Leica increased prices in the UK

By LR admin | Published: January 5, 2009

As previously reported, I guess Leica UK did increase prices – source.

Can someone from the UK confirm this please?

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Lexar 8 GB, 133x Pro High Speed Series, CF Memory Card for free

By LR admin | Published: January 4, 2009

Lexar 8 GB, 133x Pro High Speed Series, CF Memory Card for FREE (mail-in rebate).

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Leica M8 “Panda” limited edition – is this old news?

By LR admin | Published: January 3, 2009

Update: more info on the Leica M6 Panda and the Leica M6 Anti-Panda.

There was already talk about the Leica M8 Panda a while ago. A reader just sent me this email about a new limited edition M8 (email dated Dec 11, 2008):

Sales Update
To: All Photographic Division Representatives/Dealers
From: Marketing Department
Date: December 11, 2008
Re: Limited Production  M8, special black paint with silver chrome elements
____________________________________________________________________________
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

Leica Camera AG will produce a limited production run of 100 pieces of the LEICA M8, special black paint
finish with silver chrome control elements. The special black paint M8 will have a silver chrome preview
lever, speed dial, hot shoe and shutter release.

The contrast between the special black paint body and silver chrome elements makes these unique
pieces a true Leica collector’s item. As the US will only be getting a limited number of pieces, we suggest
you reach out to your customers who are Leica fans. The mail-in rebate for the M8 is applicable to these
limited quantity production cameras.

Dealers who place an order for these limited quantity pieces will be listed on the website in the News
Section. If you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Thank you.

I am little bit confused because this model seems to be already available on ebay:

Why would Leica produce a limited M8 and not M8.2?

Posted in Leica M | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Leica financial results

By LR admin | Published: January 3, 2009

Leica financial results of first half of fiscal year 2008/2009:

  • For the first six months of the current fiscal year (up to September 30, 2008) the Group led by Leica Camera AG registered sales of € 52.0 million. As expected, sales in the photo segment fell to €30.6 million. Sales in sports optics came to € 13.2 million. The sales downturn as compared to the same period of the previous fiscal year is due to the reluctance to buy before the photokina trade fair, cyclical fluctuations in the buyer regions, as well as the phasing-out of products that reached the end of their life cycles.
  • As expected, the net income/loss of the Group as compared to the prior year period fell by€ 13.7 million to a Group net loss for the year of € 7.2 million. This negative result is primarily due to the decrease in sales and to increased development costs. The Company was able to establish cost savings in other operating expenses, thereby partially counteracting this trend. As a result of the success at the photokina trade fair the Company registered increased order inflow already in October 2008, leading to expectations of higher sales in the second half of the year.
  • The number of employees in the Group has increased from 987 to 1,061.
  • For fiscal 2008/2009 the Board of Management continues to expect a Group net loss in the higher one-digit Euro million range, resulting from research and development expenditure, selling costs, delayed market introduction of new products, as well as the clouding of the economy and the distress in the financial markets. The same applies for the single-entity financial statements of Leica Camera AG. Due to the successful market introduction of innovative products, the S2 system in particular, at the photokina in 2008, the Board of Management deems possible a break-even to slightly positive result in the fiscal year 2009/2010.

Source: Leica

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More pictures of Lumix G1 with Leica lens converter

By LR admin | Published: January 2, 2009

Maybe I am spending too much time on this G1-Leica adapter, but I think that this is a great solution for Leica fans that cannot afford a Leica rangefinder, but still want to shoot with Leica lenses. I would be curious to see a comparison between the Panasonic G1 and the Leica M8 with the same lens. Has anyone seen such comparison on the web?

More pictures of Lumix G1 with Leica lens converter submitted by a reader:

here is the flickr group Lumix G1 with Leica M Lenses:

Posted in Leica Lenses | Tagged | 4 Comments

More Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 adapters for Leica lenses

By LR admin | Published: January 1, 2009

Pictures taken with different Leica lenses and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 are available here.

The adapter used in the above pictures: RayQual from Japan (could not find an official site).

Other Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 adapters options for Leica lenses:

  • Milich adapter (could not find an official site either).
  • Novoflex (check the reseller for your country here).
Posted in Leica Lenses | Tagged | 3 Comments

Happy New Year!

By LR admin | Published: December 31, 2008

Happy New Year to all Leica fans!

Posted in Other Leica Stuff | 1 Comment

Novoflex Adapter Leica M – MicroFourThird Cameras on ebay

By LR admin | Published: December 28, 2008

I don’t know what to make of the EUR 149 – is this going to be the real price or somebody is trying to make a buck:

Novoflex Adapter Leica M – MicroFourThird Cameras for EUR 149,00

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