On 23 Jun 2003 at 18:13, Herb Chong wrote: > what were the total unit sales of the M bodies at the time? there are several > instances of retailing products where raising the price increased sales. to > charge this much, they must have something. that's cachet, invented or real. > Honda discovered this when selling the NSX. they had to raise their prices to > something closer to Ferraris to keep their sales up. buying up Leicas at bargain > prices means subjective bargains.
OK lets get some perspective here. The M cameras are far more robust than the CL series. I have owned and used both, I still own M bodies but I don't own the CLE, yes the CDS metering flag failed twice. The M cameras are robust, they are hand built to far higher tolerances than virtually any other 35mm camera on the market, they are all mechanical (well were entirely until the M7) and there is no apparent end to their serviceability or compatibility. As I mentioned some time ago I had the top plate on my 1965 M4 replaced due to a bad ding (I ripped a hole in it), it came back with the same engraved serial number looking new. There has to be a price to pay for the service, longevity and precision. Ask anyone who has owned an M camera for 10+ years and they'll likely acknowledge it as money well spent. Rob Studdert HURSTVILLE AUSTRALIA Tel +61-2-9554-4110 UTC(GMT) +10 Hours [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://members.ozemail.com.au/~distudio/publications/ Pentax user since 1986, PDMLer since 1998
