integrity?

One day this week I started getting emails saying "did Leica stop making film bodies!?"  When I asked "where the hell did you hear that?" and then hearing where they were all hearing it ... I just shook my head.  The finest amalgamation of photo entusiasts, rumor mongers and ... gear-heads.

Back in May -- it took me a while to remember -- some Rangefinder forum topic surfaced about the Asahi magazine report.

I almost think that if someone writes something in a forum it's almost like gossiping but if a website that is ostensibly a "photo enthusiast" or "photographic news site" ... shouldn't they check?

The funny thing to me is that although I'm not a huge fan of that rumors site that attempts to report on Leica from a wholly pedestrian angle (seeing as how the author has little photographic experience) had asked Leica about it.  Even homeboy got it right!  By no means do I wish to endorse him but I do applaud him for actually getting an official position rather than perpetuate rumor.

When I read THIS ARTICLE (if one calls it an article since all it does is PARROT something that wasn't even verified) I said "I'll ask them myself."  When I asked this -- which I'm assuming anyone could do, especially a site that claims to be a photographic news site -- I got this response from Germany:

Please find herewith the official company statement:

Leica Camera AG has not stopped producing its analog camera models, the Leica M7 and Leica MP, nor does it currently have any intention to do so. Although the demand for analog Leica camera models is not high, it is stable, and we are still producing cameras on a daily basis as always. This is confirmed by a film made last year at the Leica factory showing analog camera models being manufactured. The film can be viewed on youtube.  Besides this, any visitor to Leica Camera AG can go on a factory tour in Solms to see the current camera models - both analog and digital - being produced.

Why does it matter to me?  Well ... It matters because anyone can say anything on the web.  The denizens just take things at face value.  What's even funnier is that one can really see the "entitlement" some have ... well ... especially those who wrote the original article PARROTING an unverified article in a response here.  We'll see.  Yeah ... instead of just being flippant why wouldn't you just call the company in question and ask?

I did.  I'm a photographer; I don't run a website proclaiming to report news.

At least the British Journal of Photography did exactly what I did ... and the rumors site did.  They asked.  They verified.

Instead of "we'll see" why wouldn't someone write "let me ask."

You clearly can't believe everything you read.  Clearly.

Enjoy irrelevancy, mate.

Comments

[peter]

way back when before digital and electronic viewing
screen on cameras..

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarchi/132575086/in/set-72157603521159288/

[Bob]

Thank you for this. I frequent one of those sites and some of the people are actually helpful and know what they speak of. There's also a fair amount of nonsense. Someone responded to a question I asked by quoting a very reputable repair person of old cameras. I then spoke to the person firsthand and learned the attributed quote was blatantly incorrect! On any webforum, one has to assume at least half of the content in unverified bullshit. It's a shame.

[Tim]

Wow, the parroting article that set you off is quite...special. The article wouldn't be so bad--it's basically a standard fare rumor-site/forum type of useless article, except apparently much much slower than the forum to find the Asahi article and start the panic--but the snotty responding comments put it over the top for me. I loved the "my provisional inclination as a journalist" line dismissing other information, when his only reporting is reading a Japanese article. You would think it would at least have created enough doubt to attempt communication himself like, say, a real journalist would. The "we'll see" is flippant as you mentioned, and also sets up his being proven "right" in the future, because if Leica does discontinue in 5 years (or 10 or 20!), he can always claim that it was this phantom 2009 discontinuation that was real and the 5 years was just selling old stock (even though Leica says directly you can see them coming off the line today, he's clearly not bothered by such a detail). Priceless stuff.

[Max Herrgard]

Hey, by the way, are you still using your film Leica, Chris?

[AC]

Wow. What a bitch.