Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/10/13
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> It will be interesting to see how practical fast Leica lenses will be with
> the .6x magnification viewfinder. However, should a Summilux (or the 50 mm
> f/1.5 Cosina/Voigtlander lens) prove useable, and should that smaller
> magnification allow for a higher eyepoint and for an eyeglass wearer such
> as myself to view the entire frame, it will be a huge attraction to me.
According to my sources in Japan, the low 0.6x magnification was selected to
allow eyeglass wearers, who are the majority of photographers in Japan, to
see the 28mm frameline.
> Frankly, I don't see the Konica as an M6 killer. As a former Contax G
> owner, I see it having the potential of doing more harm to the sales of
> that system.
Introduction of a compatible body such as this Hexar RF can only stimulate
the Leica mount camera market. As Leica has been and probably always will
be at the pinnacle of mechanical and optical quality, Leica should have no
problem keeping its inventory low, if marketted appropriately.
Looking at the implementation of Hexar RF, I cannot help but to think that
Leica was in some ways involved with this.
The viewfinder configuration is very similar to M6,
The rangefinder base is identical,
The design of 28mm looks very similar to Elmarit-M
The rear half of 50mm looks very similar to Summicron-M
I would not be surprised at all if Konica will be the brand in Japan, and
Leica outside Japan, like the Fuji TX-1 / Hasselblad X-Pan.
There is supposedly only one company in Japan who can manufacture
rangefinder, and it is said to supply the parts to Fuji/Hasselblad, Mamiya,
Konica, and the long-rumoured M7, which may turn out to be this very Konica
RF.