Below is a part of the text in a press report of The European Cultural and Creative Industries Alliance
“The European luxury sector is a key driver of sustainable growth and is of particular significance to Europe by contributing to its overall economic health, competitiveness, creativity, innovation and employment.
Consumers agree: a survey carried out in September 2009 (TNS Sofres), showed that 69% of European consumers believe that the luxury sector plays an important role in the health and competiveness of the European economy.
European brands account for about 80% of the worldwide luxury market and among the top 25 worldwide luxury companies, 17 are from the European Union.
The personal luxury goods market remains a key driver of growth for Europe accounting for more than €137 billion of the worldwide luxury goods consumption, in Europe, and employing, in 2010, approximately 800,000 people.
More than 70% of the luxury goods produced in Europe are exported outside the region; the European luxury goods sector continues to design and manufacture in Europe.
Its sustainable business model and drive for innovation and excellence has proven the sector‘s resiliency in the financial crisis.”

One might question the relevance of this initiative for the position of the camera maker Leica.
But one of the forty companies that since october 2011 is a member of the Meisterkreis is Leica, in addition to the watchmaker Lange & Söhne and the Porsche Design Group. To become a member one needs to have excellent reputation, highest quality, best design, innovation and service and offer limited availability in luxury stores.
The luxury market is growing by almost 10% a year, even in this crisis period.
The focus of the group is luxury export to China, because in Europe the luxury market is shrinking. The underlying thought behind this initiative is the development of a new German design culture like the Bauhaus or the Ulmer Schule.
One of the bigger companies in the Meisterkreis is the fountain pen company Montblanc with a turnover of some 700 Million Euro and an Ebdit of 16%.

If you pick the essential elements of this initiative (focus on luxury and exclusivity, design and export to China), you will note that these are exactly the elements that Mr. Kaufmann has talked about in recent interviews about the new strategy for Leica for the next five years. Nowhere in all reports about this Meisterkreis and the membership of Leica is there any reference to photography or cameras. The focus is luxury, design and the establishment of a new culture of luxury consumerism.

Let us wait and see what new products will emerge from Solms and Wetzlar when we put things in this perspective.

The new Nikon D4 has just been announced and confirms the trend that has been sketched out by Canon, as usual the trend setter in the market. With a 16.2 Megapixel 24x36mm CMOS sensor, full video capabilities and ISO speeds up to 204,800 it follows closely the specs of the Canon 1Dx. I have remarked in the past that Canon and Nikon do share many development details ro ensure that both stay on top of the market. The naive idea that two fully different design teams can create fully identical camera models can not be supported. Of course one can say when comparing the features one by one that there are many differences, but basically and strategically the two cameras have the same task.

In a recent comparison between the 24 Megapixel and the 10 Megapixel sensors of the Sony cameras. it was noted that even on a double page spread the quality differences are negligible. And my own comparison between the M8 versus Hasselblad 39 Megapixel or M9 versus S2 show that at least an A3 or better A2 print is needed to show significant and visible differences.

What you see in the high quality segment is a split between 20 Megapixel high-frame-rate, high-sensitivity, video-capable cameras and 80+ Megapixel slow-frame-rate, low-sensitivity studio-based cameras.
Below this flagship segment, you will find 20+ megapixel APS-C models in traditional SLR or mirror-less outfit battling for supremacy with often fanciful claims. It is interesting to see whether the rumored D800 and 5D III will offer the claimed 30+ megapixel sensors. If the Canon/Nikon combine will offer these models is uncertain and at least the improvement in image quality will be technically unnoticeable, but there will be reviewers who see advantages, but what you want to see, you will see.
The Leica M system cannot be fitted in this scheme, but then the M-series has since the M6 been the odd man out and follows its own route hors concours. If we interpret correctly what high level managers in Solms claim this position might end when Leica is heading for the mainstream waters.
In 2012, according to one prediction, 201,287,607,638 digital pictures will be made, that is 6383 pictures for every second or 382967 pictures per minute. Most major photographers in the past produced from 100,000 to 300,000 negatives in their whole life. In other words: globally every minute more pictures are made than a photographer can produce in his/her lifetime.
Now that picture taking is gratuitous and cameras are almost self-governing recording instruments, the picture tsunami is unstoppable since everyone is photographer and model at the same time.
It used to be said that one needs 10,000 hours of training to become a master in a field. It has also been claimed that one can learn the basics of photography in one hour. Currently one needs only the time to read the Quick Install Guide to become a full-fledged photographer. Even the Nikon D4 has face detection. The same feature one finds in the Apple Aperture program.

It is intriguing to see that the modern flagship cameras do not compete with medium-format systems but with movie systems like Red One and Arri.

Interesting as the Vulcan would comment and look what happens next.