Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/10/16
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I went to Photokina to see Tom and Tuulikki Abrahamsson, and Voigtlander's CEO Mr. Kobayashi. After that, everything else was just gravy. Tom and Tuulikki took the time to show this Photokina newbie around, and help keep me from taking the wrong train ride to Finland. It was amazing to me how the Germans keep their trains moving within a few minutes of schedule all day long, while in Los Angeles we are lucky to see a bus arrive within plus or minus 20 minutes. Bob Shell was helped me arrange a Press Pass so I was able to file one story while still at Photokina. Cosina does not have a display booth open to the public. Instead, Cosina's CEO Mr. Kobayashi meets people by appointment behind the closed doors of the blue Cosina wall. the new generation of Voigtlander R2A / R3A / Epson RD-1 / Zeiss Ikon have improved RF/VF optics compared to the older R/R2. The finders seem a bit brighter to me, with a noticeably larger RF patch which makes for easier focusing. I could easily see the red LED shutter display at the bottom of the finder. Each standard shutter speed from 1 to 2000 is indicated. Rounded off, the nearest shutter chosen shutter speed is lit up on AE. In metered manual, the indicated shutter speed is brightest, while the other speeds are not as bright. the new electronic shutter going to 8 seconds on AE, or 1 to 1/2000 manually, is quieter than the previous Bessa mechanical shutters. I estimate about 1/3 quieter, but I did not have both for a side by side comparison. only black bodies offered at this time. I really like the 1:1 finder in the R3A. so far the R3A is the first life size M mount film camera ever, but then M's have only been in production for half a century now.... Why is that important? Because you can shoot with both eyes open without eye strain. The mechanical Bessa shutter is not discontinued, so perhaps Voigtlander will fill out the product line later on. Many ideas for new cameras and lenses were discussed. The question is which idea will end up at the end of a Voigtlander production line. the new Voigtlander VC Meter II for classic meterless cameras seems smaller than it is, but measure about half the size of the old version. black or chrome. so far as I know, the new Cosina Voigtlander M mount 40/1.4 is the first 40/1.4 made for full frame 35mm photography. There are two versions. The standard version is multi-coated. There is also a limited edition of 500 single coated SC 40/1.4 lenses. Why? Some Japanese shooters prefer single coated lenses for B/W due to better shadow detail. The vented Leica style bayonet hood is optional. Filter size 43mm. The new 40/1.4 brings up the proper 40 brightline on Leica CL's or Minolta CLEs. It can be modified to bring up the 35 frameline on Leica M's. An unexpected highlight of our meeting with Mr. Kobayashi was a knock on the door from Pop Photo's Herbert Keppler. I have exchanged letters with him and a few phone calls for years. It was a great meeting Mr. Keppler in person. He is a delightful and perceptive man, the dean of American photographic writers so far as I am concerned. The biggest RF surprise of Photokina was the Zeiss entry into the Leica M mount market, with its Cosina made "Zeiss Ikon" rangefinder. It's odd to see "Zeiss Ikon" used as a model name instead of a manuf name, oh well. Aimed at a target approximately 60% of the Leica equivalent, this lineup looks inexpensive compared to Leica, but will cost about 3x Cosina Voigtlander products. Probably due to a translation problem, I found the English Zeiss Ikon brochure funny by claiming they were aiming for the ultimate M lenses! only mockups of the bodies were on display at Zeiss or Hassleblad, the distributor of the new Zeiss Ikon camera. The new Zeiss Ikon "ZM" lenses are made by Cosina except the humongus 15/2.8 and average size 85/2. In contrast to the body, working ZM lenses were shown: 15/2.8, 21/2.8, 25/2.8, 28/2.8, 35/2, 50/2, 85/2. All magnificently finished in either black or chrome with bayonet on style lens hoods. Behind the scenes was a beautiful black paint Zeiss Ikon body. I was told 25, 28, 35, and 50 should be available late Oct or early Nov. The 15, 21, 85 in Feb. The body in April. The Zeiss Ikon is the first Cosina M mount body to 1) use Leica's automatic brightline system 2) have a long 75mm RF base length. The brochure alludes to a future digital Zeiss Ikon M mount, but without any specifics. Say good-bye to the G series. Epson's RD-1 uses the same shutter and similar finder to the other new Cosina made rangefinders. Using only 3 framelines, 28/35/50, the 28 will be unfortunately close to useless with eyeglass users. Epson makes a big deal of the RD-1 having being the first 1:1 finder. True enough, but Epson's inexperience in RF design shows in choosing the 1:1 finder in a camera with 28/35/50 framelines that makes the 1/3 of the framelines useless for eyeglass wearers. the .7 finder would have been a much wiser choice for this camera. I don't like the complicated and expensive Seiko inspired control center sitting where the shutter speed dial usually is. It seems the designer has a little too much watch experience. I found the half stroke advance a bit bothersome, especially since a simple change of gearing would give a more traditional 35 RF type advance. It will shoot either JPG or RAW format, but starts choking on the 3rd RAW shot in quick succession. I was not able to use the camera other than a few shots at the exhibition booth, but more than one user has commented on the low JPG noise -- which the Epson design team was striving for. I do like the flip top LCD panel, nicely done. The "rewind knob" is a really nifty way to make your way thru the menu system. I suspect Epson priced the RD-1 at $3000 to make it look like a bargain compared to the estimated $7,000 for a digital Leica M, not understanding how much price resistance they would get for the RD-1 in that rarefied price category. At the moment the RD-1 is the world's best digital M mount camera, but Zeiss Ikon and Leica have both announced digital M cameras. What happens when there are 3, or who knows, more? The basic problem of any digital camera is that has a computer style shelf life, with most digital cams having a very low computer like resale value only two years after their initial sale. to justify $3000, most buyers will either simply have bucks, or be able to make the investment back before it becomes obsolete. It's odd after so many years of stagnation to see so much happening in the RF world. sure, its a small niche market, but some people like it. I like the new Nikon F6. I personally love the return to a detachable high speed motor, and even more, the ability to use up to 10 AIS manual focus lenses with Nikon's latest matrix metering system. The flash system has also been improved. For the first time, gone from the new F6 are the seldom bought bulk film back and interchangeable finders. At the Leica booth I visited with Leica's personable and now departed CEO Cohn. I like Mr. Cohn, and I am sorry to see him leave Leica. Cohn's tenure produced the first two new Leica M cameras since the M6 of 1984, the MP and the M7, no small accomplishment. While Canon and Nikon users get excited about 14MP 35mm style cameras, Mamiya did one better by introducing a 22MP SLR styled similar to the old 2 2/4 Norita, using Mamiya 645 lenses. that will give a few Canon and Nikon photogs a touch choice. Wouldn't be interesting if Mamiya put that 22MP back on the Mamiya 7? Stephen Gandy