chakara_sisowath Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 <p>Leica announced it ran out of stocks for the R line and will not start another production run.<br> Good news (a digital R) or bad news?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoff_r1 Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 <p>I guess this means a whole new line of lenses for the digital R.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starvy Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 <p>is there a new r system coming out soon? could it be a recession ploy to ensure that overproduction does not affect the prices?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 <p>They've got the M8 going and they're trying to get the S2 off the ground, so I don't think they would have the resources to develop a digital R at present. And they would not sink money in more stocks of a film SLR. So I guess the headline is correct.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew in Austin Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 <p>What are the chances that a "larger" new (S) format is nearing production? It may not be good news for film users, but a large sensor SLR, like the S2, could take Leica in a whole new direction.</p> Best Regards - Andrew in Austin, TX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luca_stramare2 Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 <p>Leica is going to become the luxury photo brand of Panasonic group.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wai_leong_lee Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Why does the news not disappoint me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orvillerobertson Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 <p>I expect a smaller version of the S2 system with the same capabilities but perhaps slightly less megapixels.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronald_moravec1 Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 <p>Film cameras except for few exceptions do not sell. Leica will sell off or have sold off what is already made and go on to build a R series DSLR with all new autofocus lenses. <br> There will be the M series, digi+film, DSLR R and S series. They have already announced the R10 digi is coming, but then economic conditions have changed since then. <br> It is very hard to tell how the recession will effect them and being a private company, how much capital they have. This might be the end of Leica as we know it or they maybe will raise capital to get through it.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_swinehart Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 <blockquote> <p>I expect a smaller version of the S2 system with the same capabilities but perhaps slightly less megapixels.</p> </blockquote> <p>Exactly - they've chosen the sensor for the R10 and are working on the body design; and will port all of the autofocus, firmware, etc. from the S2 over to the R10. My guess? Next year at PMA you'll see a working prototype, with sales in late 2010 or early 2011.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_swinehart Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 <blockquote> <p>I expect a smaller version of the S2 system with the same capabilities but perhaps slightly less megapixels.</p> </blockquote> <p>Exactly - they've chosen the sensor for the R10 and are working on the body design; and will port all of the autofocus, firmware, etc. from the S2 over to the R10. My guess? Next year at PMA you'll see a working prototype, with sales in late 2010 or early 2011.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric_s7 Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 <p>The four thirds platform is Leica's only hope to have a presence in the DSLR market. They will not be able to take on Canikon with a digital R10 should there ever be one. Who would spend money on an R body when Canon or Nikon can offer something better in terms of noise control or dynamic range, at say half the price. Of course the 4/3 system doesn't compare to Canikon either, but at least it saves Leica from R&D costs, and selling re-branded Panny or Oly is so much easier than maintaining its own line of product. I strongly believe that if Leica were to offer a re-badged E-3 at a sensible price, say $1k more than Oly's own E-3, it would take the market by storm. </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chakara_sisowath Posted March 5, 2009 Author Share Posted March 5, 2009 <p>A digital R10 plus the R-system lenses might be attractive. Admittedly, it will remain a niche, it will not rival Canon or Nikon, but it would be worthwhile for those of us who have R lenses.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dieter Schaefer Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 <p>Judging from my recent experience of trying to sell a few Leica R film bodies (R4, R5, R-E) - one practically has to give them away - I am not surprised. Guess, there will eventually be a digital R10 (hopefully not as butt-ugly as the R8/R9), and it will take the current R-lenses (as well as the newer AF lenses). How Leica is managing the development of two new lens systems in parallel, as well as the S2 camera, I have a hard time comprehending - especially taking into account how small a market it must be given the premium one has to pay for them. </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug herr Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 <p ><a href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/user?user_id=4410405">Eric S</a> <a href="http://www.photo.net/member-status-icons"></a>wrote: "They will not be able to take on Canikon with a digital R10 should there ever be one. Who would spend money on an R body when Canon or Nikon can offer something better in terms of noise control or dynamic range, at say half the price."