Georg Baumann
Subscriber Member
Personally, I am suspicious about a system that was supposed to be on the market in January 2009 already. "Only final firmware changes".... was the word and then it was supposed to be May.... now it is supposed to be September>
Clearly there are problems, of what nature we do not know. What implications the "divorce" from phase one has had on the whole story, we don't know either.
I understand the hype amongst Leicaphiles, and I think it is very clever marketing to have created such hype upfront.
Then again, in a stormy sea, I would not jump blindfold on a boat that no one really knows how good it is. In the digital world, Leica has a lot to proove I think. Hassy has lowered prices significantly, and they are a proven solution with all the pros and cons, same counts for phase one. Concering Sinar, I would consider them to be on hold for the moment, and there are questionmarks about their future.
Economical reality is the other factor that will be a hurdle for them to take before they achieve desired sales targets. Let's face it, reality is that many Pro Photographers are dealing with a substantial loss of income, this at least is what I am getting from talking to people on both sides of the pond.
Phase has now a 60MP back, and it is selling, so what does that mean for Leica? In my opinion they are very late to the game, and the cirumstances are not getting any better.
I would put a big questionmark behind their Market analysis concerning their sales targets which they expect to hit. Let aside the few Leicaphiles that can afford it, already bought into it, and can not wait to part with their cash, the rest of the market has taken a severe hit.
I think that the installed user base from phase and hassy is less likely to ditch their investment and move to Leica.
Taking such things into account, I would think that a kit incl. the 70mm needs to be in the Euro 15 K region ex VAT.
Clearly there are problems, of what nature we do not know. What implications the "divorce" from phase one has had on the whole story, we don't know either.
I understand the hype amongst Leicaphiles, and I think it is very clever marketing to have created such hype upfront.
Then again, in a stormy sea, I would not jump blindfold on a boat that no one really knows how good it is. In the digital world, Leica has a lot to proove I think. Hassy has lowered prices significantly, and they are a proven solution with all the pros and cons, same counts for phase one. Concering Sinar, I would consider them to be on hold for the moment, and there are questionmarks about their future.
Economical reality is the other factor that will be a hurdle for them to take before they achieve desired sales targets. Let's face it, reality is that many Pro Photographers are dealing with a substantial loss of income, this at least is what I am getting from talking to people on both sides of the pond.
Phase has now a 60MP back, and it is selling, so what does that mean for Leica? In my opinion they are very late to the game, and the cirumstances are not getting any better.
I would put a big questionmark behind their Market analysis concerning their sales targets which they expect to hit. Let aside the few Leicaphiles that can afford it, already bought into it, and can not wait to part with their cash, the rest of the market has taken a severe hit.
I think that the installed user base from phase and hassy is less likely to ditch their investment and move to Leica.
Taking such things into account, I would think that a kit incl. the 70mm needs to be in the Euro 15 K region ex VAT.