Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/03/28

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Was Leica Marketed As A Professional Camera Or As A Hobbiest Happ...
From: SthRosner@aol.com
Date: Thu, 28 Mar 2002 18:44:57 EST

In a message dated 3/28/02 5:52:12 PM Eastern Standard Time, msmall@infi.net 
writes:

> Well, a number of Big Name photo-journalists, most notably Capa, used
>  Contax during the era under discussion.  And the Contax was vastly
>  preferred for expedition work as it was somewhat more reliable than was the
>  Leica.  

....careful.

> There was only one Leica on Mount Everest before 1963, while dozens
>  of Contaxes had been going up and down the place for decades.

See, I told you this guy was a Zeissaholic.

But:

>  We should bear several things in mind:

>  ....  Both Leitz and Zeiss had a scientific background prior to the
>  introduction of the Leica and Contax cameras........ 
>   --  It is beyond question that Leitz introduced the modern 35mm camera as
>  the amatuer's camera of choice, while Contax tended more towards more
>  technical applications.  The use of such gear by professionals began as a
>  sidelight -- Salomon, for instance, lugging a Leica along with his Ermanox
>  to shoot the rich and powerful.  But, of course, it grew in light of what
>  Eisie and Capa did with their Leicas in the build-up to the Second World 
War.
>  .... -- More than a few high-visibility amateurs, such as George Bernard 
Shaw
>  or Hugo Eckener, used Leica and endorsed the product publicly.  Such
>  endorsements did little for professional sales but did have an impact on
>  sales to well-heeled amateurs...........  
>  So, in the end, there is no right-and-wrong answer to this question.  The
>  Leica began as a rather daring experiment in an untested film format;  the
>  Contax followed five years later and was also quite innovative, though not
>  revolutionary.  Both soon began to serve as back-up cameras for some
>  professionals and both cameras developed a very few of the top of the field
>  as users and advocates.  But without sales to hobbyists, neither brand
>  would have made it to the outbreak of the Second World War.
>  
>  Marc

Damn !!!!!!!! this guy is good !!!!!! Ought to be an active member of the 
Leica Historical Society of America! Who the hell is he?

Seth      LaK 9
  
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