End of an era?!

[danalec99]

Leica in financial crisis

I hope that Panasonic or some other company with deep pockets for R&D would buy them out!

 

[Christie Photo]

This is sad news. It almost feels as if we should have a moment of silence.

 

[railman44]

Doesn't sound good. Doesn't surprise me though. I would think someone would buy the name and move it out of Germany except maybe the top headquarters. Let's face it, the products are too damned expensive for 35mm and digital! If Q/C could be maintained with the lenses and cameras made elsewhere at a lower cost to the consumer, Leica would be back in the thick of things in a hurry.

 

[Jeff Canes]

I read somewhere last week. That about a year ago they borrowed around 10 million Euros for the design of the Digital M-7 and that it was to be released in late 2006.

And probable too late considering, that the partnership between Cosina Epson as all ready delivered a digital rangefinder. Also the new Zeiss Ikon rangefinder is a partnership between Cosina and Zeiss optical. The next logical step is just to put Zeiss Icon name on the Epson R-D1

 

[railman44]

Comes down to that dirty word(s) "outsourcing". Yep, everyone, or most everyone, thinks industry should remain in the country of origin. Bush, unfairly, faces extreme criticism for the USA outsourcing much of our industry. Yeah, it's great the workers receive huge bucks for their work but if nobody is buying the product, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the outcome. Leica is at it's crossroads. It cannot remain a competitor or even in business if it's made in Germany. Seems to me all of Europe is in an economic and job market crises. It would be a shame to see this pioneer of glass and camera bodies cease to exist. But, unless they outsource, it's in the cards...

 

[ksmattfish]

They can't outsource, because they'd be compromising the Leica legend. I can't imagine a Leica that says "made in Taiwan" on the bottom going over well with the Leica-philes.

 

[railman44]

They can't outsource, because they'd be compromising the Leica legend. I can't imagine a Leica that says "made in Taiwan" on the bottom going over well with the Leica-philes.

That’s like saying Jaguar or BMW could never outsource but they did. Even Honda is made in America. It’s just silly to think they couldn’t to save themselves.

 

[danalec99]

Instead of bathing on its legend stature, Leica should have long back invested in digital. That would have fetched 'em tons of funds and at the same time they could have kept the classy image as it is, forever!

 

[ksmattfish]

So they outsource and go to digital; the company stays afloat, but the "era" still ends. You've changed the formula that is why they are legendary. Leica makes SLRs, but that's not what they are famous for. When folks say Leica they are refering to high quality, mostly mechanical, 35mm film rangefinders. Who wants a digital Leica made by Panasonic? Someone who is more concerned with the camera label as a fashion accessory than as a tool for doing photography. I'm not saying that Panasonic isn't capable of making fine cameras. You can call it whatever you want, but it's still a Panasonic. It might be a different story if Leica was doing the digital R & D, but they aren't. It's just a label stuck on the outside of a Panasonic camera. If Panasonic is going to be making the Leicas, what difference does it make if the Leica brand name goes under? We still have the Panasonics.

An example of this is the Hasselblad X-pan. It's not made by Hasselblad in Switzerland, it's made by Fuji. The Fuji TX-1 and the X-Pan are identical except for the label and cosmetics. Hasselblad makes great cameras. Fuji makes great cameras. They can call it a Hassy all they want, but it's still a Fuji camera.

 

[Mitica100]

They can't outsource, because they'd be compromising the Leica legend. I can't imagine a Leica that says "made in Taiwan" on the bottom going over well with the Leica-philes.

But they have already done that in the past. Many Leicas were manufactured in Canada, some in Portugal (if I'm not mistaken) and some in France.

It is sad though that they're on their 'last breath' so to speak... Now's good time to invest in Leicas, their prices will go up and up. :mrgreen:

 

[danalec99]

It might be a different story if Leica was doing the digital R & D, but they aren't.

That is exactly what I was talking about. They should have done that long time ago. Feed the DSLR market with the tools they need, upgrade each year (the Japanese game), which means a solid stream of income. If that was the case, they would not have been gasping for O2.

I mentioned Panasonic because, I think they are the ones who are manufacturing the leica digital P&S. You are right, no one would buy a Panasonic Rangefinder or an SLR with the Leica sticker. I would like Panasonic OR some Leica freak financier preserve the Leica tradition as it is just by investing for Digital R&D, just like Ford has investments in Range Rover, Aston Martin, Jaguar and Volvo. IMO Funds and a good management team (which has the global vision and the Leica passion) is all they need.

 

[ahelg]

This, I think is truly sad. I've been a hobby photographer for just over a year and I've noticed that most of the companies which I regard as the most important in the film industry are starting to crumble. First I heard that Ilford would be cutting down drasticly, and now Leica could be in for a major change.

Ever since I first got into photography, my wish has always been to own a Leica camera at some point. I hope I won't be to late. When I buy I Leica I wan't it to be the real stuff with the "Made in Germany" mark and everything.

 

[ksmattfish]

If there is a silver lining it's that Leicas are built so well and have such a following that long after the company folds (if it does) the cameras will still be around. Like Mitica said, it's going to make them even more valuable than they already are.