Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/09/10
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Mark Rabiner wrote:
> I love this worrying about this "cheapened design and construction" inspiring
> the buying and use of a Hexar, a completely unproven camera you wont be able to
> get parts for in 4 years and you'll need 'em too.
> I imagine we'll see a wave of shooters sick of Leica's famous shoddy
> craftsmanship running over to the Konica counter like lemmings!
> mark w rabiner
Mark -
This comment fits the usual "Leica is so reliable" paean. Let's put it this
way:
1. Electronic shutters don't need regular maintenance like M cameras. And their
accuracy is phenomencal, and doesn't change as much over time. I have never
seen a group of people need so much service for so many cameras as this group
gripes about. And it's a G2 shutter, so it's not some proprietary part.
2. The rangefinder on a Hexar is identically constructed to an M, so why would
you need parts? Resilvering and recementing prisms is not cost-effective
even with most Leicas.
3. Titanium is a hell of a lot nicer than zinc (and it doesn't bubble). And
Imron is nicer-feeling than "black chrome"
4. A lot of "cheapened" mechanical items (like frame counters) have been
replaced by electronics in the Hexar - for example, the Hexar RF does its
frame spacing optically - so there are far fewer parts to replace.
5. If their SLR lines are any indication, Konica USA will have parts available
for 15-20 years. You can still get FT-1 shutters and motors, and it's a 1983
camera. They still service Autoreflex Ts, which are 32 years old. And
unlike Leica NJ, service is not expensive or slow. They still stock parts
for black Hexars (now 14 years old), so why would there be any reason to
believe otherwise about the RF? Fourteen years from now, we may all be done
with 35mm. And ask Henning Wulff what he thinks about the reliability of
Konica products.
And if this is going to degenerate into one-company-versus-the-next, let's
remember who was around first (by 50 years) and who is still in business. Hint:
it's not Ernst Leitz Wetzlar GMBH.
Dante
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dante Stella
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~dante