Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2008/12/07

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Subject: [Leica] Epson R-D1 again
From: jean.louchet at gmail.com (Jean Louchet)
Date: Sun Dec 7 10:51:56 2008

> From: "Chris Williams" <leicachris@worldnet.att.net>

> Someone needs to kick Epson's/CV butt for not making a Epson R-D2! This 
> camera is
> awesome.

Maybe the best solution would be for Solms to launch a downgraded, low
(middle!) priced digital M, just in the same spirit as the CL.
Standard mass-produced sensor, etc at about half the price of a M8-2.
Remember the CL and CLE brought many new people to Leica's customer
base (I was one of them). Another example was Pentax's Spotmatic 500,
which was a downgraded Spotmatic 1000 without self-release. To make it
look like a downgrade they replaced the shutter speed barrel with one
from 1sec to 1/500 but the (unmarked) 1/1000 was still operative, and
meter-coupled. Here in Europe in the early 80s, Opel sold their entry
level Kadett D with a 4 speed gearbox which was actually a 5 speed
with an internal plate preventing from using the 5th speed - came
cheaper than redesigning a 4 speed gearbox.
The main idea would be to sell an affordable digital RF that
encourages investing into a couple of Leica (or CV or Zeiss) lenses
which in their turn encourage into buying the real M8. My own story
was CLE -> M2 -> M6 -> M8 and a pretty set of lenses.
Just ideas...

Jean
Jean Louchet
APIS - INRIA Saclay research centre
4 rue Jacques Monod 91893 ORSAY Cedex France
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jean.louchet@inria.fr  http://jean.louchet.free.fr/
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