Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2007/09/19

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Subject: [Leica] SLD ? R9.99 ? Link is OK now
From: imagist3 at mac.com (Lottermoser George)
Date: Wed Sep 19 14:33:42 2007
References: <091920070315.25405.46F0946600039B970000633D219791336303010CD2079C080C03BF970A9D9F9A0B9D09@mchsi.com> <6af76ca00709190221v2db524d2i75813b2aef9c2414@mail.gmail.com> <E0E5FB85-0AB2-4671-8C88-8723091D0903@mac.com> <6af76ca00709191226p4d0b1541i5e1a702247c13c06@mail.gmail.com> <49B7B3D8-D93C-46EE-96AB-E600C13E5676@mac.com> <68955B24-E801-45D5-989E-B8E63B692FEF@pandora.be>

On Sep 19, 2007, at 4:02 PM, Philippe Orlent wrote:
> I would wish that Leica had stayed out of the digital competition.  
> I think that it is one that they cannot win: they're too small (and  
> too late) vs. their competitors in that field to conquer a big market.

I have no idea what goes on in the Leica board room; however, I doubt  
they ever think about "conquering" the Japanese giants. Moreover, I  
bet (small amount - I don't like gambling) that they can impact the  
equally small medium format market in terms of image quality.

> The only thing I don't know is this:
> Suppose that they would have concentrated on analog, and would have  
> become the true and only 35mm specialist of that field, in all  
> aspects. Would the niche that they would have created for  
> themselves  (specialist, thus very expensive) be big enough to  
> survive?

I doubt it. The big two have also had that market covered for quite  
some time.

> Or is the chance of survival bigger when going the digital route: a  
> bigger market, but so much more competition?

In terms of top end digital imaging. I don't think the market is all  
that big. All of these companies are staying afloat on huge  
quantities of low end consumer equipment. The true pro equipment (not  
pro-sumer) is extremely expensive and goes to a much smaller market  
base.

> A competition that, by the way, was created by Leica itself: if  
> you're the best, and cannot be beaten in your field, you oblige  
> your competitors to become more creative. Canon, and now Nikon,  
> too, perfectly understood that.
>
> Fluxus, really. I just hope that Leica picked the right wave and  
> stays on it as long as possible.

Me too. They're fun to watch as a company. Great tradition. And there  
equipment is a joy to use. Does anyone have any wonderful and  
entertaining stories about Canon or Nikon?

Regards,
George Lottermoser
george@imagist.com





In reply to: Message from grduprey at mchsi.com (grduprey@mchsi.com) ([Leica] SLD ? R9.99 ? Link is OK now)
Message from crbirchenhall at googlemail.com (Christopher Birchenhall) ([Leica] SLD ? R9.99 ? Link is OK now)
Message from imagist3 at mac.com (Lottermoser George) ([Leica] SLD ? R9.99 ? Link is OK now)
Message from crbirchenhall at googlemail.com (Christopher Birchenhall) ([Leica] SLD ? R9.99 ? Link is OK now)
Message from imagist3 at mac.com (Lottermoser George) ([Leica] SLD ? R9.99 ? Link is OK now)
Message from philippe.orlent at pandora.be (Philippe Orlent) ([Leica] SLD ? R9.99 ? Link is OK now)