Re: Exakta

[captyng@vtx.ch (Gerard Captijn)]

>That's interesting. Five years behind Nikon on SLR matters? May I remind
>you of a number of sketches and ideas in the patent literature in Barnack's
>times, suggesting that Barnack seriously considered the idea of building a
>SLR.
>Ten years behind in AF? Leitz were first with the Correfot, but lacked the
>technology of miniatuirsation the Japanese so artfully mastered. Leca at
>the moment is considering AF for a long time, as I have been told in
>private conversation with Dr Kölsch, Head of the Optical Design Department
>of Leica Solms. The problem is not being behind the times technologically
>speaking. The problem of Leica Solms is the production quantity. They
>produce about 20.000 cameras a year. But the minimum quantity you can order
>from a Japanese factory (or  German one) is about 100.000. Consequently you
>buy for at least 5 years production, losing your flexibility and investing
>your money in possibly obsolete equipment or you throw it away with again a
>big loss in investment.
>Leica's problem is not a design issue, but a economy-of-scale problem.
>Erwin Puts
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How long is Dr. Lothar Kölsch with Leica? When did he take over from Dr.
Wolfgang Vollrath as Leica's key lens designer? Can he speak with authority
about issues that existed 10/20 years and more before he joined the Company?

Dr. Kölsch (and Dr. Vollrath) are top level optical engineers who developed
lenses that are the best in the world and definitively very worthy
successors of the Berek's, Mandlers and Marxes that preceeded them. However,
one must remain realistic. The fact that design people have ideas that are
not resulting in hardware for us, photographers, does not mean a lot. 
>
>I am of the opinion that the massive body of, for example, practical
autofocus experience that Nikon, Canon or Minolta gained in developing,
building and repairing autofocus cameras, is not available for Leica once
they decide to develop themselves their first R or M autofocus system.
>
I also think that there are creative solutions to the production size
problem that you outlined. Specifically, they could team up with
manufacturers that have the volume, for specific electronic- or mechanical
parts of a lens. There are also small suppliers that, for a somewhat higher
price, supply small custom runs. Thailand, the Philippines and other low
wage countries can supply now parts as per Leica precision standards. 

In final analysis, production size is certainly one of Leica's problems but
the real obstacle, in my opinion, is their lack of money for new
developments. They try to overcome this through a public issue of shares,
soon, that hopefully will produce the Marks to boost development.

Gerard Captijn,
Geneva, Switzerland.

PS. This, by the way, is an old Leitz problem. In the fifties they build
excessive head office facilities in Wetzlar, after which the Leitz brothers
were amazed to find out that they had no money left anymore for new product
development.    
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