Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/03/21

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Subject: [Leica] enough with Olympus DSLR postings PLEASE
From: walt at waltjohnson.com (Walt Johnson)
Date: Tue Mar 21 08:09:10 2006
References: <DC4B73A4105FCE4FAE0CEF799BF84B366BAAF3@case-email>

Is it anything like the "great rebates" given us by magnanimous 
corporations?

David Rodgers wrote:

>Four thirds is an interesting marketing strategy. It sounds like 33%
>more. 
>
>If you change it to portrait rather than landscape does it transform to
>25% less? 
>
>I always thought the concept of half frame was a marketing mistake. They
>should have compared it to 127 and called it double frame. The Pen F
>would have been a huge success. 
>
>Who doesn't want double of something? Who doesn't feel slighted only
>receiving half? 
>
>35mm (where did 135 come from?) should have been named by length of
>roll. Then we'd all be shooting 48 inch format and digital would be
>1/66ths or "less than 1.5 percent format". 
>
>Try and sell that one, Madison Avenue! 
>
>OHOH, they'd probably just tell us how it would make our telephotos seem
>that much longer; how we can turn our economical 400mm lenses into
>expensive 600mm lenses. Where do I sign?
>
>The truth is that in the late 70s, when the SLR market was going into
>the tank all the camera companies decided they'd come up with an
>entirely new type of camera system that everyone would have to buy in
>order to take pictures. They invented the digital camera. Then someone
>realized that people would need computers in order to process the
>pictures. So they went out and found someone to invent the personal
>computer (some went to Apple and some went to IBM, but that's another
>story). 
>
>What they didn't realize is that it would take 20 years for the personal
>computer to evolve into something powerful enough to process a digital
>image practically. 
>
>There's been work going on this for years in a secret factory somewhere
>and camera companies can actually build a sensor the size of an 8 inch
>refractor telescope. But they know from past experience that it would be
>a mistake to roll that out today. (For one thing they'd have to increase
>the size of the modern DSLR by at least 20% to hold that size sensor). 
>
>The camera companies want everyone to buy a small sensor first. Then
>they'll come up with a bigger sensor. Then a bigger one still. That way
>they'll always be able to sell new cameras; not to mention every few
>years new lens systems that will cover a wider sensor. 
>
>There was one thorn in the side of this strategy. The existence of the
>Leica M rangefinder. That pesky Leica rangefinder! They couldn't kill
>it. So they went after the film companies. They put out a campaign of
>propaganda telling us how film was really bad. It wasn't easy because
>most of us knew that film was something that seemed to work pretty well
>in the past. It actually took a generation for the campaign to finally
>kick in, which serendipitously coincided with the Pentium processor. But
>work it did! 
>
>Today we all feel inadequate shooting film, even though in truth film is
>still the best medium. If you can't kill film, what to you do. You kill
>the darkroom! 
>
>I've researched this carefully and I've concluded that the digital
>revolution is one big capitalistic conspiracy. Fortunately, they can't
>kill the LUG. Those of you who are agents for the dark side, we're onto
>you! 
>
>DaveR
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Didier Ludwig [mailto:rangefinder@screengang.com] 
>Sent: Monday, March 20, 2006 7:22 AM
>To: Leica Users Group
>Subject: Re: [Leica] enough with Olympus DSLR postings PLEASE
>
>
>  
>
>>Now more then 3/4 of the postings are related to Olympus.
>>    
>>
>
>Olympus is rather 4/3 than 3/4!
>
>  
>
>>Please, y'all, lets stay on-topic for users of Leica cameras. 
>>    
>>
>
>You want to shrink the LUG down to 1%? 
>
>:-Didier
>
>
>
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>
>_______________________________________________
>Leica Users Group.
>See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>
>
>  
>

In reply to: Message from drodgers at casefarms.com (David Rodgers) ([Leica] enough with Olympus DSLR postings PLEASE)