Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/08/27
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]At 09:36 PM 8/26/05 -0700, Frank Filippone wrote: >Zeiss did make certain Contax RTS lenses. They also "contracted" the >manufacture to Yashica as well for certain designs. It is an old story. > >What obstacles do you think there is? It is not a design issue: for pete's >sake, Tamron, Sigma, lots of others were and are able to license or reverse >engineer the mounts and electronic connections. It is not a quality >manufacture issue... What is left? > >Are you referring to a possible customer acceptance issue? Zeiss has never >been strong in 35mm since the Contax RF camera of the 60's and before. Frank Zeiss has had almost no interest in producing photographic lenses since the end of the War. From 1948 until 1995, they had their hands full producing scientific, industrial, medical, and military optical systems of all sorts, from lab microscopes to submarine periscopes. It was only after the collapse of the Eastern Block that the military orders dried up and Zeiss became a little less hostile towards the production of camera lenses. Still, it is not a major part of their corporate strategy. Zeiss is, after all, owned by a charitable foundation which also controls companies producing camera shutters, optical and consumer specialty glasses, eyeglasses, and a whole lot more. (The carafe on my Braun coffee pot, for instance, comes from the Schott glassworks in Mainz, though a replacement would now come from the Schott glassworks in Mexico City.) Leica is simply small potatoes compared to Zeiss and has no other lines on which to rest its corporate spreadsheet. I believe that the total equity structure is around $10 million or so at the present share price. Zeiss is immensely larger and more diverse. Marc msmall@aya.yale.edu Cha robh b?s fir gun ghr?s fir! NEW FAX NUMBER: +540-343-8505