Red Robin
It Is What It Is
Everyone is aware how the folks of the old FSU copyed Leica and others over the years. Just wondering, are there any M9 being curned out these days?
oftheherd
Veteran
Haven't heard of it. I expect Leica would go after anyone who did pretty aggressively.
DNG
Film Friendly
We can dream on.......
you'd think that Russia would have some modern knock offs at least...
rxmd
May contain traces of nut
When they knocked off the Leica in the 1930s, they were knocking off the latest and greatest. Today, that would mean knocking off DSLRs and Red Ones and maybe a few EVILs.
Why knock off a niche product that appeals mainly to a small group of affluent hobbyists? That has sold maybe some 20.000 pieces worldwide?
Red Robin
It Is What It Is
In the first place , it didn't stop-em' before and two there's a lot of wiggle room ,profit-wise in some of the multi-thousand-dollar cameras. Let's face it the new cameras just don't hold up. Do you think you'll ever see a "beater"or user M9 of today in 2040? Oh well, just day dreaming anyway.
batterytypehah!
Lord of the Dings
Who the hay is "they"? Has it occurred to you that you're equating today's Russia with Stalin's Soviet Union?
jedrek
Member
The R&D outlay needed to copy the mechanical process of machining a fully manual camera is considerably less than what is needed to pump out 35mm CMOS/CCD sensors. It's not a matter of 5x as much, more like 5,000x.
Look, digital rangefinders are niche products, there is absolutely no reason for anybody to be making knock-offs. So few would be sold that there is no way they would be able to recoup the cost of production, especially without a brand name like Leica to help them sell. With so§ many rangefinders on the used market, there's no floodgate waiting to open, no multitudes of consumers just waiting for a cheap RF. Everybody who wants a cheap digital camera already has one.
The overwhelming majority of people who want cameras buy P&Ss and DSLRs. They already have what they want: autofocus, cheap lenses, etc. They will not flock to a non-exact, manual-focus system, they will not make the volume that they need to make a cheap digital RF viable.
Look, digital rangefinders are niche products, there is absolutely no reason for anybody to be making knock-offs. So few would be sold that there is no way they would be able to recoup the cost of production, especially without a brand name like Leica to help them sell. With so§ many rangefinders on the used market, there's no floodgate waiting to open, no multitudes of consumers just waiting for a cheap RF. Everybody who wants a cheap digital camera already has one.
The overwhelming majority of people who want cameras buy P&Ss and DSLRs. They already have what they want: autofocus, cheap lenses, etc. They will not flock to a non-exact, manual-focus system, they will not make the volume that they need to make a cheap digital RF viable.