[Leica] Leica implications about future developments

[steve.barbour at gmail.com (Steve Barbour)]

On Oct 30, 2009, at 5:14 PM, Lawrence Zeitlin wrote:

> Steve,
> Before the M8 was introduced, Leica discouraged the possibility of  
> digital
> cameras meeting Leica quality standards.

that's the way of the world Larry, always something is not possible  
before it's done...


> After the M8 was released, Leica
> made statements that a full frame Leica was impossible and that we  
> should be
> content with a 1.3 multiplication factor. Further the magenta blacks  
> were a
> feature rather than a liability and were necessitated by the  
> elimination of
> an IR filter in the reach for higher B&W picture quality. This is a  
> classic
> case of discouraging consumer expectations of product improvement in  
> the
> hope of encouraging sales of present products. Leica's precarious  
> financial
> situation a few years back prompted the company to deny that the M8  
> was a
> stopgap camera, a way station on the route to a full frame digital  
> camera
> that could make full use of Leica lenses. Perhaps someone remembered  
> the sad
> case of the Osborne portable computer, the first computer that was  
> small
> enough to lug around on an airplane. The Osborne Portable, about the  
> size
> and weight of a large portable typewriter was reasonably popular and  
> sold
> well. The company then released plans for a new model, the Osborne  
> II, which
> would be smaller, lighter and more powerful. Immediately sales of  
> the older
> computer ceased as customers postponed purchases to wait for the new  
> model.
> Cash flow stopped and the company went bankrupt. Leica was, and  
> probably
> still is, in the same position. It could hardly say "Our new M8 is  
> pretty
> good but we have a full frame digital camera in the final development
> process. But buy the M8 now so we have the funds to finish work on  
> the M9."
> So they misdirected, and lied a bit. It is standard business  
> practice to let
> customer believe that the current products are the best of all  
> products in
> this best of all worlds.
> If you don't believe that Leica strongly implied that a full frame  
> Leica
> digital was impossible, check the LUG archives of a few years back.
> Remember that I am not knocking the M9 as an excellent camera. I  
> wish I had
> one. But it is not the be all and end all of photographic  
> instruments. Leica
> has, through its design approach, mandated that customers will have to
> replace the entire camera body to realize forthcoming improvements in
> technology. That might be OK if the camera body was in the $1000 to  
> $2000
> range like the Nikon D300, the Olympus E-3, or the Canon EOS50, but  
> at $7000
> a pop it's a bit of a stretch.


don't get one...


Steve


> Larry Z
>
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