"Upgrades Available"

[reagan]

Can you imagine? Upgrades Available?

I've just loaded film once again into my Leica.3 that was once a 1 ... before "the operation." I wonder how many rolls have passed across it's rails? I really like this little camera. I also enjoy looking through the portraits in the "... Show Yours" thread of other Leicas that have received conversion work.
The ability and willingness of early Leica to convert/upgrade everyman's Leica to the newer model is one of the most interesting "selling points" to me. They planned for them to last a very long time, not just until next year's model rolls out.

• "Let's build these new mini-cameras so they'll last Avg. Joe a lifetime."
• "What if one of them gets damaged or breaks? or needs adjustment?"
• "Then they can send them back to us and we'll repair them and return 'em so they won't have to be replaced."
• "But what about next year, when we add more widgets and gadgets that will make Avg. Joe's camera obsolete?"
• "Well then, we'll design it so Avg. Joe can send us his old camera, choose which widgets and gadgets he wants to add to it, and we'll convert his obsolete shooter to the new modern model. That way, he won't have to lay out the zoids for a newski."
• "Yeah, and who knows? Maybe he can even pass it on to Avg. Joe, Jr. and he can enjoy it for awhile too!"

Right. Okay, kinda hokey, I know. But if a conversation with this attitude were to take place in the product development dept. of any camera maker today, both employees would be fired immediately ... then admitted in the nearest, ehhhh, "facilities" for a thorough psych exam followed by tons of medz.

I'm not so sure it was an attitude of a company as much as the values of a generation. But whatever it was that lay at the heart or reason of Leica and many other camera makers world-wide "back in the day", I'm sure glad they did what they did, took on the build-it-to-last challenge and made upgrades available ... because 80 yrs. later, there's several of us here and there that are still really enjoying these old cameras.

Too bad my grandkids won't ever know or understand those same values.

 

[RanceEric]

Well said, I completely agree. +1

One of many reasons I think I would have loved to live "back in the day".

 

[dogberryjr]

Hey now, Leica hasn't changed that much, you can still upgrade. For instance, for a mere 30% of its original cost, an owner can upgrade their M9 to an M9P.

/Let the flaming begin.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Well said, I completely agree. +1

One of many reasons I think I would have loved to live "back in the day".

Without antibiotics, cheap telecommunications, women's rights, affordable air travel, widespread union recognition...

With racism, sexism, McCarthyism, fascism...

Sure, there were a lot of things that were good. But there were a lot of things that were bad, too.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Bobbo]

Before we get off an a "the good old days weren't always good/Tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems" (My apologies to Billy Joel) flame war...

Hey now, Leica hasn't changed that much, you can still upgrade. For instance, for a mere 30% of its original cost, an owner can upgrade their M9 to an M9P.

/Let the flaming begin.

You, and the OP, miss one important thing: the cost of the service...

Taking a Leica A and turning it into a Leica IIIa cost what? I'm sure it wasn't cheap... I don't have any books or anything in front of me, so I'm unsure. Remember, a IIIa only cost $135 in 1938 (according to an ad from Stephen's website). I doubt it cost less than $40, or 1/3 the price of a IIIa... which is 1/7 The cost of a car, or 10 times the cost of an Argus A @ $12.50 (the price gap between a Nikon D5100 and a Leica M9-P)

 

[John Shriver]

The "upgrades" were also a way to beat the rather high US Federal Excise taxes on cameras at the time. While you paid the tax on the original Leica I, there was no Excise Tax on the upgrade, as that was a "service".

 

[reagan]

Yep, the cost of a conversion was definitely up there. But it was available.

And my thoughts weren't "yesterday was great" vs "today sucks". Rather I was more just being glad that there was an era of craftsmanship that made it possible for schmoes like me to not just read about, but actually hold and enjoy and imagine how my father (and maybe grandfather) went through the paces of creating images and admiring the machines they used. This experience is made possible largely because "upgrades available" kept many, many of those machines in circulation ... til I could grab a couple.

 

[FrankS]

There are not many consumer goods available today that are built with the attitude: "Let's build this the best we can," rather than: "Let's build this to a certain price-point." At least none that I can afford. 🙂

 

[ray*j*gun]

Come on.......we can make all the points and counter points we want to, but the fact is products were built better generations ago (much better) than most anything today. Of course there are exceptions...............but not many IMO.

 

[Ronald M]

"Advances" all are made with electronics and by their nature will work only so long. With each new model, the electronics are changed and the path to recreate the old is gone. There is no way to make one off circuit boards economically.

Certainly a camera could be made with interchangeable sensors and other components, but the cost would be too high. And if you upgrade the sensor, the rest of the camera is old. It would be much like deciding to replace an engine in a five year old car with 200,000 miles. Most would elect to scrap the car.

While digital is fun, it is astronomically expensive all thing considered. Certainly pros who do 25+ rolls a week and who previously paid for processing, make out. An amateur who does a roll a week might be marginal. Holiday and vacation person will keep buying digicams built to marginal standards that work two years and quit.

That does not all include computers and programs to manipulate the data.

I have to admit digital is fun, perhaps as much fun as seeing the print emerge in the chemical darkroom.

 

[FrankS]

My brother-in-law's father owned a business selling and servicing sewing machines. Back in the 1950's and '60's, these machines were well built, lasted a lifetime, and required only periodic servicing. The sewing machine company wanted to increase sales, so the sales centers were instructed to push new machines and get the old ones out of circulation. Adding new "features" to the new machines created a reason for consumers to upgrade. Needless to say, the newer machines are not built as well, and do not last as long as the older machines did.

 

[splitimageview]

Without antibiotics, cheap telecommunications, women's rights, affordable air travel, widespread union recognition...

With racism, sexism, McCarthyism, fascism...

Sure, there were a lot of things that were good. But there were a lot of things that were bad, too.

Cheers,

R.

When did racism end, exactly? Just curious. 😉

Women's rights? Depends on what location of which you are speaking. One of those places that doesn't have it, also features classic fascism.

Terrorism existed 'back in the day' but was hardly what it is today. What about other isms? 'Social' doesn't seem to be doing very well financially these days...

 

[splitimageview]

Come on.......we can make all the points and counter points we want to, but the fact is products were built better generations ago (much better) than most anything today. Of course there are exceptions...............but not many IMO.

I don't know about this. Take a Nikon D300 for example. To me, I see a fantastically engineered product, with extremely high build quality. Yes, it will become technically obsolete (and has), but that doesn't necessarily mean that the build quality isn't there. And it's still quite usable...one will take exactly the same quality photo it did when new...

 

[Rayt]

There are not many consumer goods available today that are built with the attitude: "Let's build this the best we can," rather than: "Let's build this to a certain price-point." At least none that I can afford. 🙂

Exactly. These are consumer goods we are talking about. If we are willing to pay for products that were build with the best quality possible then we need to shop in the commercial outlets. If you want restaurant grade stoves, blenders, electric knife sharpeners, fryers, etc., then be prepared to pay 5x to 20x what you'll find in the consumer aisles. Same with sewing machines, surface to air missiles and anything else.