[Leica] Teds comments

[Frank Filippone]

I think you are reading too much into my comments. I have no problem with the pimped out versions. T.hey require little resources. They yield, presumably, higher margins ( however, given the short runs of a few hundreds, I doubt the total extra income is really significant to the total bottom line).   I am not a fan,  true. 

The M9p ( I think this was the Seal influenced camera) was an example of short run, heavy resources used, little flow over to standard edition cameras. Ditto the M-M3 version we now have offered. It is limited production, required major effort ( new tooling, new body, new/truncated FW, etc) but will it yield the average user anything?

Leica M mount users need more feature rich cameras.  In detail, better high ISO noise, a model that has an EVF, maybe a monochrome CMOS sensor, better battery use, etc. 

Growth and success depend on innovation and response to the needs and desires of the larger community. When Leica last lost hold if that concept they almost ceased to exist. 

BTW and unrelated, did you note that the newer silver lenses are made from aluminum, not brass barrels?   

Kaufmann's red APO Summicron too.


Frank Filippone
Red735i at verizon.net

On Sep 22, 2014, at 7:44 AM, Jayanand Govindaraj <jayanand at gmail.com> wrote:

Frank,
True, but you would probably not buy even then, and these "Special
Editions" do sell out fast, and also deliver the high margins required
to keep normal R&D chugging along in a company of Leica's size. A
judicious mix of the two is really the only sensible course for Leica
to prosper as a company.

Who can blame the company for the Digilux line either, when consumers,
it has been proven time and again, are only too willing to pay a hefty
premium for a red dot? Any self respecting luxury company will price
its products at what the market will bear, not on a cost plus basis.
After all, one of the fundamental tenets of the Laws of Contract is
"caveat emptor"...

Cheers
Jayanand

> On Mon, Sep 22, 2014 at 10:26 PM, Frank Filippone <red735i at verizon.net> wrote:
> There are 2 kinds of special edition cameras:  one uses garish finishes and leathers to pimp up the standard body or lens.  This uses infinitesimal R+D resources. Think gold bodies with ostrich leather in wooden boxes
> The other uses totally new body castings, added or subtracted features to the HW/SW.  This is like a new development, requiring much work of resources. Think M9P, M Edition 60, etc.  made in small quantities, 99.99% of us never get a chance to use these new or revised cameras.
> 
> Maybe, in this population, we would rather the resources spent in developing new, more useful gadgets in our M for all of us rather than the pimped out version or those with limited availability.
> 
> YMMV
> 
> Frank Filippone
> Red735i at verizon.net
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information

_______________________________________________
Leica Users Group.
See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information