[Leica] Leica + Rollei?

[Chris Lee <chrislee@mac.com>]

> Leica puts their name on Minolta Cameras, with some design from Leica, some
> Minolta...  R series, Leica CL/CLE
> 
> Leica has Minolta make lenses for them.
> 
> Leica has Zeiss make lenses for them.
> 
> Leica has Contax ( Yashica (Kyocera))  make lenses for them.
> 
> Leica makes Point and shoot cameras.... I do not understand wher these come
> from, but I doubt Leica is making the cameras in their factories.

All current Leica P&Ss (except the C1, which I don't know about) are made in
Japan by Matsushita, which is the parent company of Panasonic and others.

Leica has also had Sigma made their lenses to my knowledge.
 
> Leica slaps their name on a Fuji DIgital Camera.
> 
> The President of Leica says that the company is heading for a MF camera...
> SO where does Leica have the $$$  ( that is also spelled huevos) to design
> and tool a bottoms up new camera when they are barely profitable?
> 
> Contax MF camera is considered world class if for no other reason than Zeiss
> lenses...
> 
> Does it take a big leap of faith to guess that the Contax MF cameras may be
> rebranded with Leica's name????

I kinda doubt that possibility. I don't think Zeiss will be too happy with
that arrangement, and Zeiss still holds rights to the Contax trademark.

I think one feasible possibility is Leica + Rollei. Rollei is small and
barely surviving today. They have the technology and experience in making
medium format equipment of the highest quality, yet they lack participation
in serious 35mm photography. And, above all, the rely on external lens
suppliers. And Leica is just the opposite of that. Leica and Rollei
complement each other far better than Leica + Contax, which involves much
overlap in product range and expertise.
 
Also there is the added convenience of distribution, R&D, and production
(both in Germany).

With Rollei's current size (about 100 employees or so, the last I heard),
Leica can easily buy Rollei out.

Regards,

Chris