[Leica] Leica lens quality as a forerunner to another "lens" race.

[bmwred735i at gmail.com (Frank Filippone)]

I am really interested in what you have said.....especially in light of what 
Dr. Kauffman has said about computational photography.

There is a major and basic decision you must reach as a company... do you 
want to cheapen your costs to the minimum or do you want to create THE BEST.

For Nikon, Canon and other mainstream photo brands, obviously it is more 
profitable to reduce costs.

And by corollary, to allow THE BEST to be made by others. ( ignore this 
segment of the market).? It suits their economies of scale.? It suits the 
pure 
number of employees they have.? It suits their heritage and it suits their 
Management.? Said simply, it suits their profit motives.

The move from a mechanical camera to the almost totally digital digi-cameras 
was a major move for them.? ( and genius of the old Minolta folk at 
Sony.... )

But back to the main story, Kauffman has talked a lot about computational 
photography.? The use of computers to fix stuff in an image.? But HIS 
engineers are busy making $10,000 lenses that are close to perfection as is 
currently possible.? The computational photography side of the business is 
relegated to developing "stuff" on contract for other companies....?? 
Including Huawei.

Why speak out of both sides of your mouth?? It could be misdirection of 
strategy, or simply a way to remain in business.? Leica can not compete on 
volume or price. It's main market must be a niche.

That Leica niche is not computational photography, it is optical superiority.

The market they play in is one of rich Doctors, Lawyers and Indian Chiefs.? 
It is NOT Mr. Joe Average.? It is NOT Mr Pro Photographer.

A few photographers make their livelihoods using Leica cameras and lenses.? 
But the vast majority do not.? Pros just can not afford the costs, initial 
or updating.? It makes no business sense.

And thus it is....... that we as amateurs (rich Doctors, Lawyers and Indian 
Chiefs) and retirees are Leica's market segment.

Can we actually see the difference compared to CaNikon?? Does it matter? We 
want to know we are using THE BEST.

And we can afford ( main word there!) to buy THE BEST.

And as long as we or our kids want the same, Leica will produce THE BEST for 
us.

Because they have no other choice.

Frank Filippone
BMWRed735i at Gmail.com

On 4/28/2023 3:55 AM, Don Dory via LUG wrote:
> Greetings to all.  As many know I was at the LSI Spring meeting at the
> Leica headquarters in NJ.  As usual Leica provides their latest gear on
> loan for a day.  I had the opportunity to use the M11 Monochrome with my
> ASPH Summilux(s) and the 28 APO Summicron.  I have to say that the sensor
> is way ahead of the lenses and your budget should include several of the
> APO lenses if you go to the M11 M.
>
> Another point, the existing plug in software doesn't properly recognize the
> M11M files so you are reliant on the built in Adobe features or possibly
> the Capture One that is offered with the M11M(James H.) would have more
> information on that.
>
> As an aside, I believe that the Japanese camera makers are proceeding in a
> different direction with software enabled lens correction.  I know that the
> lenses I mount on high res Sony cameras all seem to deliver more detail
> than I could get out of the M11M with existing software.  The information
> is there in the files so it is no fault of the camera but more that the
> files are currently not well supported.
>
> I had the chance to talk to a high ranking individual within the Leica
> organization at breakfast.  The gist was that Leica was proceeding on an
> optical solution rather than a software enabled solution.  Probably the
> better solution as if the information is there software can take it to an
> even higher level.  However, it puts Leica on a cost effective curve that
> makes their products even more exclusive: also, it hurts production volume
> as some of their designs have very high defect rates by Leica standards.
> Obviously this drives an even higher price point.
>
> Last, one of the participants received a survey from Leica with one
> question about Japanese production of lenses at a (much) lower price
> point.  So, Leica is aware of the pricing problem and is trying to work on
> it.
>
> Last, this Leica representative clarified the classic stool of any product:
> price, size, performance.  You could have any two.  I am currently weighing
> this as I own several of Sigma's most excellent lenses for the FE mount.
> Their performance is magnificent however the average weight is in the
> neighborhood of 1.5 kilograms compared to my 35 ASPH Summilux in the high
> 300 grams.  The Sigma is a better lens but my shoulder and hand don't
> appreciate the weight as much as my eyes appreciate the image quality.
>
> On the positive side, Leica lenses still retain a significant resale
> advantage.
>