Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/10/12

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Subject: [Leica] LHSA meeting in Wetzlar; Leica Camera AG
From: sethrosner at nycap.rr.com (Seth Rosner)
Date: Thu Oct 12 04:16:17 2006
References: <000c01c6ed9a$cf9b8460$5925e448@D1S9FY41> <49542.203.193.194.10.1160628293.squirrel@webmail.ncable.net.au>

Alastair wrote:

Makes me think a few shares in Leica might prove a good investment afterall 
;-)


If you can buy them; I believe shares are still listed but my understanding 
is that Mr. Kaufmann's company opwns north of 90%. After the refinancings, 
recapitalizations and share reduction, I own 166 shares!      ;-)

Seth

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Alastair Firkin" <firkin@ncable.net.au>
To: "Leica Users Group" <lug@leica-users.org>
Sent: Thursday, October 12, 2006 12:44 AM
Subject: Re: [Leica] LHSA meeting in Wetzlar; Leica Camera AG


> Thanks for this report. >
> Cheers
>
>> Hi LUG friends!
>>
>> I have resubscribed after a fairly lengthy absence to bring you all up to
>> date on what I have learned about Leica Camera AG and its future at the
>> LHSA
>> meeting in Wetzlar ten days ago. Had an opportunity to visit at some
>> length
>> with Andreas Kaufmann whose Company has bought full control of Leica
>> Camera
>> and also with Steven Lee, an American who has assumed a senior management
>> role with the Company. Both are photography and Leica enthusiasts and 
>> have
>> a
>> shared vision of where they hope to take the Company. As you doubtless
>> have
>> read, Leica introduced not only the M-8 but also three other digital
>> cameras. The Leica booths at Photokina were mobbed, especially, 
>> naturally,
>> that of the M-8.
>>
>> What is most impressive is the enthusiasm at the factory. All of the
>> feedback from our friends at the Company made clear that there is a new
>> sense of excitement at Solms, that the tacit concern amongst employees 
>> for
>> the Company's survival is gone. A truly great sense of optimism invests
>> the
>> place. As several staff members put it, everyone is eager to come to work
>> again.  Evidence of this is that despite the fact that Tuesday 3 October
>> was
>> a national holiday and almost everyone takes off the Monday (2 October) 
>> to
>> make a long weekend, production workers on the M-8 came to work
>> voluntarily
>> to ensure that the Company continues to produce enough cameras to meet
>> demand.
>>
>> I had a chance to read only a very few M-8 comments in the LUG archive 
>> and
>> will comment on just one issue, the coding of older lenses for the M-8. I
>> am
>> ill-equipped to answer this technically but as I understand it,  because
>> of
>> the oblique angle at which light rays from shorter focal length lenses
>> reach
>> the sensor, Leica has placed before the sensor a device that adjusts the
>> rays to reduce or elminate that effect. The code on older lenses tells 
>> the
>> camera what adjustment is indicated for that focal length. I have been
>> told
>> that this is more important for lenses under 50mm, that the deleterious
>> effect at 50mm is not too great and at the longer focal lengths, the
>> lenses
>> probably do not really need the coding.
>>
>> The LHSA meeting really was pretty wonderful, on Friday a good day of
>> programs and projection presentations and the banquet at which both Mr.
>> Kaufmann and Steven Lee spoke about their enthusiasm for Leica and 
>> briefly
>> about their plans for the future. Saturday visit to Photokina in Cologne,
>> Sunday back to Photoboerse, a massive trade fair, Monday factory visit 
>> and
>> visit to Braunfels and the castle, Tuesday a luncheon cruise on the Rhine
>> and a medieval banquet and departure Wednesday. Twenty members stayed on
>> through Wednesday for a Leica Akademie program with the M-8.
>>
>> Surprising number of our members attended carrying..........digital
>> cameras!
>> We're not all old f-rts stroking our - you will pardon the expression -
>> Thambars!
>>
>> Cheerio all,
>>
>> Seth
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Leica Users Group.
>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
> 



In reply to: Message from sethrosner at nycap.rr.com (Seth Rosner) ([Leica] LHSA meeting in Wetzlar; Leica Camera AG)
Message from firkin at ncable.net.au (Alastair Firkin) ([Leica] LHSA meeting in Wetzlar; Leica Camera AG)