Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/02/11
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Be careful what you wish for...... It sounds like a great idea to have a whole bunch of M cameras, one for every taste! Trouble is, the market can only expand so much, splitting sales between many models will marginalize the older designs. In an economic downturn, management will "simplify" the line, and soon it's goodbye M6. So who cares? Wouldn't it be OK if we still had an "M" camera in name, maybe appearance, and status, plus lots of lights and buzzers to show off to envious SLR friends? At the risk of starting an incendiary skirmish, I don't think so. The M to me is not a collection of features on a bullet point list to compare in a magazine article. And I'm not just talking about history or tradition, either. Let me make a bold statement: The Leica M is cheaper than a Contax G2! Let me explain. Any electronic equipment has a finite life cycle. I'm not talking about reliability over the normal use of the product, but 20 years from now. When the circuits degrade from aging, the replacements stored on shelves will be equally old. No one will make new flex boards for 20 year old cameras. This is happening now to the early generation of electronic cameras from the 1970's. It's not a matter of support from well meaning companies, it's just a matter of technology. An SL or FM will be around longer than an R3 or F3. Electronic cameras, like VCRs or computers may give long, reliable service, but they are not lifetime investments. A machine which has proven to have a potential for a lifetime (!) of use is a very different kind of investment. Having said that, and bowing to the inevitability of some innovation, It is fun to speculate on what Leica might do with the M line. It seems to me there are two markets they might pursue. First, there are still many professional users of the M, as witnessed here on the LUG. these are the photographers who would likely benefit from TTL off camera flash, high speed shutters, etc. These cameras would need high mag finders for the Nocti, 75, etc. but would also need to take the widest lenses (auxillary zoom finder?) and of course would be only in black (no commemoratives!). Can't wait, you say? Well, such a camera would no doubt be expensive, but also probably larger than current M's. But pros would be carrying big lenses and flash rig, so what of it? Also will end up on the scrap heap with other electronic toys one day, but pro use will wear them out first, and anyway that's what amortization is for! The second market is what I would call the high end amateur travel shooter. This is where I am concerned that adulation for a G2/me-too would endanger sales and survivability of the traditional M. But I am not a complete ogre. Leica is already a point & shoot marketer, and their products are OK for what they are. I do wish they had a more distinctive presence in the compact market, but I hope they can do it without compromising their unique traditional products. Well, if you've made it this far (don't you have a life either?) I guess I should reveal my real daydream Leica. It would be a true chrome mechanical camera, III size or smaller, short RF suitable for w/a or slow teles, M mount with traditional shutter or built in vario lens with mechanical compur type, M6 style match diode & combined RF/VF for modest lens selection 28 or 35-90. Kind of a screw-mount updated with the best of the CL and minis, Like the M6J was an M3 with the best of the M6. Appologies for wearing your eyes out, Nick Hunter