Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/07/19
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]> Leica puts their name on Minolta Cameras, with some design from Leica, some > Minolta... R series, Leica CL/CLE Er, wasn't this that the designs were Leicas, Minolta made the CL for them and Leitz had nothing to do with the CLE? The R series were again designed by Leitz but using the Minolta body casting initially, and I'm sure, several other common parts. Rather like Seat/Skoda using the Volkswagen floorpans for their car designs. >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. Chris-----Original Message----- The Rollei company is presently owned by Samsung, a massive company, who may regard it very much as a cachet name in their oriental empire. I doubt they'd want to sell, but I'm sure they could be interested in a tie up, more cachet for their brand. Jem