Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2012/12/01
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]The digital Leica Ms have been a fantastic success for Leica. They have been in great demand, with months of waiting lists and the increase in demand has doubled the used value of some of the lenses. The thing that has been a massive failure for Leica has been their reflex cameras. However good they are they have never sold in sufficient quantity to recoup design, development and tooling costs. Being loyal to their R customers nearly bankrupted the company, so they were absolutely right (disappointingly) to eventually drop the R. In the quantities a Leica reflex is likely to sell the S2 is perhaps a good choice. Dearer to develop and make than a 36x24 DSLR, but probably not by much, yet possible by virtue of the cache of its bigger sensor to sell at a price which gives half a chance of washing its face financially. I hope they sell sufficient of them. The Nikon F was a watershed camera. It has a massively crude mirror and shutter assembly but, guess what, nobody cared and it was solid and relatively inexpensive with excellent lenses. It changed everything. FD On 30 Nov, 2012, at 22:51, Mark Rabiner <mark at rabinergroup.com> wrote: > Leica distanced itself from its large loyal fan base in 1963 after the > Nikon > F took over in very few years after that it was a niche market which > appealed to connoisseurs. > Its had 50 years expense in not being on the top of the market but the > bottom. Of the mass market that is. Its fairly happy being where it was. > Problem was with the non total success of the digital M's it went lower. > Now I think with the digital numberless M its back to where it was in the > 90's. Very small but very much there. > > Mark William Rabiner > Photography > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lugalrabs/