The day the music died.....

They're a commercial enterprise with shareholders, it's their primary responsibility to produce what makes most money.

Film Leicas outlast their owners. Buy a used M3, shoot with it for 30 years, pass it on to your son in your will. How much money has Leica just made? zero bucks.

Digital Leicas - buy an M9 this year then an M10 in 3 years time then an M 11 in 6 years time. (aha! Leica have just sold you 3 cameras in 10 years.)

It is not from the benevolence of Leica that we expect our photographic equipment, but from their regard to their own interest

best,
Alex
 
No to say that Leica has or is benevolent, but it is not a public company. Andreas Kauffmann is the owner now, no shareholders anymore for Leica since he's been in the picture.

alexnotalex said:
They're a commercial enterprise with shareholders, it's their primary responsibility to produce what makes most money.

Film Leicas outlast their owners. Buy a used M3, shoot with it for 30 years, pass it on to your son in your will. How much money has Leica just made? zero bucks.

Digital Leicas - buy an M9 this year then an M10 in 3 years time then an M 11 in 6 years time. (aha! Leica have just sold you 3 cameras in 10 years.)

It is not from the benevolence of Leica that we expect our photographic equipment, but from their regard to their own interest

best,
Alex
Click to expand...
 
Maybe we could combine this w/ the "Film Is Dead" thread, and add a "Kodak Sells Film Business: Plans To Open New String Of Yellow Coffeehouses" thread on the side.
 
I have worked in audio recording since 1975. The first commercial digital recordings were in 1978. It was a big topic in my youth. The first digital camera was about 1988. There are the same problems, advantages in both fields, photography is just a little less mature. At the same time the August Mix Magazine just ran a cover story on analogue recording and we are shipping more vinyl records than we did in 1998. It's a little early to sing "Bye, Bye Miss American Pie"
 
Look at it this way. You make cameras in batches. You've enormous demand for a digital camera that takes three hours less to assemble than a film camera, and good stocks of film cameras (built up, probably, in anticipation of demand for digtal). I suspect (I don't know) that there's more profit in the M9.

That makes for a really difficult decision on what to make at the moment, doesn't it?

Incdentally, has Dr. Kaufmann now acquired all the shares? I though there were still a few holdouts - less than 10%, but still making it a public company.

Cheers,

R.
 
Roger Hicks said:
Incdentally, has Dr. Kaufmann now acquired all the shares? I though there were still a few holdouts - less than 10%, but still making it a public company.
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It's a public company if it's listed on a share exchange (where its shares are traded publically), which it is: G.LCC on Frankfurt/Main exchange.
 
It's a bit like old cars. First they're new and modern, then as time goes by they're considered junk....then as more time goes by, they're considered "collectibles" and everyone tries to get theri hands on one (often for a great deal of money. (The Edsel comes to mind).

Think it's gonna be the same with film. Don't think it will die out completely, although most people will consider it an "Edsel." But in a few more years, it will have retro chic ( i.e., the "vinyl records" movement), the fine art crowd and the hipsters of the day will get into it, and it will become an "in" thing with the cognosceti...
 
While Econ 101 says that a publicly traded business has an obligation to the shareholders to make money, that doesn't mean they will continue to sell a product as long as it returns a profit.

Maximizing profit is about putting resources against the most profitable areas. So, it doesn't necessarily follow that Leica will make film cameras as long as the line is profitable. It would be rational for Leica to stop producing MP's and M7's if they thought they'd get a larger return by applying those resources to the digital side. And, vice versa.

If, as we hear, Leica makes cameras in batch runs, I think it's safe to assume they keep a close eye on demand, via data from their dealers. I.e., production needs to ramp up early enough to meet expected future demand. That mode of production might easily morph into a "build on order" mode. That doesn't seem to be far removed from their current a la carte offering for the MP.
 
wgerrard said:
The Asahi story is based on an alleged quote from May. Wouldn't it be rather easy for someone to telephone or email Leica and ask if they've left the film camera business?
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Which Asahi story do you refer to ? The one published in "Asahi Camera" (issue from June 22nd, in Japanese) or the one from news-service "Asahi.com" ? (The author of both stories is the same guy, BTW)
 
I'm sure this makes good business sense. But speaking for myself: even if I could afford it, I'd never buy a digital M. I don't see the point. If I go digi, I might as well buy a proper digi: an SLR!

I'll stick with film Leica Ms, thank you very much. Happily for me, half the world's Leicas are right here in Japan!
 
RFluhver said:
I'm sure this makes good business sense. But speaking for myself: even if I could afford it, I'd never buy a digital M. I don't see the point. If I go digi, I might as well buy a proper digi: an SLR!

I'll stick with film Leica Ms, thank you very much. Happily for me, half the world's Leicas are right here in Japan!
Click to expand...


The Leica Police are tracking you through your IP adress as I type ... don't open your door no matter what happens! 😱

😀
 
RFluhver said:
I'm sure this makes good business sense. But speaking for myself: even if I could afford it, I'd never buy a digital M. I don't see the point. If I go digi, I might as well buy a proper digi: an SLR!

I'll stick with film Leica Ms, thank you very much. Happily for me, half the world's Leicas are right here in Japan!
Click to expand...

Well, yes: an SLR is a proper digi.

And an M9 is a proper camera.

Cheers,

R.
 
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