Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/01/11
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Good Lord, Mark - If we want to talk about marketing hype and babble - written in Germlish - let's start dissecting the pap/crap the Leica marketing folks put out. And btw, if we want to talk about licensing, and etc., should we start a months-long thread about Leica's old relationship with Minolta? Who manufactures the Zeiss M mount camera and lenses doesn't matter for a damn if they do so to Zeiss standards, and Zeiss stands behind the products. And, as you know full well, we won't know if that's going to happen until people get their hands on and use this stuff. It seems that the bottom line here is that IF the Zeiss stuff is AS good as the Leica M equipment - particularly the lenses - and is priced as described, Leica is pretty much finished, because only slavish RedDot addicts will pay 1/3 to twice as much for the same quality. IF it turns out that all this is Zeisshype, and these are nothing more than standard Cosina lenses with a fancy brand name and price tag attached, then Leica and all Leica fanboys can chortle and go back to waiting for the digital back and digital M. -----Original Message----- From: lug-bounces+bdcolen=earthlink.net@leica-users.org [mailto:lug-bounces+bdcolen=earthlink.net@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of Mark Rabiner Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2005 1:31 AM To: Leica Users Group Subject: Re: [Leica] Zeiss Ikon Focus Shift On 1/10/05 4:15 PM, "Jeffery Smith" <jefferys@gmail.com> typed: > Easy now, Bill. I used the word hype because Zeiss was giving us the > information in tiny little snippits while showing us a tiny piece of a > photo that showed nothing more than a 1/2" square bit of the camera. > Don't you recall the maddening tiny bits of info that Zeiss was > releasing on its web site before Photokina? I don't know how Nikon > released the information, but I hope they were less infantile about it > than the Zeiss PR folks. > > Jeffery > > And in the context of the whole new Cosina Contax system which is being hyped across the board at a very insulting level with a dozen questionable affirmations in their brochure straight out of the marketing department. I'm sure their design depart cringed when they saw it. Also in the past two days I noticed this weird idea they are passing off of using your 80mm Planar you so love on your Rolleiflex TLR medium format camera on your 35mm rangefinder. Porting a medium format lens into a 35mm camera system is new to me and it sounds fishy. Especially in the context of all this overwhelming hype. The other thing just like this is they say they are in effect porting over the 40 we Rollei 35 users love on our compact collapsible innovative Rollei 35's and that their 40 for this new rangefinder system is the same formula. I believe this more than the 80. I am an avid user of both Rolleiflex TLR's http://rabinergroup.com/ImagePages/CameraworkRudy.html and Rollei 35's. http://rabinergroup.com/ImagePages/PortlandRollei35.html The idea of getting both those "Looks" of these classic Zeiss optics into my Leica shooting would be nice if there was any reality worth mentioning to it. With all the stuff they are slinging they could tell me the sky was BLUE and it would go in one ear and out the other. This system is being over sold. It's bad on its credibility. It's like a Hollywood movie where the budget is split 50 50 between the making and the selling. With cameras I'm more conformable with a budget which went into he development of the camera itself. Quality and value has a way of getting around quick enough. Why over hype it till it stinks? Mark Rabiner Photography Portland Oregon http://rabinergroup.com/ _______________________________________________ Leica Users Group. See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information