No more R9

[fotografz]

Well the question is whether or not you would trade your 401K in on Leica R glass . could not do much worse than my current 401K.
Seriously a number of companies i work closely with have closed shop. Putting in a new CEO is not necessarily something that will revive the company. Could be someone to help with the fire sale.

Yeah, I could've bought every Leica R lens I ever dreamed of owning with the retirement funds I lost in the last 6 months ... plus a Land Rover S to haul them around in

I'll tell you, for a die-hard film shooter like me, a R/9 and a nice spread of R optics is still something of a dream kit. 19/2.8, 50/1.4, 100/2.8 Macro, and a 180/2 APO along with my Imacon 949 is still a yummy prospect. But that's a personal luxury induldgence in a time of nail biting business reality.

This is a terrible time to be a lover of really fine photographic gear ... even at firesale prices.

It's like a herd of Super Models in heat banging on the door of a married guy's bedroom ... :ROTFL:

 

[Steen]

(...) I think it is safe to assume the future R digital platform, whatever it is, will not likely be able utilize 'old style' R lenses.

Jack, are you saying that you believe the R mount is discontinued ?

 

[robmac]

That's how I took Jack's comment (which I give a +1)

 

[robmac]

I agree entirely. It's just as frequent that a new CEO/Chairman is a handy neck hang hard decisions on - decisions in many cases that have already been made.

Well the question is whether or not you would trade your 401K in on Leica R glass . could not do much worse than my current 401K.
Seriously a number of companies i work closely with have closed shop. Putting in a new CEO is not necessarily something that will revive the company. Could be someone to help with the fire sale.

 

[woodyspedden]

Jack, are you saying that you believe the R mount is discontinued ?

I posted a question about this yesterday. Not saying anyone is wrong about their opinions of the R mount but I don't understand why it must be replaced. Please educate me on this one.

Woody

 

[atanabe]

I posted a question about this yesterday. Not saying anyone is wrong about their opinions of the R mount but I don't understand why it must be replaced. Please educate me on this one.

Woody

Woody,
I think the move is to auto focus lenses and a new mount to support this (like Canon in the 80s from FD to EOS). The electronics would require a larger mount than the R could provide. Nikon did a good job in keeping the F mount but at a cost of lens design limitations.

Rumors from within say that that the R lens will mount via adapters. I hope this is true. From the looks of the new S2 platform, lenses are being built around common barrel sizes. This looks to me like they are trying to cut costs with common elements. The AF solution would also be a lot less costly to produce as the components would need a lighter (plastic) helix which are molded rather than the brass that has to be machined. The need to switch out the guts of the lens most likely turns the stomachs of some old engineers at Leica who held that the only way to create a good lens was with metal. AF was thought to have too loose tolerances for their liking and thus avoided all these years. I think that their work with Panasonic has allowed them to explore the long term life cycles in the real world. Or they just gave in to the new reality that AF is not a feature but a requirement.

Getting the R inventory out of the warehouse could be just a cleansing move. My local dealer, Glazers Camera in Seattle, had two new, full warrantied R9s, for $1795 last month trying to clear their stocks. While the R line is no more, it died a very slow death, the demand for R products was never great for Leica even in good times. The M is the camera that keeps the money churning through the registers.

The prices on the SH website are very good indeed, in fact the new price for some items are the same as the used items on their own site.

Regards,
Al

 

[glenerrolrd]

I agree with woody and since I have lenses from 19mm to 800mm in the R mount ..its top of mind. I can understand having a new mount for the auto focus lenses and perhaps to free up the designers .....but if you can mount most R lenses to a Canon(with an adapter) and to a Nikon (with a mount change )....then I don t get it. Nikon migrated to AF and industry leading designs while maintaining the F mount?

Leica will be eliminating demand from its most loyal buyers ..Leica FanBoys . I can easily justify a stiff premium for an R10 if the body uses my R lenses. If not then I would have to give up .

Rather I would expect that Leica is making choices based on limited resources and the remaining R stock would be dead inventory ......without an R10. The R10 is probably targeted for Photokina '10 .....maybe prereleased with working copies at Photokina ...maybe not.

it would be very interesting to see the product life cycle plans and the associated financial models . A new R10 will not create positive cash flow anytime soon.....yet a FF M9 might create an immediate explosive demand similar to the original M8. I would expect the M customer base is 5 times what the R has had over the past 5 years ..maybe 10 to 1. .

I actually think Leica would be better served to develop an R10 with a strategic partner (like they did with Minolta on the R4-6) and to leverage the R mount as a key buying factor.

 

[atanabe]

Roger,
I think that they have the legacy R lens line on their design specs for the R10. It may not fully function, but will be useable. There are too many R lenses out there and mostly being used on non Leica SLRs than are.

The new mount will give the designers a lot more freedom in their lens design. The current R flange like the Nikon F, is quite narrow, with little room for extras like motors and the large rear elements. I remember when Nikon first came out with AF, the drive motor was in the body because they had no room in the barrel. Canon on the other hand, had changed the small mount for the larger EOS mount which allowed a large rear element and the guts for AF motor in the barrel. Starting with a clean sheet of paper does make sense and keeping the R legacy via adapters is a good compromise.

I have brought up the point of Leica partnering with another manufacturer in the past and many of the replies were against Leica doing so. In the past, R3-7 were in partnership with Minolta. This line did not sell well, but Leica did not have to bear 100% of the R&D on the body. Sony would have made an excellent partner for Leica, they have the deep pockets to bring out a product at a loss just to support a format. Of course, times have changed haven't they?

In the end I think that Leica will revisit some of the great designs in the R line and bring them up to today's digital specs.

Regards,
Al

 

[mark1958]

I have to say i still really like my macro 100mm and 28mm R. I had the 180 for a time and like Marc Williams states--- hard to find something that is better at the same focal length.

I agree that it is pretty clear that Leica has stopped its R line based on what was said in the press release.

 

[mark1958]

It's like a herd of Super Models in heat banging on the door of a married guy's bedroom ... :ROTFL:

Yes but the difference is that with the former (lens stable) you will probably still be allowed in your bedroom. With the later choice, you might be out in the cold--- and it is cold where you live..

 

[Steen]

(...) I agree that it is pretty clear that Leica has stopped its R line based on what was said in the press release.

On the other hand, if the R system is in fact discontinued, why keep it a secret, why not tell the truth

 

[Jan Brittenson]

I for one am glad I held onto my R9 and lenses! Just loaded it up with a roll of Ektar 100... This camera is such a pleasure to use.

 

[doug]

As I read Leica's note it's just an acknowledgment that manual-focus 35mm SLR equipment doesn't sell in today's market, and will be even more unmarketable when the AF-R lenses become available. The stuff was dead inventory. Maike Harberts has said that existing lenses will be compatible with the R10. I don't see that a bigger lens mount is needed at all.

Question: has anyone seen modular APO-Telyt lens heads at the fire-sale prices, or just the focussing units?