[Leica] Logic in buying the Hexar?

[Mike Johnston <michaeljohnston@ameritech.net>]

>>>I'm trying to understand
what would motivate someone to buy them.   I was willing to part with
$400
for a well-reported 15mm Heliar as opposed to $3000 for a converted
Contax
Hologon (or $15000 for a "real" Leica version) but I can't see the logic
in
buying the Hexar gear, except *maybe* the body for grab-shooting with
the AE
and motorwinder.  Where am I mistaken?<<<

Well, you may not be. But two points: first, announced prices in yen may
or may not have anything to do with the eventual U.S. selling price.
Examples I've tracked are all over the board--there's just no consistent
correlation. Second, it's really iffy to predict the market or
popularity of a camera before the fact. Some great cameras sell poorly,
some poor cameras sell well. It's partially due to marketing, but
partially due to factors that are fundamentally mysterious. Some things
just appeal, and some things just don't.

How many people do you think predicted that Pokemon cards would be such
a phenomenon? It still mystifies me, how these things work.

On thing I'll venture, though, is that you can't necessarily predict the
popularity of a product based on the reaction of those who use what are
assumed to be its competitors. I'm thinking of specific examples here.

- --Mike