[Leica] Leica] Washington DC Shops?

[Simon Stevens <simon@camera-craftsman.com>]

>Which is all very curious about the lack of Leica presence when you
consider
>the huge (news, government, corporate and commercial) amount of
photography
>that goes on in DC.

Steve,

I just spent a week working as a contractor on a conference with some of
those government photographers. They all seem to be die-hard F4, F5 or
F-100 users. When I pulled out my M4-P on the first day their eyes
fairly bugged out. The best part was when one asked me how wide I could
go "on that thing", "15mm." I replied.

Actually, I beleive that that good retailers can to some extent drive
demand. Before I moved to DC I had a photo store about the size of Pro
Photo. My experience is that quality equipment like Leica can be sold
but the retailer has to learn how to sell them  - including being an
active advocate for a brand, stocking and prominantly displaying it,
knowing the catalog and being willing to do special orders. With the
exception of Pro Photo, I haven't seen much evidence of that kind of
behind the counter education and sales effort here, so only the most
mass-market boxes-on-a-shelf have any penetration.

Simon Stevens