How does Linhof manage to stay in business?

[Richard Johnson]

My MT 2000 has been around the world with me, and I purchased it used from another busy pro photographer who traveled and used it in tough conditions. It's still working great and has the original bellows. I can't imagine a better camera or one that is more rugged or well-made.

It's true that a lot of used Technikardans have bad bellows--but perhaps that is because the camera was a workhorse for many travel and architectural photographers who used their equipment hard in real-world situations. It's also very flexible, which may mean it's not quite as durable, but it's great to shoot with.

Linhof service has also been top-notch. Martin, may he rest in peace, was amazing. I'm glad to hear that Bob Watkins is now an authorized repair shop, I've used him for other gear in the past with great results. And Bob S. has also been very helpful. His presence and advice here on the forum is much appreciated, and his customer service is exemplary. For example I needed a part at the last minute before a shooting trip, and he got it to me the following day! Service and support matter especially when you rely on your cameras for your livelihood.

My Linhof 3D Micro head is a wonderful product. It was expensive but now that I've tried it, I can't imagine working without it.

Linhof makes great products. They're pricey, but not out of line with other high-end european equipment.

+1

[Daniel Stone]

Leica, like Linhof, and several other name brands, are owned by wealthy patrons, who pour money into the companies out of some romantic notion of the value of the "prescription craftsmanship/customer service" lamented at length all along the previous 50 or so posts. It has nothing to do with business. Leica has no shown a profit since it was bought out of receivership in 2004? (AGX - help me here with dates) by above mentioned wealthy patrons.

For a while saab had the same deal, but on a large scale of a car manufacturer that may not work. In the case of Leica and Linhof its "not that expensive" (relatively speaking).

As bob has discussed many times in the past, a strong used market, for products that have relatively little wear over time, and massive price differences compared to new, meant that most of this gear is no longer being made new, as there is no market for it.

Leica still makes film cameras, but they comprise less then 8% of everything hey make, all are made at a loss (kind of like saabs of the GM era).

How many 4X5 cameras does linhof make every year? Who knows.

Ebony, Canham and other small camera makers are small operations which are usually a one man show (or maybe one and half), which is the most that type of business can sustain, they work in small scale, following the toyota philosophy (albeit in a small scale level production).

Quality and reputation has nothing to do with it.

Sorry, but this has been the COMPLETE opposite of what I've experienced, both having talked with Leica/Linhof owners(and more importantly, those that USE their cameras regularly). I'd liken it to buying any piece of industrial equipment: "you get what you pay for".
Leica has never been an "inexpensive" option. Linhof(that I can tell) has NEVER been one either. Neither has Festool, Stihl, Husqvarna, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Audi, Caterpillar, et al...

For those of us who have learned "buy once, cry once", sometimes the hard way(how I learned it, and thankfully by age 26!), I would rather pony-up for good tools/equipment from the start(as long as the price of such equipment is warranted through the service it will provide).

Now, we can all have our own opinions on the matter, but saying that "Quality and reputation has nothing to do with it", that's pure rubbish mate... Buying a quality product that had been proven by its heritage/lineage is proof-enough in most cases, especially to critical buyers who said companies rely upon to stay on business.

And camera equipment is NOT Linhof's sole business, as Bob pointed out previously, they also do contract work machining critical parts/assemblies for other clientele.
Just as Leica also has other business lines other than camera gear, such as the medical field, and surveying/topographical equipment which, in some cases, makes that $8,000 Leica body less expensive than some of the (accessories) for the main piece of equipment being purchased.

I'm sure that since you are a dealer/importer of Jobo goods, you didn't make the decision to become such without considering THEIR heritage, quality and reputation?

-Dan

[analoguey]

Are there any Leica digital owners who claim it to be the best there is? Curious.

[Corran]

Define best there is???

It is absolutely the best digital FF rangefinder on the market...just like the Linhof is the best interchangeable-lens rangefinder LF camera...

I have an M9. It is a great camera but has more limitations than, say, my D800. But the D800 is twice the size, the lenses as well, has feature bloat, and isn't any fun to shoot. So, winner, for me, is the M9, if I'm shooting digital for my own enjoyment. D800 for commercial work usually, or both (I'm shooting a wedding tomorrow and will have the D800, D700, AND M9).

