Leica "Watch Party' from Wetzlar about Leica R - really???

[wlaidlaw]

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Via the Leica Historica Group on Facebook, Leica held a watch party from Wetzlar on the Leica R and if my German was correct, they were saying what a wonderful system it was. Now I am not disagreeing as I have 3 R cameras (4-MOT, 8 and 9 plus a Leicaflex SL2) but I find this all a bit rich coming from Leica, as they have dropped all us R owners in the deep do-do by selling off all the spare parts and not arranging any follow up service scheme. I get the feeling over the last few years that customers come a long way behind profits in their priorities. Short term thinking in my view. 

Wilson

Edited April 23, 2020 by wlaidlaw

[earleygallery]

I don't know what a 'watch party' means but I've said all along that they were wrong to drop the R line, but hey ho.

Leica said, at the time, that they couldn't compete in the DSLR market. I don't think they even competed in the film SLR market really. The R cameras are good but not great (and I'm an R3 user). Compared to the top range Nikon/Canon/Pentax models of the time the R cameras were relatively basic, others offered different viewfinders, motor drives (as opposed to motor winders), much more lens choices and of course AF.

I'm not quite sure how I ended up with an R3 and the Pentax Spotmatic I had (still have) was perfectly fine. In hindsight I'd have been better sticking with the Pentax but the Leica was an amazing present from my parents and I've loved it ever since.

 

[TomB_tx]

People buy based on a feature list, but in actual use it is the basic body with a few lenses 95% of the time. I’ve had Nikon F, Canon F1, Pentax LX - all of which had full systems with multiple finders, drives, screens, backs, bellows, etc. Yet how often were these do-dads used? More important was how the camera felt and operated, ease of focus, and gave consistent results. I’ll still use my LX for night scenes for its amazing off-the-film meter, but I enjoy using an R4, 6 (or SL2) more. 
However, for me the cost of the R lenses was the major reason I added a Pentax MX and M lenses some years after leaving Pentax & Canon for a Leicaflex SL in 1969. I went to Leica for the mechanical precision, but then prices zoomed up. Now it’s the mechanical feel that brought me back.

Edited April 23, 2020 by TomB_tx

[james.liam]

On 4/23/2020 at 5:37 PM, earleygallery said:

I don't know what a 'watch party' means but I've said all along that they were wrong to drop the R line, but hey ho.

Leica said, at the time, that they couldn't compete in the DSLR market. I don't think they even competed in the film SLR market really. The R cameras are good but not great (and I'm an R3 user). Compared to the top range Nikon/Canon/Pentax models of the time the R cameras were relatively basic, others offered different viewfinders, motor drives (as opposed to motor winders), much more lens choices and of course AF.

I'm not quite sure how I ended up with an R3 and the Pentax Spotmatic I had (still have) was perfectly fine. In hindsight I'd have been better sticking with the Pentax but the Leica was an amazing present from my parents and I've loved it ever since.

 

Probably some truth to that up to the R7 but have you ever used an R8/9? Sophisticated metering and flash capabilities at a par with pro Nikons.

If Leica had included AF in these in-house creations (which ironically, they invented) they'd still be in the game. 

[hamey]

On 24 April 2020 at 6:32 AM, wlaidlaw said:

Via the Leica Historica Group on Facebook, Leica held a watch party from Wetzlar on the Leica R and if my German was correct, they were saying what a wonderful system it was. Now I am not disagreeing as I have 3 R cameras (4-MOT, 8 and 9 plus a Leicaflex SL2) but I find this all a bit rich coming from Leica, as they have dropped all us R owners in the deep do-do by selling off all the spare parts and not arranging any follow up service scheme. I get the feeling over the last few years that customers come a long way behind profits in their priorities. Short term thinking in my view. 

Wilson

 

This has made my day,  Just been watching Oz Yilmaz  Leica review  why he worries about the future of leica Camera.

WELL I CERTAINLY DON'T,  those of us that used the Leica R system our future was ended some time ago by their (Leica)  IRRESPONSABLE ACT.

They stuck all of us in a leaky boat out in the middle of the Winter Atlantic ocean to fend for ourselves.

And t make to sure, they god rid of all the spares so our beloved Leica's R's and lenses  could not be fixed or serviced in future.

I still own a few R bodies and Lenses,  SL, R7's, R8, and the R9.   Lenses ..21-35,  35-70 f4,  28-90,  80-200,  50mmf2, 90mmf2, and 180mm f2.8, they are all stored now. 

For my Film Photography I have switched to Nikon and have purchessed  several of them and my faverate  is the Nikon F6,  love it so much that I bought two of them

For Lenses I am using the Zeiss Milvus lenses  simply superb.

For Digital, Love the Fuji X mount system, own the XT-1, XT-2 and my faverate is the XH-1 with the 16-55mm 2.8.

Canon R, and Nikon Z with IBIS might be interesting  for our R lenses, so  their is some future for the R Lenses after all.

So if Leica does go belly up I will make a special trip to WETZLAR to celelbrate it.

Cheers.

 

 

 

[lykaman]

8 minutes ago, hamey said:

 

This has made my day,  Just been watching Oz Yilmaz  Leica review  why he worries about the future of leica Camera.

WELL I CERTAINLY DON'T,  those of us that used the Leica R system our future was ended some time ago by their (Leica)  IRRESPONSABLE ACT.

They stuck all of us in a leaky boat out in the middle of the Winter Atlantic ocean to fend for ourselves.

And t make to sure, they god rid of all the spares so our beloved Leica's R's and lenses  could not be fixed or serviced in future.

