RE: [Leica] Leica and a new M?

["B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net>]

> Bob! don't you think the R8 is a very unusual approach in
> design, size and
> function for an SLR in today's market.
> I think it is just as unusual of a choice as the M and
> certainly stands out
> among the Nikons and Canons. The reason starting with a
> fondness for focusing
> yourself that excludes AF at all:
> THE GLASS
> Mark Rabiner

Mark - Not to start a micturation match, but this is where we get to the
issue of emotion versus hard reality. The only advantage the R8 possibly has
over, say, the Nikon F3, is the glass. And that advantage is might slim, and
limited to the lenses in Leica's limited offerings.

The M cameras are unique, because they are the only interchangable lens
mechanical rangefinder cameras left in the world. They also offer a unique
level of quality, quiet, etc. If a photographer wants to work with a manual
rangefinder, the M is it. And then there's the glass...Although the new
Japanese offerings, at 1/4 to 1/3 the price of the Leica glass, at a quality
level that will probably satisfy the great majority of potential buyers, is
going to create some competition - which is healthy, of course.

But when it comes to the reflex line...Yes, the R8 design is "unique," or at
least strange. I personally don't like it, and I personally think the camera
feels shoddy for the price. (But that's just my opinion and all it means is
that I wouldn't buy one.) The R6.2 is a nice, compact mechanical SLR, but,
again, so is the F3. So, for that matter, are the Olympus OM3 and 4.

If Leica is going to really compete in the overcrowded reflex field, the
company is going to have to come up with a product that either offers
something the competition doesn't, in terms of features - not in terms of
the last .5% in the glass - or it's going to have to produce something that
is far and away from the competition in terms of quality....

But everything above is just my usual less than humble opinion.

B. D.
http://www.a-day-in-our-life.com