[StoneNYC]

Define best there is???

It is absolutely the best digital FF rangefinder on the market...just like the Linhof is the best interchangeable-lens rangefinder LF camera...

Haha that's like saying I shoot Lomography 110 film because it's the best there's is (when it's the ONLY film there's is....)

Haha!!!

[Jac@stafford.net]

[...]Their (Leica's) new medium format camera sensor is very innovative. They have solved much of the problems with other CCD's by making the CCD wells wider and more shallow while making the micro lens taller.

Typos?

Leica's S cameras and M Typ 240 and later are CMOS made by CMOSIS of Belgium. Dan Fromm, it is a custom designed chip.

Corran: "It is absolutely the best digital FF rangefinder on the market...just like the Linhof is the best interchangeable-lens rangefinder LF camera...

I have an M9. "

Leica very recently posted their plan to replace M9 sensors (with a graduated service charge based upon age) because of anticipated sensor failures due to corrosion of very many of them.

I have an M9 as well.

[Corran]

Haha!

???
What was the point of this post?

Leica very recently posted their plan to replace M9 sensors (with a graduated service charge based upon age) because of anticipated sensor failures due to corrosion of very many of them.

I have an M9 as well.

I heard, but, I'm not really worried right now. ALL digital gadgets will fail eventually.

[Delfi_r]

Leica Camera AG it's a business without connections with Leica Microsystems, Leica Biosystems (new one) and Leica Geosystems, all sharing the Leica brand. Leica Camera AG it's on profits and they make film cameras (in numbers not so small than those made when there wasn't digital cameras made). I love my M7 and my M9, but this post is about Linhof. My Super Technika V 13x18/5x7 (1966) it's like new after all those years and I expect to use it for a long time.

Actually Linhof produces camera for film and digital and other equipment not in the camera bushiness. But they stock parts for many old cameras and you can maintain them in use for life, so it's possible they have chances for a long future.

[StoneNYC]

???
What was the point of this post?



I heard, but, I'm not really worried right now. ALL digital gadgets will fail eventually.

It was funny and I laughed, it was ironic, or at least comical. When there is only one maker of a system and you say "it's the best out there" it's ironic because it's the ONLY one out there...

That MAY be because it was the best and last to survive, or good marketing or business management, but saying it's the best when it's the only, is just a funny statement.

My digital photography is the best photography that has ever been made on my Canon 5D Mk II... Because I'm the only one who's ever used it... But it's the best there is...

[8x10 user]

IMO, there is no best there is. It really depends what the use is. Lecia is more of a very high end point and shoot. Their medium format option is basically a very nice 37.5MP SLR. Of course the cool thing about a leica is having access to their high quality lenses. They have the most expensive medium format lenses with very complicated designs that incorporate features such as floating elements. The lenses will have a good look to the out of focus areas making them ideal for portraiture and selective focus photography. There are higher resolution backs on the market but megapixels is not everything. I known people who have downgraded their MFD system after they learn about the limits of diffraction and its role on aperture selection, DOF, and sensor density.

Leicas S line is not the type of system that one would want for the best landscapes or architectural photography. These areas are better served by technical and view cameras. Alpa seems to have the most popular technical camera, followed by cambo, and then Arca. I find it impressive that Alpa was able to have new lens designs manufactured just for their camera system. The market for brand new high end view cameras has to be very small and there are a large number of high quality cameras on the market (many are one man operations). A full Alpa camera system might be 50k or more.

I just dont see someone spending that kind of money on a new linhof system today. Except perhaps for reproduction use. I'm not sure how well the master digi repo system is selling. My understanding is that they plan to partner with Rency as the did when they were Anagramm. It looks like a nice system and the patented front focus projection system that Rencay uses seems nice. However now rency is also selling their own horizontal system and Linhof is competing with Cruise, Metis, and Sinar who also have very nice systems. Sinar has the most color accurate solution while Cruise and Metis offer very good lighting and texture control options. Sinar is now owned by Leica.

There are now (from Schneider and Leica) high quality tilt shift lenses for medium format digital so there is less of a need for a camera with movements.