A 5 meg. M Leica

[eon]

I beg to differ.

When the RD1 came out it was £1999 in the UK. It subsequently dropped to approx £1450. The M8 at launch was £2950 in the UK.

Really? I wont argue, but R-D1 was sold for 40000 SEK in Sweden at the beginning and M8 is 42500 SEK now.
At the end of R-D1 production the only price i saw was the UK price. I therefore draw the conclusion it dropped by 50%. Epson in Sweden must have had a much too high price compared to other countries.

 

[Gid]

Really? I wont argue, but R-D1 was sold for 40000 SEK in Sweden at the beginning and M8 is 42500 SEK now.
At the end of R-D1 production the only price i saw was the UK price. I therefore draw the conclusion it dropped by 50%. Epson in Sweden must have had a much too high price compared to other countries.

And I won't argue with your knowledge of the Swedish market From your standpoint, the M8 is a bit of a bargain then

 

[Ben Z]

The RD-1 was $3000 in the USA right until the last new one was gone. I considered it ridiculous even at the start, as Canon already had the 8MP 20D out for less than half that amount, and the RD-1 was based on $500 Bessas, not $2500 (then) Leicas. For $1400 for a like-new refurb, I couldn't resist. Beef up the rangefinder so it's less apt to go out of adjustment, pop in the 10MP chip from the Nikon D200 along with new firmware to make it run, give a few respectable repair guys the training and tools and a contract to do warranty work, charge $1895 and I think it'd fly off the shelves. If Leica sold a rebadged version like their Panasonics for $2500 that'd fly even faster.

 

[POINT OF VIEW]

Leica already has a entry level partner.

Leica already has a entry level partner.

Leica already has a digital camera entry level partner. Leica puts there name on many styles on digital cameras, regardless of who makes them. They all have a Leica price tag. Then there is the same camera, entry level for less cost, that company is of course Panasonic.
So let Panasonic produce a 6 M P, M camera. The point I think most people are missing is, the one thing all of these cameras have in common is they all have a Leica lens. What is Leica’s core product? lens of course. When I went through Solms factory, 80% was used to produce lens. Therefore, build any camera as long as a Leica lens will work with it. For Leica to become a major player they need to become more diverse. Bill

 

[RML]

Originally Posted by rxmd
I could imagine a medium-end digital rangefinder from Leica happening, if they use an off-the-shelf sensor; they'd have to take care of not undercutting their own M8 sales, though. A "CL effect" is the last thing Leica needs at the moment.

After the initial uptake by early adopters, the volume of M8 sales will level off, if not taper out. That's the point where a more friendly priced CL-D will open a segment of the market that the M8 can't..

I agree. IMO the "dreaded" CL effect might actually be favourable to Leica this day and age. IMO Leica's greatest shortcoming is that they can't service the market segments covered by Zeiss and Cosina, meaning they must necessarily concentrate on a very expensive product in a very demanding but exceedingly small market segment, without being able to cover losses with larger volumes of sales in cheaper but bigger segments. Most companies focus on these large volumes, and finance their expensive up-market niche products with the profits from those large volume sales.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Leica already has a digital camera entry level partner. Leica puts there name on many styles on digital cameras, regardless of who makes them. They all have a Leica price tag. Then there is the same camera, entry level for less cost, that company is of course Panasonic.
So let Panasonic produce a 6 M P, M camera. The point I think most people are missing is, the one thing all of these cameras have in common is they all have a Leica lens.

Wait a minute, doesn't the R-D1 already exist? It's 6 MP. It's not Leica, it's at the incredibly low price of $2,200.00 new, and about $1,300.00 refurbished.

Must it have "Leica" on it? If so, I think you can buy red dot stickers for about $5

 

[POINT OF VIEW]

Leica lens

Leica lens

I am told you cannot use all of the M lens with the R-D1 and the camera is officially out of production. I said, Panasonic name plate would work, it's all about using the full range of M lens. Bill

Wait a minute, doesn't the R-D1 already exist? It's 6 MP. It's

not Leica, it's at the incredibly low price of $2,200.00 new, and about $1,300.00 refurbished.

Must it have "Leica" on it? If so, I think you can buy red dot stickers for about $5

 

[Iron Flatline]

Ya know ... to you Americans: the price increase probably has more to do with the dollar/euro currency delta than any pricing strategy.

 

[oscroft]

Ya know ... to you Americans: the price increase probably has more to do with the dollar/euro currency delta than any pricing strategy.

That will contribute, but the biggest factor is surely that Leica are increasing their euro prices, isn't it?