stevelap Posted February 11, 2009 Share #61 Posted February 11, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Ah, the wonder of the internet;) This rumor was started, citing an anonymous third-party source, by a teacher working in Germany who only joined DPR three-weeks ago. It must be true then:D . Why do we bother with stuff like this, come to think of it why am I bothering:) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 11, 2009 Posted February 11, 2009 Hi stevelap, Take a look here Panasonic in talks to buy Leica from Mr. Kaufmann. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
larry Posted February 11, 2009 Share #62 Posted February 11, 2009 Guy, It reminds me of when I worked for Control Data Corporation. We were known for our super computers like the Cray 1. The mini-computer was just starting to take hold of the market and upstarts like DEC and others were starting to take away business with a new paradigm. John, Sorry, but you need to get your history straight. Seymour Cray worked briefly for CDC, but started his own company, Cray Research in 1972, which produced the Cray 1. Larry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdai Posted February 11, 2009 Share #63 Posted February 11, 2009 Perhaps this is the "big news" that was rumoured to be coming in a thread a month or so ago. Sorry - shouldn't throw fuel on the fire... That's not nice as a moderator. LOL But hey, do you remember that Dr. Kaufmann said he would be the interim CEO for only one year when he fired Lee in last Feb? his time is up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
offshore Posted February 11, 2009 Share #64 Posted February 11, 2009 Dealers must be pretty happy because this could be mean fast turnarounds for them too. The only thing turning around at dealers is stomachs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spylaw4 Posted February 11, 2009 Share #65 Posted February 11, 2009 Perhaps this is the "big news" that was rumoured to be coming in a thread a month or so ago. Sorry - shouldn't throw fuel on the fire... More likely that news is this - see the News Flash on the front page!. Oh - and Happy Birthday Red Dot Cameras! 1 year old today. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevelap Posted February 11, 2009 Share #66 Posted February 11, 2009 More likely that news is this - see the News Flash on the front page!. Oh - and Happy Birthday Red Dot Cameras! 1 year old today. A good dealer, happy birthday indeed! Wonder what the new products might be? S2 early, new smaller DRF, R10 surprise:) . No, don't go there;) . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimF Posted February 11, 2009 Share #67 Posted February 11, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) A good dealer, happy birthday indeed! Wonder what the new products might be? S2 early, new smaller DRF, R10 surprise:) . No, don't go there;) . NDA! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted February 11, 2009 Share #68 Posted February 11, 2009 A good dealer, happy birthday indeed! Wonder what the new products might be? S2 early, new smaller DRF, R10 surprise:) . No, don't go there;) . New WA lens, new flash. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted February 11, 2009 Share #69 Posted February 11, 2009 The timing of the new products dove-tails nicely with PMA but I wonder if any of them will be available before the last set of products announced in September which we're still waiting for? My money is on an 18mm f4 M lens and finder... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted February 11, 2009 Share #70 Posted February 11, 2009 New WA lens, new flash. Ah yes, the red-dotted Metz flash... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdai Posted February 11, 2009 Share #71 Posted February 11, 2009 Nothing announced at the Kina is shipping yet and now they're ready for the next round ... good to keep the forum busy. I'm afraid the trade shows are happening too frequently. LOL Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdai Posted February 11, 2009 Share #72 Posted February 11, 2009 My money is on an 18mm f4 M lens and finder... Mark, keep your words ... so the next time they will treat you seriously. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raf DeBoeck Posted February 11, 2009 Share #73 Posted February 11, 2009 A good dealer, happy birthday indeed! Wonder what the new products might be? S2 early, new smaller DRF, R10 surprise:) . No, don't go there;) . 14-days guaranteed customer service, door to door for the price of a sapphire glass LCD cover .... ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adan Posted February 11, 2009 Share #74 Posted February 11, 2009 "Will Panasonic still be servicing these "Leicas" in 30, 40 or 50 years time? I doubt it." I doubt Leica will be servicing M8s or other current cameras in 30 years time either (even if they survive independently) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhabedi Posted February 11, 2009 Share #75 Posted February 11, 2009 A Leica is hand made, in Portugal these days Are you sure? From what I've heard, some parts are made in Portugal, but not the whole camera. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted February 11, 2009 Share #76 Posted February 11, 2009 My money is on an 18mm f4 M lens and finder... 18mm f3.8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted February 11, 2009 Share #77 Posted February 11, 2009 If you look at the 2006 Annual Report, Dr Spichtig seemed to indicate that Leica was cutting Portugal free and that they would have to find their own work. My thought was that Portugal does the Sport Optics and some basic machining operations on the M8 castings but where the cloth shutter was fiddly to make and was done in Portugal, the new one comes in straight from Copal in Japan. Similarly, I doubt Leica does the electronics and subcontracts it instead to companies who are geared up to do this sort of thing round the clock to make the capital equipment involved pay for itself. Germany has a huge array of specialist suppliers, the Mittelstand, and I do wonder whether the economic case for Portugal is as strong as it once was. One number I've been told is that the parts for an M8 come from 250 separate suppliers. Let's count them: Kodak, Copal, Analog Devices, Intel, Samsung, Philips, Xilinx, Renesas, Ricoh, Sanyo, Maxim, Namiki... it's easy to see how it could mount up to that number. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrid Posted February 11, 2009 Share #78 Posted February 11, 2009 If Panasonic buys Leica, they may actually get a modern assembly line, that would allow Leica to sell cameras at more realistic prices, even if they were still made in Germany (in that new factory they are building in Wetzlar). Highend Nikon's and Canon's are still assembled largely by hand and for the most part sell for sane prices. There's no reason why Leica couldn't do the same. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StS Posted February 11, 2009 Share #79 Posted February 11, 2009 Company mergers or takeovers are out of fashion. Looking back the last years, the majority turned out to be a failure. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StS Posted February 11, 2009 Share #80 Posted February 11, 2009 So you are saying Japanese/Chinese don't care about what they're doing? I'm guessing BMW, Mercedes, VW don't care about what they're doing either because they all have factories in China now. Geez, don't buy Louis Vuitton, don't buy Gucci, don't buy Escada, don't buy Hermes, boycott Versace, because they're all made in China now. LOL You won't know where you are after 30, 40 years so why would you worry about a darned camera? Sure. And the first thing they ask you in China about a BMW is 'is it assembled in China or a real one?'. People are paying high taxes in China to get 'the real thing', although the quality of the Shenyang lines might well me up to those in Regensburg or Munich. Don't get me wrong, we will see more Chinese cars in the future. But they will be something different. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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