Hello,
I don't think a Technika is a luxury product. On the contrary. It is the expression of a solid company policy that focuses on sustainability and availability.
Here you can find a book:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B50...RRQjVFVlk/view
This book is worth reading. You will find something about the history of Linhof. When the Technika was sold as one of a few serious technical cameras, Linhof had over 800 employees. One learns about the expansion and the transition to CAD and CAM, about the factory canteen and housing construction.
At Laflex you can also find brochures from that time:
http://www.laflexcamera.com/brochures You can see the variety of Linhof developments, which were always tailored to the needs of professionals.
In order to transfer important knowledge, Linhof has been emphasizing training since the sixties. Back then:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/16_H...RnV9MDbDw/view Today:
http://linhof.com/linhof-workshops-und-seminare-2/
Here you can see that Linhof actually still repairs all cameras from 1959 on:
http://linhof.com/en/service-2/ 1959 is the cut-off date because there are no older spare parts available. It concerns mainly the Linhof Technika IV MK1, which was then replaced by an improved MK2 model. Buy a Technika V, and you will probably be able to get it repaired completely.
The real estate prices in Munich are high. A friend paid the equivalent of monthly 1500 USD for 25 square meters, that was in 1995. Linhof stores all the spare parts, runs the complete workshop, takes care of the support from all over the world. Linhof still exists. One could have founded successor companies. The repair of old cameras would then be in the hands of subcontractors. How long they would still be around is not known.
To me, all this doesn't sound like "luxury article", but like solid work for people who value sustainability and availability. Like Bosch or Dewalt gear. Especially when I have to earn my money hard, I will be disappointed with many cheaper solutions. Bourgeoisie is a different concept.
I spent the first 36 years of my life in Germany, so I know that the price for a Linhof Technika is a normal commercial price for the offer mentioned. Whether the demand is still there today is another story. But those who do not want to afford a Technika do not have to grumble.
Or, if one grumbles about the Technika, perhaps one cannot afford one. It's like Alberich in Richard Wagner's "Rheingold": he completely renounces love because he cannot manage to seduce one of the three Rhine daughters.
Of course most men in the world are poor. For them, a Linhof is a luxury, sure. But they don't shoot in 4x5 inch anyway.
Greeting
Bookmarks