glenerrolrd
Workshop Member
While I don t think Leica will say anything about the next generation S camera on 5/10 (the Berlin show is pretty well known ) , Will Leica create a stir at Photokina with an S announcements .
In developing predictions(much different than RUMORS..which is what you hear from your camera dealer) , you should always look to whats in the best interest of Leica (not what you want or would buy). They will only offer what they feel is best and you can only buy what they offer .
The Nikon D800/E is now being felt in almost every section of the camera market . Just look at the for sale items and you can see photographers repositioning their kits to incorporate the D800. At $3000-3300 and 36MP its a disruptive technology .... a value proposition that is near perfect . Will it be as good as MF ...no size matters ...but its getting closer and in some ways it will be better . And nikon has a huge base of photographers that have legacy glass and d700/d3 s to pull from. They could care less if I sell my S2 I am not relevant .
The S2 (I am biased as I own one and 5 lenses) is a superb camera with the best lenses I have seen . But at 40MP its not enough to attract new photographers to part with $50K . At lower $$$ I would expect that any MF camera system in the 40-50MP range will be suspect . Spend $40K and next year its $20K? I watch the prices of the S2 and the lenses each week and they are way down from private sellers . The D800 has in some ways frozen the market and with less than 5 months until Photokina ...do you want to bet?
So what should Leica do ? If they can I would announce a 70MP S3 at Photokina . And I would suck it up and keep the price near the S2 . The S camera is a limited edition compared to the M and producing a new model should not stress the factory ...they produce 1000 + M cameras each month ...can the S be more than 100?
Its not price sensitive ...but feeling stupid about spending so much wears you down . The conventional wisdom is the lenses will be keepers for 10 years but the bodies are relevant for 2-4 depending on when you buy.
Otherwise a year from now ..who will be visiting the new Leica studios to see the S cameras in action?
Not a rumor a prediction.
In developing predictions(much different than RUMORS..which is what you hear from your camera dealer) , you should always look to whats in the best interest of Leica (not what you want or would buy). They will only offer what they feel is best and you can only buy what they offer .
The Nikon D800/E is now being felt in almost every section of the camera market . Just look at the for sale items and you can see photographers repositioning their kits to incorporate the D800. At $3000-3300 and 36MP its a disruptive technology .... a value proposition that is near perfect . Will it be as good as MF ...no size matters ...but its getting closer and in some ways it will be better . And nikon has a huge base of photographers that have legacy glass and d700/d3 s to pull from. They could care less if I sell my S2 I am not relevant .
The S2 (I am biased as I own one and 5 lenses) is a superb camera with the best lenses I have seen . But at 40MP its not enough to attract new photographers to part with $50K . At lower $$$ I would expect that any MF camera system in the 40-50MP range will be suspect . Spend $40K and next year its $20K? I watch the prices of the S2 and the lenses each week and they are way down from private sellers . The D800 has in some ways frozen the market and with less than 5 months until Photokina ...do you want to bet?
So what should Leica do ? If they can I would announce a 70MP S3 at Photokina . And I would suck it up and keep the price near the S2 . The S camera is a limited edition compared to the M and producing a new model should not stress the factory ...they produce 1000 + M cameras each month ...can the S be more than 100?
Its not price sensitive ...but feeling stupid about spending so much wears you down . The conventional wisdom is the lenses will be keepers for 10 years but the bodies are relevant for 2-4 depending on when you buy.
Otherwise a year from now ..who will be visiting the new Leica studios to see the S cameras in action?
Not a rumor a prediction.