Re: [Leica] Leica and a new M?

[Mark Rabiner <mrabiner@concentric.net>]

"B. D. Colen" wrote:
> 
> > 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.
>><Snip> 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.
I probably have too much more than adequate AI and AF Nikon glass to dump on the
unappreatiative world for pennies. That 200 AF macro and that's all i need in
the SLR world!. I'll shoot the head of a pin from across the street with that
one! and give you 4 cents change. That Contax Aria seems pretty nifty, cheap and
light with Uncle Carl emblazoned on the front of each lens in white. Terms like
"Planar" and T* and Sonnar I'm real comfortable with especially and a nice
price. And AF I can live without. I already am AF. That R6.2 is no lightweight
but that will work for and against it. A real chuck of unappreatiated quality.
I can't think what Leica could do in the SLR department to get it going again.
Offer matching Yashica glass with an AF adaptor thing?
Mark Rabiner