Newspeak?
One would expect that the Leica company should use as much knowledge and eloquence to promote their core products and the M certainly is at the core of the product scuderia of the Leica company. A long time ago, Japanese designer of the Canon RF camera hoped to once have as much wisdom about photography as was available to the Leitz designers.
The CRF is being in danger of being squeezed between EVIL and DSLR and there is really a need to set the record straight and show what the virtues and advantages are of the M line and its range of lenses.
The obvious place to look at is the Leica internet site. This is the window of Leica to the world and it is also the showcase of Leica how they see their own products and what they want to say to the world and persuade persons to buy into their culture and philosophy.
If Leica does not know how to express the advantages of the Leica M system, who else would do it?
On the Leica website there is a listing of the M lenses and a short comment about every lens. This should tell you what a lens does and what are the advantages in using one. I came across this jewel of incomprehension: it is about the Summarit 2.5/75mm.
The LEICA SUMMARIT-M 1:2.5/75 mm is a new "short telephoto" lens that is significantly smaller and lighter than Summicron lenses with the same focal length, but still offers the image quality that is the hallmark of Leica M lenses. Combined with the 35 mm Summarit-M, it makes up an ideal shooting outfit with a useful lens speed that opens up fascinating composition options for Leica M photographers.The new 75 mm Summarit-M replaces the portrait focal lengths of 90 -100 mm for digital use. Its exceptionally compact design and performance bring a new level of flexibility to rangefinder photography. Our concentration on the essential elements, including the features, is now an alternative for more serious photographers. All new Summarit-M lenses are supplied with metal covers and velour pouches, while high quality lens hoods are available as accessories.
Performance giving a new level of flexibility? Concentration on essential elements is an alternative for more serious photographers? A useful lens speed that opens up composition options?
In what world I am? You do not have to keep up with the Jones of this age, but Leica would be well advised to take a look at sites of the main camera companies to understand that their website is putting off prospective users in stead of attracting users.
The website is the front door and the signpost to the culture that the company wants to express.
The previous website was not good, but the current one is awful. And many users will associate the quality and content of the website with the quality of the products.
For a company that designs and manufactures the best 35mm lenses in the world, the description of the lenses on the website is a catastrophe.