Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/05/06

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Subject: [Leica] Leica: the must have camera
From: kitmc at acmefoto.com (Kit McChesney)
Date: Thu May 6 08:33:57 2004

Hey, I never said that Leica would not want the R9 to be a "must-have" for
anyone, especially professionals. Especially anyone! Truth is, Nikon and
Canon have LOTS more money and resources to throw about to encourage folks
to buy their products. 

I also believe that in many quarters, Leica sales suffer from not being
promoted properly by salesfolks in the camera business. It's just easier to
sell an SLR that everyone has heard of in the latest magazines (though next
month you'll see the Digilux 2 on the cover of Popular Photography) and that
has been promoted ad infinitum (or nauseum) in magazines, television ads,
etc. It takes less effort to educate the buyer about what the camera is and
does, especially if we are comparing a mass-market SLR to an M6, M7, or even
more extreme, an MP. There are many different kinds of M buyers, of course,
but in the end, it is usually a dedicated amateur or some of the more
interesting professional photojournalists (I'm thinking of people like Paolo
Pellegrin or Ilkka Uimonen or Salgado) who will seek out an M to use because
of the way the camera supports their creative vision. 

Leica isn't for everyone. I'm sure Leica would love to have bigger market
share. But one doesn't have to be the biggest, nor necessarily a household
word, to prove successful. 

Kit (kitmc@acmefoto.com)
-------------------------------------------

-----Original Message-----
From: lug-bounces+kitmc=acmefoto.com@leica-users.org
[mailto:lug-bounces+kitmc=acmefoto.com@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of Kyle
Cassidy
Sent: Thursday, May 06, 2004 6:05 AM
To: 'lug@leica-users.org'
Subject: [Leica] Leica: the must have camera

>Aw, come on, Kit - I have a hard time believing that Leica wouldn't 
>want the R9 to be considered the "must have" SLR for PJs...gimme a break.
:-)

I must agree with b.d. above (though I don't know why I'm even bothering to
weigh in). I'm certain that leica would love to be the only camera seen in
one of those long shots of photojournalists lined up waiting for the
president to get off of the plane. 

You all know how much I adore my leicas, but they've been gathering dust.
(actually, I still cart the M6 around in my camera bag sometimes. But it's
had the same roll of film in it for maybe two years. I just wear it to
impress girls.)

Kc
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In reply to: Message from KCassidy at asc.upenn.edu (Kyle Cassidy) ([Leica] Leica: the must have camera)