Leica Japan release a new limited edition Leica C-LUX 3 Chibi Maruko-chan camera:
- Product Name: Leica C-LUX 3 model of Chibi Maruko Chan
- Limited number: 50
- Price: 77,000 yen
- Dealer: Futago Tamagawa Leica Shop
"Chibi Maruko-chan (ちびまる子ちゃん) is a shōjo manga series by Momoko Sakura, later adapted into an anime TV series by Nippon Animation, which originally aired on Fuji Television from January 7, 1990 to September 27, 1992. The series depicts the simple, everyday life of a little girl nicknamed Maruko and her family in suburban mid-seventies Japan." (source)
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16 Comments
I really wish Leica would stop rebranding crappy Panasonics, let alone make limited edition versions…
I agree…
But She is adorable in those cartoon series haha
should be cater to those little japanese girls. lol.
as a overview of Leica branding, this’s definitely not suitable.
Yet another waste of resources and further evidence that Leica has lost its way (again).
SPONGBOB!
I doubt much resources, if any, were spent by Leica GmBH for this release. As we all know this is not a “true” Leica camera; it is not designed by Leica nor made by Leica. Absence of this camera would not speed up the production of the M9 or the Summilux 50mm ASPH. What this does do, I assume, is adding to the cash flow of Leica’s balance sheet. So long as there is no jeopardy of brand dilution (and I doubt there would be any confusion amongst the Leica customers as to the difference in quality between the Lux cameras and the M or S systems), there is no reason why Leica cannot or should not monetize the brand to help the business as a going concern. Although I don’t defend Leica’s apparent inability to maintain a healthy supply of the M9 camera, but IMO that has nothing to do with this particular release. My two cents.
these collaborations / special edition does nothing for the leica enthusiasts, unless some of you are die hard maruko-chan fans. what it does is, it gets moderate publicity online and in print, a save a few dollars for advertising.
WHAT?…………
well Leica did have a special appearance (namely a M3, M4 and a R7) in the TV series …
Note to David:
“I doubt much resources, if any, were spent by Leica GmBH for this release.”
WRONG.
Leica is a typically detail focused German company so you can bet that plenty of folks got involved in reviewing the design concept and branding impact (at a minimum). I’m willing to bet this occupied a non-trivial amount of management time before it was a done deal.
Given the significant challenges Leica faces, not least of which being an apparent inability to satisfy a modicum of demand for it’s products, I respectfully suggest such gimmicks ought to be “VERBOTEN” until they can get their act together on core products like the M and S systems.
@ Bruce:
Thanks Bruce for your opinion. I am sure you are right in that Leica did go over the marketing impact of this branding, and perhaps I should have specified that when i say resources I intend it to mean manufacturing resources that directly affect the output rate of the Leica products.
But nothing you said convinced me that any such resources were diversified from what would have otherwise increase the speed they can brank out the M9, the S system, or the M lenses. I do not believe that the “plenty of folks” who “got involved in reviewing the design concept and branding impact” of the Momoko Sakura edition of the C-Lux 3 being released in Japan are the same people who are responsible for the production of the M or S systems. This is not to suggest that the M or S engineers who produce and inspect the M and S cameras/lenses could not assess banding impact of a special edition of a ODM point and shoot being released in Japan, but I personally just don’t believe that is what happened because I think even Leica, who as you suggest is “typically detailed focused,” knows that business people, not engineers, “review design concept and branding impact.” My two cents
Leica M7/M9 owner here. What the heck is a Chibi Maruko Chan?
I could care less if Leica wanted to come out with an entire line of Lindsay Lohan-branded C-Lux, D-Lux, V-Lux, or crap-Lux point and shoot commodity cameras made by a Japanese or Korean or Taiwanese company and relabeled with a red dot. Garbage. All of it.
However, it wouldn’t surprise me if the German tastelessness for special runs affects the M-line. We’ve already had the horrible orange Hermes, gold plated varieties, one with a stock certificate, Christopher Columbus-branded, Danish wedding, and a Danish-Swedish bridge versions. Varieties with silk-screened logos I could do myself and a M6 panda (which isn’t special, either). The list goes on and on…
Give me great, world-class glass and stop tinkering with special edition bodies.
I agree the gold plated varieties are awful looking (especially the Chinese traditions). But miraculously, Leica manages to sell every single one of these. I suspect they do a little homework on the demand before coming out with the special editions. My GF wants the White Leica M8. I tell her it’s obsolete (or will be obsolete) technology, but she doesn’t care, and it doesn’t bother her that the white M8 costs more than the M9!!!! I imagine the profit margins on these bodies are enomerous. And if more profits means they can hire more engineers to make more lens or design the next generation of ASPH lens, then I am all for it.
If all these special editions are so great for business how come Leica is still struggling to produce products..?
Sorry I don’t buy it.
You don’t see a really smart company like Apple doing iPhone special editions eh?
perfect camera for your kids
I don’t know what to tell ya Bruce . . . 1) good cash flow products (such as the special edition products) do not significantly affect total manufacturing output. Even if it does, the higher profit margin justifies itself. If one special edition Hermes camera brings you profits 5X that of a Leica M9 (meaning you have to sell 5 M9s to make the same profits as a Hermes M6, keeping in mind that Leica outsources the sensor so the margins are lower for the digital line), and does not significantly impede your output of the M9, why wouldn’t you do it as a prudent business decision?
And, I’m sorry, are you comparing a mass-market consumer electronics company like Apple to a specialty camera maker like Leica? . . . Apple does not make it’s own products; the iPhone is made mostly by Foxconn out of Taiwan/China; Leica does not have the option to outsource the M9 or any of the Leica lenses while maintaining the quality control that is Leica today. When they’ve done that in the past with their core products (such as the Summicron 35mm and the 90mm lenses out of Canada), those products were not as well received. 2) Of course, Leica does outsource the PNS cameras like the Lux (made by Panasonic), and that (special edition or not) of course has very little effect on Leica’s manufacturing output of the M and the S systems.
I am not defending Leica’s low production output, but I don’t think the special editions are the culprits that you have made them out to be.