[Leica] Kvetchmongering?

[kididdoc at cox.net (Steve Barbour)]

and if Solms is not listening to this, they damn well should be...

Steve


On Nov 24, 2006, at 11:18 AM, Jim Shulman wrote:

> Kvetchmongering, or
> If we complain too much, Leica will take away our new toys and go  
> home.
>
> Oh, I see: Create a product for one of the most demanding, finicky  
> groups of
> photographers (and enthusiasts) in the world.
> Charge a premium for the product.
> Release the product several years after a similar product has been  
> in the
> market--and well behind the SLR rivals.
> Enter the market with a less-than-stellar reputation for camera  
> electronics
> reliability.  Remember the R8, and the LUG stories about the repair  
> trips
> back to Solms?
> Gin up the fanfare, with lots of (deserved) rave reviews.
> Discover two significant problems (one correctable with a firmware  
> upgrade,
> requiring a trip back to Solms, the other one not electronically
> correctable) within a week or two of introduction.
>
> This isn't kvetchmongering.  It's the nature of selling an extremely
> expensive technical product, not fully de-bugged, to a group of
> technically-sophisticated consumers.  Professionals in any field  
> talk before
> they invest in equipment that is supposed to last for years.
>
> If the M8 disappears, it's because there aren't enough  
> photographers willing
> to part with five grand for its virtues (or in spite of its flaws).
>
> The proof is in the camera, not the commentary.
>
>
> Jim Shulman
> Bryn Mawr, PA
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: lug-bounces+jshul=comcast.net@leica-users.org
> [mailto:lug-bounces+jshul=comcast.net@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of  
> Dante
> Stella
> Sent: Friday, November 24, 2006 1:03 PM
> To: Leica Users Group
> Subject: Re: [Leica] Leica M8: "I think it's going to be all right"
>
> I get the impression that the problems with the M8 are overstated.
> People love to repeat stuff like that, no matter how seldom it occurs
> - and you can look to the Kodak SLR and the Hexar RF to see where
> that chitter-chatter leads.  So I also wouldn't be surprised if the
> M8 disappears as a result of kvetchmongering.
>
> On Nov 19, 2006, at 1:25 PM, Irving Greines wrote:
>
>> I don't believe a series of filters (eveen if given away for free)
>> will
>> solve Leica's problems.  There will have to be a permanent fix to the
>> camera itself.  We love Leica because it is a quick, silent,
>> unobtrusive
>> street camera; these attributes are undermined if the quickness
>> component is compromised by a need to fiddle.
>>
>> Paying almost $5,000 for a camera that requires fixes in order to
>> operate correctly in certain circumstances is a tough sell, except  
>> for
>> those who "need" to buy and justify the latest Leica no matter
>> what.  In
>> my view, after the initial sales are completed to those who simply
>> have
>> to have the M8, the M8 will face tough sailing in the marketplace if
>> Leica does not solve its present problem.
>>
>> I'm betting that Voightlander will furnish the fix in the form of a
>> much
>> lower-priced body that doesn't have Leica's problems.
>>
>> I'd love to have an M8, but not the present-version. How many
>> photographers will wait for the successor version, or the  
>> Voightlander
>> version, before spending their money?  I feel many will wait.
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Leica Users Group.
>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>
>
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>
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