if leica went out of business...

[Chuck Albertson]

If a frog had wings, would it bump its ass when it hopped?

In case you hadn't noticed, Leica is finally making a profit, and with its next year or so of production already sold, it's bound to continue doing so.

 

[OSFlanker]

I am slightly surprised no one mentioned the Chinese at all since they have replaced the Japanese as the source of all evil (i.e. driving up used Leica prices). If Tata can own Jaguar and Geely can own Volvo, perhaps one day Leica will be owned by the Shanghai Seagull Camera Ltd?

 

[charge5photo]

Me. Read my threads.

 

[nemo2]

If Leica went out of business, Panasonic will buy it just to be able to continue writing "Leica" on its products.

 

[jsrockit]

Panasonic is a huge company that doesn't need to buy Leica. Panasonic would ruin Leica most likely.

 

[unixrevolution]

Because in today's world if you don't sell units in the millions like Apple, Canon, Nikon ect it is hard to cover the cost of operation, R&D, advertisement ect.

There was a time when people asked why Apple might go out of business if they can sell all the computers they can make.

And frankly, if a company is doing R&D and advertisement over and above the amount of revenue generated by SELLING AS MANY PRODUCTS AS THEY CAN POSSIBLY MAKE, they deserve to fail.

 

[johannielscom]

This German article states Leica made an annual profit of 36 million in 2010. Mainly due to the M9.

Guess they're not going out of business after all! 😉

 

[mrrobleyleica]

...who would begin production on a new digital rangefinder?

I would buy a lathe, a precision milling machine, a load of sensors and make them myself in the shed.

 

[RObert Budding]

There are rumors that Nikon will soon announce a mirror-less camera. Perhaps it will have an optical finder and a rangefinder . . .

 

[Keith]

I read somewhere else on the forum that thirty thousand M9's have been sold. In Canikon terms that would barely register on any sales graph. For Leica it's the sweet smell of success and proof that they're making all the right moves.

 

[gavinlg]

There are rumors that Nikon will soon announce a mirror-less camera. Perhaps it will have an optical finder and a rangefinder . . .

Yep, this week. It'll be a little consumer toy though, no serious features. Small sensor too.

 

[gavinlg]

I read somewhere else on the forum that thirty thousand M9's have been sold. In Canikon terms that would barely register on any sales graph. For Leica it's the sweet smell of success and proof that they're making all the right moves.

I read that it ends up being about 30-40 m9's sold a day! Not bad at all I think!

 

[LeicaTom]

No one it would all be over for the digital rangefinder..............but someone would still be adapting the M and LTM lenses on 4/3rds cameras.

Tom

 

[Keith]

No one it would all be over for the digital rangefinder..............but someone would still be adapting the M and LTM lenses on 4/3rds cameras.

Tom

I think you're so right Tom. There'd be plenty of cameras out there to mount M lenses on but I don't think anyone would follow in Leica's footsteps with a digital rangefinder ... no point really!

 

[jsrockit]

... but I don't think anyone would follow in Leica's footsteps with a digital rangefinder ... no point really!

While I think that no one would make a digital rangefinder that would rival the M9, I wonder why you think there is no point. Please explain...

 

[Keith]

While I think that no one would make a digital rangefinder that would rival the M9, I wonder why you think there is no point. Please explain...

I'm thinking of the rangefinder mechanism itself really. As a focusing device it's pretty long in the tooth and obviously expensive to manufacture. I can envisage a similar style of camera but not with a purely mechanical focusing system and definitely not based around mirrors and prisms and complex little linkages. Something electronic for sure and probably no reason to refer to it as a rangefinder!

 

[gilpen123]

I think Tom A will take over this niche.....

 

[jsrockit]

I'm thinking of the rangefinder mechanism itself really. As a focusing device it's pretty long in the tooth and obviously expensive to manufacture. I can envisage a similar style of camera but not with a purely mechanical focusing system and definitely not based around mirrors and prisms and complex little linkages. Something electronic for sure and probably no reason to refer to it as a rangefinder!

While I understand what you mean... I would say the mechanical rangefinder is exactly why we buy Leica M cameras. It isn't cost effective, it is antiquated, but it is also very charming and fun to use. If Leica truly sold 30,000 M9s at $7000 each, and it was to go out of business, I would think someone would be looking to capitalize on that market with a true mechanical rangefinder. Also, how expensive can a mechanical rangefinder be when CV has $600 bodies new? We all know Leica charges a lot based on it being a luxury item... more so then it being about the cost to manufactuer the camera. I'm not saying it is not expensive to manufactuer, I'm just saying that the $7,000 price tag is more of a luxury prioce tag than an actual cost price tag. Well, that's my opinion anyway and not really based on fact...just a hunch.

 

[Keith]

While I understand what you mean... I would say the mechanical rangefinder is exactly why we buy Leica M cameras. It isn't cost effective, it is antiquated, but it is also very charming and fun to use. If Leica truly sold 30,000 M9s at $7000 each, and it was to go out of business, I would think someone would be looking to capitalize on that market with a true mechanical rangefinder. Also, how expensive can a mechanical rangefinder be when CV has $600 bodies new? We all know Leica charges a lot based on it being a luxury item... more so then it being about the cost to manufactuer the camera. I'm not saying it is not expensive to manufactuer, I'm just saying that the $7,000 price tag is more of a luxury prioce tag than an actual cost price tag. Well, that's my opinion anyway and not really based on fact...just a hunch.

I think comparing the rangefinder in a $600.00 Bessa to the one in a Leica is a dangerous exercise. I'll be long gone from this earth in sixty years so I can't vouch for the hunch I have that a Bessa rangefinder mechanism won't focus on squat in sixty years because it very likely will have disintegrated. 😀

Non photography rangefinders went to lasers years ago ... while we camera freaks hung on to our prisms and mirrors. Perhaps you're right! 🙂

 

[jsrockit]

I think comparing the rangefinder in a $600.00 Bessa to the one in a Leica is a dangerous exercise. I'll be long gone from this earth in sixty years so I can't vouch for the hunch I have that a Bessa rangefinder mechanism won't focus on squat in sixty years because it very likely will have disintegrated. 😀

That may be true, but who's going to be using a digital camera from 60 years ago once 60 years have passed? Also, who's to say that any electronic style rangefinder will still work in 60 years?