</p> <p >You have performance specs and comparison tests already?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew_viny Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 <p>@ Eric - I think that the idea of re-badging an Olympus is absurd. I for one would not buy an Olympus just because it has a Leica name plate. Leica products are famous for excellence and the level that they are famous for is not one that other 4/3 companies really produce at. Because of this fact re-badging can not be the best path for Leica. It's ok for their point and shoot cameras as they include their own software in them but in professional machines Leica has earned their price tags by producing items which are brilliantly designed as well as brilliantly built. Charging their prices for someone else's lesser products doesn't seem like a good marketing plan to me. I'd be far more inclined to buy a digital R than a Panasonic DSLR with a Leica plate.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dieter Schaefer Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 <p>I am wondering and just thinking out loud. Would Leica really come out with a complete set of AF R-lenses and a complete set of S-lenses - or could it be that they just manufacture the S-lenses and an adapter to mount those on a digital R10? Fairly certain, there will be an adapter to mount the current MF R-lenses on an S2, using only part of the larger sensor (like DX lenses do on Nikon FX cameras).</p> <blockquote> <p>Leica has earned their price tags by producing items which are brilliantly designed as well as brilliantly built.</p> </blockquote> <p>The older R-bodies I own attest to the exaxt opposite...<br> Has always been a pity that Leica had nothing better to offer in camera bodies to mount their excellent lenses to. Would I not be limited to stop-down metering when mounting them on a Nikon F3 or F5, I wouldn't even cast a glance in the direction of any of the R bodies.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary e Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 <p>Leica has always thought themselves to be in a market on their own (also priced higher than anyone else), so why would anyone think the new R10 would compete with the Nikon or Canon high end models? Is the S2 priced lower than the Hasselblad H1/H3? The only way Leica can compete is to make a lower cost and spec'd S2 and AF lenses within sights of the Nikons and Canons price range. Double that and it's not competition.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtk Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 <p>Leica will be gone in six months. Germany and Japan and Korea (but maybe not Pentax's Vietnam) are toast economically. It'd be stupid to try to squeeze dollars from Americans by selling cameras when you could, instead, do a Madoff or Stanford.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_higgins3 Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 <p>Wow- so Leica is crap and it's going out of business. Nothing new there, so.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_photo Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 <p>"brilliantly designed as well as brilliantly built"<br> wow. I knew Leica marketing was good but...<br> Ever held an OLY E-3? it may not be an M8 in terms of build quality but its pretty<br> darn nice. how about comparing the quality of some OLY SHG glass with R glass? think you might be shocked what you find of course you are blind to any objective analysis.<br> A lot more pros using OLY than Leica this day in time.<br> Leica has always been for orthodontists, corporate lawyers, collectors, trust funders and those who have object fetishes.<br> Admittedly they do make some of the worlds finest glass but at what cost? certainly not worth it to anyone who makes their living from photography.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gus Lazzari Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 <p>Dieter, don't get Doug and I started.</p> <p>If you owned a Leicaflex <strong>SL </strong>or<strong> SL2</strong> you might just change your opinion...</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_higgins3 Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 <p>"certainly not worth it to anyone who makes their living from photography"- how do you know John? do you make your living from photography?<br> <br /></p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dieter Schaefer Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 <blockquote> <p>If you owned a Leicaflex <strong>SL </strong> or<strong> SL2</strong> you might just change your opinion...</p> </blockquote> <p>I am sure of it - that's why I wrote R bodies...<br> And you are right, I should have excluded the SL and SL2 from my statements - but they were already old news when I started photography, which is quite a while back....</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtk Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 <p>"Wow- so Leica is crap and it's going out of business. Nothing new there, so." ..Tom H.</p> <p>None of that's true. But Germany's in deeper economic trouble than it's seen since WWI (and is going to get even deeper as Eastern Europe convulses)... as is Japan and most of the rest of Asia. Exports from Japan and Korea are dropping at 30-40% annualized, so is it likely that a purportedly German company is doing better?</p> <p>Therefore it's likely that the people who would otherwise spend money on toys, or invest it in product development, will simply lay low for a long, long time.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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