Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/02/17

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Subject: [Leica] Let's buy Leica Solms et al
From: mak at teleport.com (mak@teleport.com)
Date: Thu Feb 17 11:03:14 2005

There must be several thousand MUG LUG CVUG folks here along with many 
thousand others in LHSA Leica Historica and the various other 
international/national collectors orginizations...demographically speaking 
Leica owners, as an aggrate, are not poor...

Based on 50% loss from the last reported financials (see Leica website) and 
nothing promising in the pipeline (portending massive future losses) what 
would it take to buy Leica Camera?

Could a US based non-profit buy a French German Swiss company? Could LHSA 
aqquire Leica USA which would in turn acquire Leica Camera...

Be they made in Solms, Wetzlar, Midland or Portugal, I think that the 
majority of Leica users would rather have a place to turn for another M4 M6 
MP body, perhaps an R body, lenses and common accessories...

How many tens of millions could we raise by selling the spare items from the 
Leica museum...(last I heard they had 6 or 8 110 Leicas  there...what would 
the harm be of three or four would end up being sold through LHSA Christies 
Tamarkin or even ebay...)

Somewhere in a dusty box moved from Wetzlar there are 144 M3 base plates and 
tops...someone was offering mint M3 base plates for $500 each in the last 
LHSA Viewfinder Catalog...

etc etc etc...

If the company is going to go away and be a fire sale why not hold the fire 
sale now and save what we determine as the owners should be saved...

And while we are on this soap box what the hell is keeping someone from 
making a replacement digital back for Leica M cameras? I hacked one together 
out of a 2MP Kodak Easy Share...tiny tiny CCD crappy images but I am neither 
an engineer nor a optical expert nor a programmer...

hmm $500 $1000 4/3 or APS sensor plate replaces flip up rear panel and 
baseplate (electronics and power go here also "film" advance sensor 
triggered by motor pin to write CCD to buffer to card...)

Sign me up to help 

Mark K in Portland




Replies: Reply from philippe.orlent at pandora.be (Philippe Orlent) ([Leica] Let's buy Leica Solms et al)
Reply from tedgrant at shaw.ca (Ted Grant) ([Leica] Let's buy Leica Solms et al)