[Leica] Re: QUESTIONS FOR ERWIN PUTS IN RESPONSE TO HIS POST

[Jim Brick <jim@brick.org>]

This is tangential to the scope of BD's questions.

In the late 60's through the mid 70's, I worked at least two months each 
year at the European Space Agency in Darmstadt Germany. I used Alpa systems 
at that time. I drove to the Alpa factory in Switzerland in 1968 and the 
place was closed as they were on holiday. But the owner, Samuel Bourgeois 
was notified by a neighbor that I was there and came to meet me. We talked 
for several hours and he showed me around. In 1969 I visited again, but not 
during their holiday, and got to watch the production of an Alpa camera. 
The 10D was the current model. I got to photograph the workers (using my 
own 10D.) I asked for a modification to my 10D which they happily did. Then 
Samuel showed me the next Alpa version to come out the following year, 
released for Photokina. I asked how soon I could get one and he said that 
he could have one made for me and asked when I would be back. I said 
October. I picked up the 11E in October of the year prior to it's release. 
And I paid for it as I did anything that I got from the factory and kept.

While visiting the factory over the years, the Bourgeois' let me borrow any 
piece of equipment that they had in the house, for as long as I was in 
Europe. Just that I had to return it before coming home (California.) So I 
got to use a hellova lot of Alpa gear over the years, and was privy to new 
stuff, and got to test new stuff. I actually had free run of the facility. 
I got to extensively use and test the very first prototype Nikon to Alpa 
adapter they ever made. I had it for several weeks. They gave me a 105mm 
micro Nikkor (nice) and a 43-86mm zoom (woof woof!).

The reason I told this is that the Alpa factory (Pignon SA) owner saw 
immediately that I was a big fan and user of their camera system and from 
our conversations and my overall demeanor, he knew he could trust me and 
actually bounced many ideas off of me. I never let him down. And he was 
always the most gracious host.

I never got a penny from them, well, maybe a friendly dinner or two. I 
always paid for my own hotel and car. And I used current and new equipment, 
talked about new ideas, etc. I always brought back prints from using the 
equipment on the previous trip. This relationship continued for six years. 
Then the ESA contract moved to Frascati Italy so my visits to Alpa stopped.


So it is not unheard of for a company to embrace someone completely 
unattached and confide in them in ways that would seem out of place to an 
onlooker. I owned an 11E a year before it was released to the world. I used 
many many prototypes of various items and actually have the very first 
production Nikon to Alpa adapter ever made. And no, it is not for sale. :)

I knew of the M-ya Evin-say (that's how I was told - pig Latin) a long time 
ago but was sworn to secrecy. I knew long ago which Hasselblad lenses were 
being upgraded from CFi to CFE, again sworn to secrecy. And that's the key. 
If you get privileged information and either sign or verbally accept a 
non-disclosure agreement, you must remain true to your source. Or suffer 
the consequences.

The consequences being that everyone eventually hates you for not talking 
out of school!

Jim

At 04:49 PM 2/25/2002 -0500, B. D. Colen wrote:
>Since you have chosen to responded directly Erwin - and I quite sincerely
>apologize for misspelling your name - I have trouble with my own - let me
>take this opportunity to pose a set of direct questions, which you can
>obviously tell me I have no right to ask
>
>Have you ever received any bodies or lenses from Leica that you have not
>been required to return after a normal period for testing?
>
>Have any of your trips to Leica facilities, or your stays in the areas of
>those facilities, been paid for by Leica?
>
>Has Leica ever financed any of your testing, or provided you with any
>equipment with which to do that testing?
>
>Have you ever submitted any of your test results to Leica for review prior
>to posting them public ally?
>
>Have you ever received any payments, gifts, equipment, of any kind, which I
>haven't specifically asked about?
>
>If the answer to all my question is an unqualified no, then I, for one, will
>take you at your word, 'eat crow, and offer sincere apologies for the
>statements I've made questioning your independence as a tester of Leica
>equipment.
>
>B. D. Colen

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