Re: [Leica] M and R

["Dan Post" <dwpost@email.msn.com>]

Elliot-
Interesting--- That other manufacturers 'give' away cameras. I remember
asking a physician if Tylenol tm was all that good, since they advertise
that more hospitals use Tylenol tm than any other pain medication... He said
that was because they gave more of it to the hospitals than other pain
reliever manufacturers!
I don't doubt that the more a manufacturer tries to get its equipment into
the hands of photographers, the more it will sell- it seem intuitive that if
a pro uses his Nikon at work, then he will use it for his private kit as
well, simply because it would be convenient! It follows that the 'amateur'
will want to use what the 'pros' use, and the makers advertise to that end.
Dan
- ----- Original Message -----
From: Elliot M. Puritz, MD <drpuritz@li.net>
To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Sent: Sunday, September 05, 1999 11:34 PM
Subject: [Leica] M and R


> Interesting talk concerning the cost of M lenses, and the poorly selling R
> line.
>
> Can Leica really keep the M line going with what appears to be a
relatively
> small group of devotees, many of whom own multiple lenses?  Can they
> create a new following for these products?  Not sure.  Indeed, seems
likely
> that, as has been posited, sales of other Leica items will serve to keep
the
> company solvent and allow for the M line to continue to be "improved".
>
> At Wetzlar recently I asked some of my fellow Akademie "students" about
> the R Leica line, and if their respective newspapers and magazines use
> such.  "Generally not" was the response.  Either the R line is not
reliable
> enough( sad to say ), or other manufacturers give away lots of free
> cameras to the organizations in question.  Such instruments in the field
> seem to generate more interest amongst other users, and the cycle of
> buying new Nikon or Canon gear is initiated.  There is a universe of
> competition for the R.  One of my new friends suggested that the R8 be
sold
> at half price in order to clear the shelves, and a new R camera should be
> introduced.  I am not smart enough to know what such a new R would have,
> but, as has been suggested, I suspect that the bulk of sales and profit(s)
> will be made in the lenses for such cameras...come to think of it, Frank's
> suggestion that the R8 body should be sold "cheap" with some lenses as
part
> of the "kit" makes really good marketing sense.  Get the bodies out there,
> and lens sales must follow.
>
> Another friend of mine suggested that there might be a special Leica
edition
> for the Millenium...perhaps a sophisticated screw mount camera to take the
> modern Leica lenses that are going to be SM.  Herr Cohn, care to respond?
>
> Elliot