I still own a few R bodies and Lenses,  SL, R7's, R8, and the R9.   Lenses ..21-35,  35-70 f4,  28-90,  80-200,  50mmf2, 90mmf2, and 180mm f2.8, they are all stored now. 

For my Film Photography I have switched to Nikon and have purchessed  several of them and my faverate  is the Nikon F6,  love it so much that I bought two of them

For Lenses I am using the Zeiss Milvus lenses  simply superb.

For Digital, Love the Fuji X mount system, own the XT-1, XT-2 and my faverate is the XH-1 with the 16-55mm 2.8.

Canon R, and Nikon Z with IBIS might be interesting  for our R lenses, so  their is some future for the R Lenses after all.

So if Leica does go belly up I will make a special trip to WETZLAR to celelbrate it.

Cheers.

 

 

 

If you have enough readies after purchasing all those cameras..

[LucisPictor]

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They broadcasted via Facebook a talk between two Leica afficionados about the R-system. I can totally relate to that!
What is so bad about that? They did not only celebrate the R-system in a retrospective, they also pointed at the possibilities that we today can still use those fantastic lenses.
Has Nikon ever done that? Has Canon? Sony doesn't hava a history in lens-making (it was Minolta), but I doubt that they would do that.

This video was meant to entertain, not to sell. And I salute the Leica Store Wetzlar for that!

Thank you, Benedikt and Olaf, for providing us with some light in the rather dark times of Corona!

 

[james.liam]

19 hours ago, LucisPictor said:

They broadcasted via Facebook a talk between two Leica afficionados about the R-system. I can totally relate to that!
What is so bad about that? They did not only celebrate the R-system in a retrospective, they also pointed at the possibilities that we today can still use those fantastic lenses.
Has Nikon ever done that? Has Canon? Sony doesn't hava a history in lens-making (it was Minolta), but I doubt that they would do that.

This video was meant to entertain, not to sell. And I salute the Leica Store Wetzlar for that!

Well actually, yes. Nikon had the "1001 Nights" series to celebrate the development of their most notable older lenses lenses.

[hamey]

On 25 April 2020 at 12:18 PM, lykaman said:

If you have enough readies after purchasing all those cameras..

As you can see, I was blind and devoted to Leica Cameras and equipment,  but no longer, with the discontinuation of the R system  allowed me to try other alternatives brands.

It's a pity it took so long for me to see the light.

So why do I bother being on this Leica Forum, well as still as I am a Leica Owner of R's and M cameras I still occasional play with them in my backyard garden, but no longer

Venture  out in the streets with them.

 For my serious photography, I  leave that to the Nikon's and Fuji's.

Cheers.

 

[james.liam]

13 hours ago, hamey said:

As you can see, I was blind and devoted to Leica Cameras and equipment,  but no longer, with the discontinuation of the R system  allowed me to try other alternatives brands.

It's a pity it took so long for me to see the light.

So why do I bother being on this Leica Forum, well as still as I am a Leica Owner of R's and M cameras I still occasional play with them in my backyard garden, but no longer

Venture  out in the streets with them.

 For my serious photography, I  leave that to the Nikon's and Fuji's.

Cheers.

 

Sounds like you made your choices more out of a sense of betrayal rather than outright preference. 

[LucisPictor]

Am 26.4.2020 um 04:43 schrieb james.liam:

Well actually, yes. Nikon had the "1001 Nights" series to celebrate the development of their most notable older lenses lenses.

So, I wonder if the Nikon-fans also doubted the sense of such an activity?

[earleygallery]

On 4/25/2020 at 2:09 AM, james.liam said:

Probably some truth to that up to the R7 but have you ever used an R8/9? Sophisticated metering and flash capabilities at a par with pro Nikons.

If Leica had included AF in these in-house creations (which ironically, they invented) they'd still be in the game. 

Hi, 

I've looked at R8/9's but don't own one. Yes, lovely camera but outdated when released as everything else was AF by then (fair enough if you prefer manual focus, I mostly do, but in terms of competing with the rest of the market Leica's SLR's didn't). 

As you say, if they had developed an AF system around the R8/9 and then a DSLR following on from the DMR idea it could have been rather different. 

It's all part of Leica history now though. 

[ph.]

The purpose of using Leitz products is consistent and reliable quality.

That is furthered by continuous research and a stable and skilled workforce. Income from any source should be welcomed -even if the company would stoop to selling Leica, red-dot bog rolls at double price nowadays.

It must be admitted that current business leaders trained to believe in "snake oil" may stuff their products with useless "features" inflating the price while looking good on paper rather than in practice.I presume most long time users of Canon and Nikon have discovered that auto-everything lenses stop working and do not as easily and cheaply adapt to other cameras as the R optics do..

As long as the optics remain excellent the current cross breeds can be forgiven.My ancient M6, and recent Rs continue to perform while their lenses do well on digitals. I even had a mechanically stuck 35-70 f4 ROM repaired by them a few years ago, although they now have ignominously retreated from this potentially unprofitable field.

p,

Edited April 27, 2020 by ph.
grammatical correction

[tommyleicaR4M5]

Former R4/current M8 user here. Most of the Leica R bodies were glorified Minoltas but like 5x the price of a Minolta, even still today on the used market.  Sort of like the current Leica-Panasonic joint venture. The R lenses were great but again, like everything Leica, were/are still very expensive compared to other brands that are just as good for the casual photographer so the Leica R system was always destined to become a sort of obscure niche market.

Edited May 7, 2020 by tommyleicaR4M5