Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2008/12/20
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]As usual, Henning has it exactly right. Andreas Kaufmann essentially owns Leica - I am one of the residual miniscules! - and calls the shots. Having spent some time with him at LHSA meetings discussing Leica Camera, the market and the Company's future, I am persuaded that he has identified the one market niche that he believes can lead to long-term success for the Company and is utterly dedicated to pursuing exactly the strategy Henning mentions. And to making the investments required to make it happen. Think of the financial resources that were needed to bring out the M8, then within 2 years the upgrades for the M8.2, while simultaneously designing the phenomenal S2 and its totally new line of lenses and training factory personnel to manufacture these world-class products to traditional Leica standards. He knows the market for both is small, in fact, infinitesmal when compared with Canon, Nikon, etc. and so must price them at a level that only the most serious professional photographers who need that level of quality and features can afford. George, your idea ain't bad: one camera, one lens, but the absolute best. Last evening, for the first time I took a look at the MTF charts for the S2 lens line. I've never seen anything like them, simply unbelievable. Seth -30- ----- Original Message ----- From: "Henning Wulff" <henningw@archiphoto.com> To: "Leica Users Group" <lug@leica-users.org> Cc: <mknawabi.lug@gmail.com> Sent: Friday, December 19, 2008 10:00 PM Subject: Re: [Leica] un-believable > At 8:00 PM -0500 12/19/08, Philip Forrest wrote: >>Yama, >>You're talking to owners of M8's. Not a single person on this list >>built their M8 unless we've got some engineers from Solms who >>subscribe. It's just a camera, first and foremost. That always needs to >>be remembered. There's nothing offensive about complaining how >>Leica handles the camera business. It's a business. they report to >>their investors first and their customers second. That's how >>corporations are. >>Phil Forrest >> > > > They report to Kaufmann. Period. The residual miniscule (hard to call > them minority anymore) investors are really sidelined. > > Leica, even with Kaufmann, are small fish swimming with very big > fish. They have to find a niche that the big fish aren't interested > in, and develop that. They can't swim with the big fish, and can't > really be expected to. At this stage, expecting them to challenge and > keep up with Canon and Nikon in their markets is unreasonable and > won't happen. > > Leica has found itself in a position to be able to produce and sell > (to a certain degree) optical excellence second to none. As in most > other endeavors, the last 10% costs 90% of the price. Leica is going > to produce a 50/0.95 that will be better than any lens of that focal > length and that speed or similar has ever been produced, but it will > be priced so that hardly anyone can reasonably afford it. Since few > people will be able to buy it, the few that do buy it have to share > the R&D costs. Always a difficult pricing decision. > > Leica has little chance to challenge the big boys on price, features > and development cycles unless they completely change their business > model. That requires huge amounts of money that will even challenge > Kaufmann, and there is absolutely no guarantee of success. See > Olympus, Pentax or Sony. Their camera divisions aren't exactly > setting profit records. > > I'm not sure how Leica can survive. I'd hate to see them go, but... I > have almost all of the lenses I want and maybe someone else will jump > into the fray with a body that will take them. For my own purposes > the G1 isn't quite it, but there are other solutions possible. > > I was a bit concerned about the e-mail when I first read it, but I'm > OK with it now, and it doesn't seem quite as desperate as it did at > first. Hopefully they'll keep going for a while longer, with new > things to interest me. Meanwhile, the M8's are doing fine. > > -- > > * Henning J. Wulff > /|\ Wulff Photography & Design > /###\ mailto:henningw@archiphoto.com > |[ ]| http://www.archiphoto.com > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com Version: 8.0.176 / Virus Database: 270.9.19/1857 - Release Date: 12/19/2008 10:09 AM