Leica's Plans

[bob cole]

The LUG has posted a German -language report on Leica plans for the future, including that Leica is doing well, has a good partner in Panasonic and what products may be coming along ... It also mentions that something or other is "in deep ****."


The key stuff is that Leica appears to be hard at work preparing new products in the next 8 months to present this fall at the Photokina :

An M9 "with full-format sensor."

An R10 "with extra-large chip and auto-focus."

Maybe "a small digital M." Speculation on the LUG is that this could be something like the Leica CL...


http://www.welt.de/welt_print/article1418788/Drei-Stufen-Plan_fuer_Leica.html

 

[infocusf8@earthlink.]

Two out of those three will happen at Photokina. Which one won't is the question. Hint-M9.

 

[wt67]

I hope you are wrong about the M9 - i.e., that it won't be part of any announcement. It would be very nice to see sooner rather than later. As for "corporate spin," not likely that nothing will be announced. Why hint at something and then not deliver - serves no corporate purpose. If anything, consumers will hold off buying while waiting to see what will be introduced. If there less buying and then nothing is introduced, then Leica suffers. Not a good strategy. Something will be introduced - the question is what. I hope it is the M9.😎

 

[rxmd]

The same article has been under discussion on RFF already for a couple of days: http://rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53076

 

[infocusf8@earthlink.]

But Why?

But Why?

I hope you are wrong about the M9 - i.e., that it won't be part of any announcement. It would be very nice to see sooner rather than later. As for "corporate spin," not likely that nothing will be announced. Why hint at something and then not deliver - serves no corporate purpose. If anything, consumers will hold off buying while waiting to see what will be introduced. If there less buying and then nothing is introduced, then Leica suffers. Not a good strategy. Something will be introduced - the question is what. I hope it is the M9.
What is it that you think the M9 will solve for you? Have you used an M8? When the M9 finally arrives will you want the M10? Where do you draw the line and finally become a photographer who utilizes a camera to its capabilities and stop thinking that the next model will be your panacea to some photographic nirvana?

 

[gtmerideth@mac.]

With the DMR having expired, the R series purely tanked. I had to give my R lenses away. Months have gone by with no R income for the company. Rumours of a new and astounding R design have been going for a year. To think that the M series
is going to supplant filling of the R divot is shortsighted. Small company. One thing at a time. M sales have been good and stimulated a lot of glass purchases. WATE,
the 28 elmarit and now the summarits. I think they have to ride the M wave further to squeeze out all that's possible.
g.

 

[Andy Aitken]

I guess we'll just have to WATE and see 😀

 

[jaapv]

With the DMR having expired, the R series purely tanked. I had to give my R lenses away. Months have gone by with no R income for the company. Rumours of a new and astounding R design have been going for a year. To think that the M series
is going to supplant filling of the R divot is shortsighted. Small company. One thing at a time. M sales have been good and stimulated a lot of glass purchases. WATE,
the 28 elmarit and now the summarits. I think they have to ride the M wave further to squeeze out all that's possible.
g.

Do you mean your DMR broke and was irrepairable? There is no reason not to use a DMR right now. I found out that it is not a good idea to get rid of R lenses😱 🙁 😡 - I did so in 2001, despairing of the DMR and switching to Canon for DSLR. Now I bought a R9/DMR and have to repurchase every lens. An expensive thing I can tell you....😱

I hope you are wrong about the M9 - i.e., that it won't be part of any announcement. It would be very nice to see sooner rather than later. As for "corporate spin," not likely that nothing will be announced. Why hint at something and then not deliver - serves no corporate purpose. If anything, consumers will hold off buying while waiting to see what will be introduced. If there less buying and then nothing is introduced, then Leica suffers. Not a good strategy. Something will be introduced - the question is what. I hope it is the M9.

What is it that you think the M9 will solve for you? Have you used an M8? When the M9 finally arrives will you want the M10? Where do you draw the line and finally become a photographer who utilizes a camera to its capabilities and stop thinking that the next model will be your panacea to some photographic nirvana?

I doubt there would be much money in a hypothetical M9. The M8 is far too good. It is very unlikely that current M8 users would buy into a probably more expensive and probably not spectactularly better camera in large numbers.
A minor-upgrade M8-2 (12 MP 1.33 sensor, more quiet shutter, narrower framelines, other minor tweaks) would suffice to keep the cameras rolling out of the factory for quite some time.

 

[pizzahut88]

The news perhaps was not meant for us.

But rather it was circulated as means of steadying if not increasing the stock price.

LCA1.MU

You know the board had to do something . . . or they get sacked.

 

[rxmd]

But rather it was circulated as means of steadying if not increasing the stock price.

LCA1.MU

You know the board had to do something . . . or they get sacked.

Why? Leica is not a publicly traded company anymore in practice.

Philipp

 

[gtmerideth@mac.]

Jaap,
I meant that because the DMR is no longer available. You cant sell what you ain't got.
g.

 

[kevin m]

Leica needs to stop catering to middle-aged dudes with discretionary income and start making simple cameras again.

I agree with what Sean Reid says about small format digital point and shoots being a 'new' type of camera. I think they're much the same thing the original Barnack Leica was back in the day.

With that in mind, I'd love it if Leica/Panasonic made a competitor for the Ricoh GRD. My spec wish list: a 21-35mm f2.8 stepped zoom; analog, manual controls for shutter speed, aperture, focus and ISO; a RAW buffer that allows, say 2-3 fps in a ten frame burst. And the 16:9 sensor they already make.

In addition, they need their equivalent of the Epson R-D1. Something affordable and decent to allow us to use M and LTM lenses on a digital sensor.

I'd buy one of each. I won't buy an M8 until they're selling for $2k on the used market. Which will be 10 minutes after the M9's announced.

 

[Hacker]

Leica needs to stop catering to middle-aged dudes with discretionary income and start making simple cameras again.

I doubt this segment by itself will explain the phenomenal growth of interest in RF, let alone of Leica being back in the black. Otherwise, they would not have been in the red before.

 

[migtex]

New Digi P&S.. Finepix F100 and it starts at 28mm! ISO goes up 3200, A/S/M modes... no shutter lag.
Still, I'll keep My S's!

 

[jaapv]

Leica is in the black according to its last quarterly report. It is a GmbH and as such required by law to report its financial position.

 

[jaapv]

Leica needs to stop catering to middle-aged dudes with discretionary income and start making simple cameras again.

Where do you get your statistics? And how much simpler than an M8 can you get?

In addition, they need their equivalent of the Epson R-D1. Something affordable and decent to allow us to use M and LTM lenses on a digital sensor.

Like pie in the sky?

I won't buy an M8 until they're selling for $2k on the used market. Which will be 10 minutes after the M9's announced.

Like in five years time? By which time the M9 will be 20.000$ at least...You might pick up an M8 at 7000 2013$....Fyi: Digilux2 is still trading at 750-1000$, DMR at 3000$ plus....

 

[photogdave]

With the DMR having expired, the R series purely tanked. I had to give my R lenses away.

I can't believe this. R lenses are still being bought and sold on a daily basis. They can be used with great success on Canon and 4/3 format DSLRs. Their values may have become reduced over the last few years but they certainly aren't "give away" lenses.
Unless you're the generous type! 🙂