Leica Leica X2?

I wonder how much a name is worth? It's a tough new world in cameras and you can't afford to get left behind in the technology race, especially when you aren't competing on price. Without wanting to start a fire, I am reminded of comment being made about Rolls-Royce, possibly back in the 80s or 90s, "They used to make the best cars in the world..."
The Ms obviously sit in a class of their own but anything below that must be vulnerable.

I'm a bit surprised that I have lost interest in viewfinders after using them for so long in SLRs, however I totally understand that many people prefer them to holding a camera out in front. I'm not a potential customer at the X100 price point, and definitely not at a Leica price point so any potential "viewfinder wars" don't really affect me unless they start filtering down the range. The Oly m4/3 gang raves about the VF-2 but I'm not tempted to switch from the E-P1 to try it. Hell, occasionally I even find myself holding my SLR out at arm's length waiting for the screen to turn on...
 
Nic, no war here fer sure.
It's really about what will follow in the steps Fuji laid out.
Not 1 manufacturer can look past the X100 without wondering, what to do?
If Leica came out with the X100 even at $2500.00 USD, it would sell very well.
It's only competitor would be the M8.2.

They won't as Fuji did it. So...what follows?
The X2 won't draw the X100 users as it won't be able to compete with it.
The X2 will compete against itself and the unfortunate momma, the X1.

If Leica could get an M down to around $2000.00...
Then it would sell like hotcakes. They can't so they are forced to deal with a reality that is set to fail...The X Series.....
 
What if Leica develops the M10 and X2 side by side? So they be the same but the X2 has a fixed 23mm/ƒ1.4 lens or somthing?
 
From an silver surfer who takes pictures soley for my own pleasure; I don't fall into the viewfinder category either for the simply reason I wear glasses bifocals ( couldn't get used to varifocals) and the LCD is much easier.
Its drawbacks not with standing.
However I don't like holding the camera out in front of me either, which is why I love the Sony Nex so much, now the discussion about the Lieca X1 is valid I own one but rarely use it because of the NEX5 perhaps Leica along with Panasonic may produce a camera with or without a VF or indeed a movable LCD.
From a price point of view I cannot see Lecia producing a comparable camera to the X100; that doesn't mean another manufacturer couldn't enter the fray? I suspect some one will in the not too distant future when they see just how well the X100 is received in the coming months and the initial gloss has wore off.
 
Well, of course it's likely there will be an X2 sooner rather than later, but I've no idea what the features will be.

I don't think Leica need to compete on price either - the existence of the D-lux range of rebadged Panasonics at nearly twice the price proves that.

I spent a little while at Robert White shooting the X1 and the X100 side by side, and although the X100 has a lot going for it, the X1 was much simpler to use.

Personally I don't feel that the hybrid viewfinder is really a necessity - everyone seems to be using the OVF on the X100 except for close up stuff (in which case the LCD is probably fine in most circumstances). What an X2 needs (IMHO) is an optical viewfinder with decent information showing, really not a great deal else. The X100 is a camera geeks orgasm, but that isn't quite the market Leica aim at.

One thing I'm sure of - Leica try to differentiate their products, so the X2 is really unlikely to be an X100 copy.

all the best
Jono
 
Jono, I agree on all points. Leica has a number of things in common with Apple:

  • They have a fan base who will pay more for their stuff
  • They don't put in every feature, but the features they put in work very well
  • Their stuff is intuitive to use
  • Their products tend to have a very nice build quality (notable exception being that their rebranded Panasonic cameras are of similar build to the Panasonic equivalents)
An X2 with a very good OVF implementation would be very competitive.
 
Compare Apple to Leica

Jono, I agree on all points. Leica has a number of things in common with Apple:

  • They have a fan base who will pay more for their stuff
  • They don't put in every feature, but the features they put in work very well
  • Their stuff is intuitive to use
  • Their products tend to have a very nice build quality (notable exception being that their rebranded Panasonic cameras are of similar build to the Panasonic equivalents)
An X2 with a very good OVF implementation would be very competitive.

Leica is there due to there history. Though they're building excellent camera's they are surely not a cutting edge company. Even contrary, what makes their products strong is an absolute reluctance to adopt the philosophies others do easily. But their prices have gone in an absolute absurd range that almost nobody can afford.

Apple is a completely different player. They can set a whole market, create one if it needs to be. Look at the iPhone & iPAD - the laptop sales crashed after the release of it. It's still a very competitive company, growing by the day. For Leica it's less sure: will it still exist over a few years? The damage the release X100 and similar concepts creates will surely not be in their (financial) advantage.
 
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