and a good thought it is; fair enough.
What l and several others here who appear to apologists for Leica are attempting is to offset the 'pile-on' of negative sentiment, especially for those who have ALREADY made alternative decisions.
che sera sera...
Victor
Victor,
I understand. Not trying to "pile on" as you suggest. I am one of those folks that has been wanting to be a "buyer" from the announcement of the S2, but as I watch things unfold, more questions keep popping up, as well as options from other systems. Since the S2 is an "all in" proposition, meaning that one has to commit some serious coin just to get into the system, as there is nothing else to test drive like it for anything less than new price, timing may start to matter on its release. The longer the delays in release, the bigger the worries for some, and questions by others. Fully agree that shipping it right is much preferred to shipping it with any issues. That still does not mean the outside pressures on Leica do not apply. The longer it takes to get out there, the longer it takes for folks to test it, scrutinize, etc. For folks that will buy it regardless of any other findings, the delay does not matter. For others, things now shipping or about to ship from other makers, special deals like trade-ins, etc., all become more important factors in decisions. If the S2 gets too far behind the curve in release, it will just make it a bit harder for them to get deeper into the market. If the delays are truly because the want to build up more inventory for initial shipment, that seems a bit foolish. The production line will be working, so they should be able to keep shipping weekly anyway. If the delays are the result of some unannounced technical or mechanical issues that requires them to go back and adjust all the inventory ready to ship now, plus the new stuff, it is good that they caught it, but still a worry about anything else that may be missed and is now under more pressure of the "hurry up" offense.
The Leica "apologists" as you characterize, are only trying to smooth the waters. That is the nature of things. I do not see it "balancing" anything, but sometimes actually creating more internal friction. It takes two sides to make an argument, or one is probably talking to himself too much :ROTFL:
At this point, all we have to go on is what Leica is releasing to the press, plus lots of speculation and armchair wondering. What we do know is that the S2 is not yet ready to be released by them. (Still unclear what the real dates are, as "Week 50" per their announcement puts it in early December, yet I am seeing others saying January and later. A firm date would be nice if only to stop some of the enflaming speculations, but I would much rather see the camera shipped and working properly whenever that is.)
The other stuff about seeing images and RAW files.....well, though I and some others would really like to start seeing something, it is Leica's prerogative to handle image release as they so choose. They have their reasons, and I and others do need to chill a bit and just wait. Not easy to do, and that in part may be letting some "potential buyers" slip a bit further away. I know few that would ever spend that much on any system without some images to consider, and the more widespread the better, but if the S2 is not yet ready, sharing images from pre-production cameras, lenses and software, while great to start scrutinizing, may not be what the finals will look like, and the S2 is a bit bigger bet that needs to be done correctly. Just my thoughts on that part.
With respect to the impact on Leica from the delay....well that will play itself out on its own. If lots of "pre-orders" start to get cancelled, or folks stop putting their names on waiting lists, that will be its own message and Leica will have to deal with that part however they choose. The folks at Hasselblad and Phase are not going let too much ground slip away over this, and there are other options starting to hit the market that will compete for consideration. Just the way it is.
LJ