4/3 format. Who makes the Olympus sensors? Olympus? Finally, as an owner of Leica R glass, I'm happy to see that there's now someone willing and capable to produce affordable DSLRs with Leica R mount. I certainly use my lenses in the 20D, but some competition is healthy, isn't it? best Nathan Wajsman <nathan@nathanfoto.com> wrote: Leica's association with Panasonic is not new, so from that point of view this announcement is just a continuation of what was already in place. The value of the Leica brand will be a moot point if the company goes bankrupt. It needs new revenue, badly, and providing lenses to Panasonic is an excellent way to achieve that and to get a foothold in the corner of the digital imaging field beyond the DMR. As to viability of the 4/3 format, the jury is out on that--as others have said, if the sensor technology improves to the point that 800 or 1600 speed is good, then the 4/3 format has many attractions in terms of the compact bodies and lenses. In the meantime, Leica gets some badly needed additional sales. I am not a business professor, but I manage a company, and I see this partnership as a win-win for both parties. Nathan Steven A. Melnyk wrote: > I am confused by this series of moves for several reasons. First, as > a business professor, this move does not make sense because it > degrades the value of the Leica brand. Leica has always been > associated with high quality, high end products. Olympus, Kodak and > Panasonic are considered "prosumer" at best. Panasonic benefits; > Leica does not. Second, as a photographer, I have followed what is > happening in the camera field. We see that Konica/Minolta has left > the camera field. In my opinion, Pentax is next to go. Olympus is > not strong. I am not sure off the attractiveness of the 4/3 standard > (especially since the big boys are not playing in it). Third, the > reviews on the olympus systems ((as seen in dpreview) have not been > that outstanding. This seems to be a good system with low ISO > settings but one that deteriorates at the higher ISO levels. > ' > In short, I am not convinced of the long term validity of the 4/3 > standard. I am not sure that Leica does itself any benefit by > aligning itself with this standard. Past history tells us that when > there are several standards, only one or two will emerge as the > dominate standard. In a world dominated by Canon and Nikon, I am not > sure of the long term viability of this standard. I may be wrong but > history would argue against the 4/3 standard. > > Steven A. Melnyk > Department of Marketing & Supply Chain Management > Michigan State University > melnyk@msu.edu > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > -- Nathan Wajsman Almere, The Netherlands SUPPORT FREEDOM OF SPEECH, BUY DANISH PRODUCTS! General photography: http://www.nathanfoto.com Picture-A-Week: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws Seville photography: http://www.fotosevilla.com Stock photography: http://www.alamy.com/search-results.asp?qt=wajsman http://myloupe.com/home/found_photographer.php?photographer=507 Prints for sale: http://www.photodeluge.com Blog: http://www.fotocycle.dk/blog _______________________________________________ Leica Users Group. See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information --------------------------------- Yahoo! Mail Bring photos to life! New PhotoMail makes sharing a breeze.