[Leica] Leica lens quality as a forerunner to another "lens" race.

[Jayanand Govindaraj]

This is the same justification I use to buy relatively expensive watches. I
do recognise I am fooling myself, as I carry a smartphone with me all the
time and I do not need a watch at all - but buy them anyway as they give me
pleasure.

Luckily for me, as far as I am concerned, cameras and cars are just tools,
so I just buy what gets my job done.

To each his own!!! 😊

Cheers
Jayanand



On Fri, Apr 28, 2023 at 11:27 PM Frank Filippone via LUG <
lug at leica-users.org> wrote:

> I am really interested in what you have said.....especially in light of
> what Dr. Kauffman has said about computational photography.
>
> There is a major and basic decision you must reach as a company... do you
> want to cheapen your costs to the minimum or do you want to create THE BEST.
>
> For Nikon, Canon and other mainstream photo brands, obviously it is more
> profitable to reduce costs.
>
> And by corollary, to allow THE BEST to be made by others. ( ignore this
> segment of the market).  It suits their economies of scale.  It suits the
> pure
> number of employees they have.  It suits their heritage and it suits their
> Management.  Said simply, it suits their profit motives.
>
> The move from a mechanical camera to the almost totally digital
> digi-cameras was a major move for them.  ( and genius of the old Minolta
> folk at
> Sony.... )
>
> But back to the main story, Kauffman has talked a lot about computational
> photography.  The use of computers to fix stuff in an image.  But HIS
> engineers are busy making $10,000 lenses that are close to perfection as
> is currently possible.  The computational photography side of the business
> is
> relegated to developing "stuff" on contract for other companies....
> Including Huawei.
>
> Why speak out of both sides of your mouth?  It could be misdirection of
> strategy, or simply a way to remain in business.  Leica can not compete on
> volume or price. It's main market must be a niche.
>
> That Leica niche is not computational photography, it is optical
> superiority.
>
> The market they play in is one of rich Doctors, Lawyers and Indian
> Chiefs.  It is NOT Mr. Joe Average.  It is NOT Mr Pro Photographer.
>
> A few photographers make their livelihoods using Leica cameras and
> lenses.  But the vast majority do not.  Pros just can not afford the costs,
> initial
> or updating.  It makes no business sense.
>
> And thus it is....... that we as amateurs (rich Doctors, Lawyers and
> Indian Chiefs) and retirees are Leica's market segment.
>
> Can we actually see the difference compared to CaNikon?  Does it matter?
> We want to know we are using THE BEST.
>
> And we can afford ( main word there!) to buy THE BEST.
>
> And as long as we or our kids want the same, Leica will produce THE BEST
> for us.
>
> Because they have no other choice.
>
> Frank Filippone
> BMWRed735i at Gmail.com
>
> On 4/28/2023 3:55 AM, Don Dory via LUG wrote:
> > Greetings to all.  As many know I was at the LSI Spring meeting at the
> > Leica headquarters in NJ.  As usual Leica provides their latest gear on
> > loan for a day.  I had the opportunity to use the M11 Monochrome with my
> > ASPH Summilux(s) and the 28 APO Summicron.  I have to say that the sensor
> > is way ahead of the lenses and your budget should include several of the
> > APO lenses if you go to the M11 M.
> >
> > Another point, the existing plug in software doesn't properly recognize
> the
> > M11M files so you are reliant on the built in Adobe features or possibly
> > the Capture One that is offered with the M11M(James H.) would have more
> > information on that.
> >
> > As an aside, I believe that the Japanese camera makers are proceeding in
> a
> > different direction with software enabled lens correction.  I know that
> the
> > lenses I mount on high res Sony cameras all seem to deliver more detail
> > than I could get out of the M11M with existing software.  The information
> > is there in the files so it is no fault of the camera but more that the
> > files are currently not well supported.
> >
> > I had the chance to talk to a high ranking individual within the Leica
> > organization at breakfast.  The gist was that Leica was proceeding on an
> > optical solution rather than a software enabled solution.  Probably the
> > better solution as if the information is there software can take it to an
> > even higher level.  However, it puts Leica on a cost effective curve that
> > makes their products even more exclusive: also, it hurts production
> volume
> > as some of their designs have very high defect rates by Leica standards.
> > Obviously this drives an even higher price point.
> >
> > Last, one of the participants received a survey from Leica with one
> > question about Japanese production of lenses at a (much) lower price
> > point.  So, Leica is aware of the pricing problem and is trying to work
> on
> > it.
> >
> > Last, this Leica representative clarified the classic stool of any
> product:
> > price, size, performance.  You could have any two.  I am currently
> weighing
> > this as I own several of Sigma's most excellent lenses for the FE mount.
> > Their performance is magnificent however the average weight is in the
> > neighborhood of 1.5 kilograms compared to my 35 ASPH Summilux in the high
> > 300 grams.  The Sigma is a better lens but my shoulder and hand don't
> > appreciate the weight as much as my eyes appreciate the image quality.
> >
> > On the positive side, Leica lenses still retain a significant resale
> > advantage.
> >
>
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