Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/11/23
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]At 03:52 AM 11/23/97 -0500, Marvin Moss, man of noted worth, wrote: >When Leitz got into the act > in 1964 with the 1st Leicaflex, it was so far behind the Nikon and > Canon technology that it took over 25 years to catch up. This is a commonly accepted canard. The Leicaflex was quite competitive for its time and, had Leitz made it available a year earlier, the camera would have been a bit earth-shaking. As it was, it still marked a quantum leap in a quality and affordable SLR: its only rival was the Contarex, quite a bit more pricey. Nikon got its lead not by technical innovation but by producing a quality product with great service, especially for professionals. Leitz, and Zeiss Ikon, suffered to the end of the '60's with an arrogance which is hard to account for. Their disdain for the professional photographer is astounding to consider -- Nikon went out of its way to provide the professional with the tools of their trade, while these two companies ignored the professional photographer as he was tainted with the distinctly unfriendly aroma of MAKING MONEY from his or her cameras. For heaven's sakes, if I'd been a pro in 1964, I'd have shot Nikon, too, and all those Germans be damned. The causes of the downfall for Exakta, Voigtlander, and F&H are a little different, but the bottom line remains that Nikon delivered and the others didn't. Marc msmall@roanoke.infi.net FAX: +540/343-7315 Cha robh bas fir gun ghras fir!