[Leica] DMR dead end?

[abridge at gmail.com (Adam Bridge)]

Although I tend to agree with B. D. I think his model T analogy is
completely off base.

The R8/9 will continue to be able to produce very fine images using
film even if the digital back goes belly up. Of course it's a risk at
this point because the software updates etc have to come from
SOMEWHERE and someone has to pay for them. I doubt if there will be an
open source movement to rescue it! <grin>

Adam

On Tue, 22 Feb 2005 08:30:36 -0500, B. D. Colen <bdcolen@earthlink.net> 
wrote:
> Great, Rick. Pay $4K for digital because you want to shoot digital and
> Leica, and then have it go belly up and be told, 'well, it's backwards
> compatible, you can always shoot film.' Sounds allot like telling
> someone who bought a model T they could always use a horse to pull it if
> the engine died. :-)
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: lug-bounces+bdcolen=earthlink.net@leica-users.org
> [mailto:lug-bounces+bdcolen=earthlink.net@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of
> Rick Dykstra
> Sent: Tuesday, February 22, 2005 6:24 AM
> To: Leica Users Group
> Subject: Re: [Leica] DMR dead end?
> 
> Certainly food for thought.  One thought is, the DMR truly represents
> Leica's commitment to backwards compatibility.  If the manufacturer
> goes completely tits up, just use film!  Try that with a digital from
> Canikonoltashikatax!   Try saying Canikonoltashikatax, late at night.
> :-(
> 
> Rick.
> 
> On 22/02/2005, at 7:12 PM, David Teo wrote:
> 
> > Hi
> >
> > To me, the DMR is definitely a dead end, factoring in the recent bad
> > financial state of Leica.
> >
> > Buying a DMR is not the same as buying a new MP today, the latter
> > being almost guaranteed to work for decades to come, dust in
> > viewfinder not withstanding :) Even if Leica goes belly up, there's
> > always DAG or Sherry to give that MP the overhaul it needs to get it
> > working for the next decade or so. Who is going to repair your DMR or
> > service it if Leica goes bust tomorrow? It doesn't help that Leica's
> > history with electronics is suspect at best. Where are you going to
> > get the new firmware updates from?
> >
> > All of Leica's current digital offerings are made by Panasonic. With
> > the DMR, it is Imacon and Kodak. What if that relationship sours? You
> > will be left with no more improvements to the DMR. Look at Nikon -
> > their sensors come from Sony and they are unable to produce updated
> > versions of their aging D100 nor offer a higher megapixel count D2h.
> > This is very likely a sensor availability problem. Canon, which has
> > inhouse R&D work on their own sensors, is able to produce 4 different
> > sensors within the span of a single year for each of their DSLRs.
> >
> > All it takes is for Imacon to pull the plug and Leica will be left
> > with no digital future. The future doesn't look too bright. And the
> > continual delay of the release of the DMR is not confidence inspiring.
> >
> > Btw I'm just wondering, is DAG or Sherry or any of the reputed Leica
> > repair persons training up new apprentices? This would be a good time
> > I think, to train up a new generation of camera repair people
> > specializing in Leica equipment. Provided of course, with the highly
> > educated youngsters today, there are still some of them willing to
> > take up the job :)
> >
> > ----------
> > David Teo
> >
> >
> > On 22-Feb-05, at AM 02:06, B. D. Colen wrote:
> >
> >> Right...So a brand spanking new, state-of-today's-art, high speed, 8
> >> mpg
> >> autofocus DSLR built for service in Iraq and Afganistan, with a 1.3
> >> magnification factor - oh, that will take R lenses - from a very
> >> healthy
> >> manufacturer for under $4K, v. a $4K+ digital BACK for a manual SLR
> >> from
> >> a manufacturer who may not be around tomorrow? Buy up Ms and Rs while
> >> you can? Sure. But DMR? That makes a great deal of sense - only to
> >> someone with Red Dots where their eyes, heart, and brain are supposed
> 
> >> to
> >> be. ;-)
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Leica Users Group.
> > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
> >
> 
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