[Leica] DMR Fiasco

[digiratidoc at gmail.com (James Laird)]

First let me say I don't own an R8 or R9 or a DMR module. When the R
system was still being produced I lusted after it but never could
afford an R system camera. I've always used Nikon SLRs because to me
they seem both capable and affordable and the lenses, while maybe not
up to the quality of Leica, are damn good. But over the last year or
two while 'mostly lurking' on the LUG I've grown accustomed to the
rather frequent postings regarding 'the battery situation' for the
DMR. And I'm frankly amazed that Leica Camera would leave the DMR
users 'out in the cold' like this. The DMR was introduced in 2005 and
touted as the 'optimal solution' for Leica-R users who wanted digital
capabilities, production then stopped in 2007 approximately, and in
2010 nobody can get a battery without scrounging on *bay or the web
for just one more new one! Hell, I can still get a flash adapter from
Nikon for an F3 produced in 1980. And it's not BATTERY DEPENDENT!,
while the DMR is essentially a charming paperweight without battery
power.
I realize that there may be reasons, both financial and logistic, for
Leica to cease production of the DMR battery. But Leica is in a niche
market, and niche market producers by definition need to take damn
good care of their niche customers. So where's the care? Think about
it. What if Leica halts production of the battery for the M9 and the
M8/M8.2 in 3 years and no third party batteries are being produced? I
realize that won't happen but wouldn't you be pi**ed if it did?
I think all M and R users should tell Leica they are not going to buy
one more body, one more lens, hell one more diopter until they rectify
this situation. Photographers of the World Unite!;-)

James Laird