Re: [Leica] R8 marketplace performance and the LUG

["Robert Bedwell" <rlb@triad.rr.com>]

Wilber:

I totally agree with everything that you have said about the R8.  It is a
manual camera and it was intended to be just that.   Many of us agree that
the camera is not market competitive in the world of auto-focus. My
experience with the R8 was not as pleasant as yours and I gave 2 of them a
world class try.    Two winders didn't work and in one of them the
electronics went "kaput."  I would still own them, problems and all if they
had been autofocus.  I wish I could see and if I could I would have been a
lot more tolerant.

Bob
- ----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeffcoat Photography" <jeffcoatphoto@sumter.net>
To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2000 9:17 AM
Subject: Re: [Leica] R8 marketplace performance and the LUG


> Thank you Greg for telling it like it is. Long live the
> R8!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> Cheers Wilber
>
> GBicket wrote:
>
> > Morning all,
> >
> > Back from Ding Darling Wildlife Sanctuary, and awaiting processing of my
> > transparencies, and reading through the digests, I come across yet
another
> > in the regular pissing-upon-the-R8 parades.  I'll not debate those who
> > impugn the wisdom of offering a non-AF SLR in today's marketplace.
Sales
> > activity of non-AF SLR's had slowed relative to the sales of AF cameras
of
> > all flavors, prior to the release of the R8.
> >
> > I have spent a most satisfying week plus, behind Leica glass and an R8,
> > peering out at waterfowl and large reptiles wintering in one of
southwest
> > Florida's safe places.  The camera performed flawlessly, and if it has
laid
> > light on film as it has for so many exposures on so many rolls, the
egrets,
> > and the herons, and the spoonbills, and the kingfishers, and the
pileated
> > woodpeckers, and the ospreys, and the alligators that I spent so many
> > relaxing hours watching through the viewfinder will be accurately
rendered.
> >
> > The R8 is not a camera which was represented as having autofocus and
then
> > failed to deliver.  Not once.  The R8 is a manual focus camera which
> > delivers extraordinarily well exactly what it represents it will.
Indict
> > Leica's market analysts, all those LUGgers whose disappointment is so
bitter
> > that the R8 is not an AF camera.
> >
> > The R8 is a great manual camera.  Deal with it.
> >
> > It is an exceptional SLR, with a distinctive design target, ergonomics,
> > precise meter, and set of features.  It's ideal for some, off the mark
for
> > others, but refreshingly without compromise.  If the R8's are not the
set of
> > features you seek in an SLR, there are ample alternatives.
> >
> > Buy one of them.  Please.  And soon.
> >
> > The R8 suits many perfectly in terms of design philosophy, and for me,
and
> > many who have actually used it, a joy with which to make beautiful
> > photographs.  R8 is what it is, and I'm grateful for that.  Whining
about it
> > will no more imbue it with autofocus than change its ergonomics.
Neither
> > are changes I seek.  If there were an R8 AF available, I would own that
> > body, ALSO.
> >
> > I for one, am convinced that Leica will make changes in design, and in
> > design philosophy not a moment before it is damned good and ready, and
not a
> > moment [or a camera model] sooner.  While it does that at its own peril
in a
> > competitive marketplace, isn't Leica's following its own path part of
what
> > makes its products great?  Does market acceptance of plastic cameras
mean
> > that Leica should make its M6 body out of polycarbonate?  Do you really
> > think all the violin playing will bring us a Leica SLR with AF any
sooner?
> > Or is this better placed on www.justwannakeepbitchingaboutanything.com
?
> >
> > Let me close with thanks to R8-hating LUGgers for suppression of R8
sales,
> > as this will make extra bodies more affordable in the short term future.
> > But you're missing out on a good one.
> >
> > Enjoy the light.
> >
> > Greg
>