Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2007/08/12
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Mark, a fun but perceptive post. No question that the Japanese giants seek to add the German premium quality perception to their marketing. Who knows how much money changes hands in these arrangements? Maybe the M line is largely a flagship product. Personally I really hope that is not so. My view is that Leica certainly will market a DSLR. Organic or more likely with a partner. Any bets about next Photokina? I hope that it is Germanic brilliant and sells in huge numbers. I don't see that Leica can ever compete directly. Smarter to target their premium niche. I don't believe that Leica will emulate Zeiss and duplicate manual focus lens ranges for other brands. Not unless they are forced by a commercial failure of their M digital line. Cheers Hoppy -----Original Message----- Subject: Re: [Leica] Summarit-M lenses revealed > If you check the archives, you will see that I and several others argued > years ago that Leica's long-term future lies in leveraging their optical > expertise by marketing lenses for other systems. I am sure it is only a > matter of time before we can buy Leica glass in Canon, Nikon and other > mounts. Especially since Leica is likely to dump its SLR line and > concentrate on the now successful rangefinder line--so by making lenses > for other SLR makers they will not be competing with themselves. > > Nathan > Well just because they've lowered their price point out of the sky doesn't mean they're soon planning on selling out completely. That said you walk into a Best Buy or any electronics gadget store and the first thing you see lined up is a bunch of plastic digicams with security devices on the tops of them and : Schneider-Kreuznach Carl Zeiss Leica Obberbaddenstraussen etc. I'll take mine with mustard. Emblazoned on the very front of their lens rims brighter and bigger than the puny names of the Panasonic, Sony and Kodak cameras they front. You'd think you were in Z?rich but not one part on any of these digicams ever get near the European continent let alone Germany unless there's a dire coincidence.. Only their hairdresser knows for sure if these optical companies played any part at all in the design and manufacture of these lenses other than selling their name. And font. And they're not telling. Last I heard Leica does not design most of the optical systems but looks at the design before it goes back to Panasonic and makes a suggestion or two which maybe even gets listened to. Then we get a Kosher lens. A wave of the hand. Something is tweaked maybe. I try to believe though. I do I do I do. Ah yes German optical system! Yes yes! Mark William Rabiner Harlem, NY rabinergroup.com _______________________________________________ Leica Users Group. See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information