[Leica] Digital Ms et al

[scott at adrenaline.com (Scott McLoughlin)]

That's an interesting point. Aside from quality, I think Leica represents
some kind of commitment to and longevity for RF photography. Of
course, Leica's corporate health has to improve for this to be meaningful
at this point.

If Epson or Zeiss or CV crank out a digi body, and follow up with an
upgrade or two, or some alternative models thus showing some commitment
to the camera/platform, I think sales would pick up radically and fewer RF
shooters will worry about waiting around for Leica.

Zeiss and CV are best suited for becoming the "digi RF standard bearer," as
it were. They've got the capability to rapidly crank out some new great 
wide
angle lenses appropriate for the digi M platform. Zeiss/CV together have
shown that RF baselength need no longer be a big deal. I find CV's VF
a bit brighter than Leica's.  The digi bodies need not last 50 years, and
indeed CV bodies already have metal construction vs. Canon/Nikon's
prosumer bodies.

So yes, Leica makes great, sturdy classic mechanical film cameras and
I can easily imagine they could become completely irrelevant to the future
of digital RF shooting.

Paul wrote:

> There's something I don't really get about the whole digital M thing. 
> Come to think of it there are lots of things, but I'll start with one.
>
> The consensus seems to be that everyone wants a CCD they can use with 
> their M lenses, and that Leica should make it. Why? There's now a 
> perfectly good rangefinder body with an M mount. It happens to be 
> stamped EPSON on the top, but so what?
>
> The thing that makes Leica rangefinders so special is their mechanical 
> nature. They are fabulous machines for taking pictures with. 
> Mechanical pictures. On film. If you want a digital camera with the 
> Leica name you have the excellent, so I'm told, Digilux with the lens 
> made specifically for digital.
>
> So - digital Leica camera, sir? We have the Digilux. Want to use your 
> M lenses with a CCD, sir? We have the Epson.
>
> Incidentally, I really don't understand why people want to use M 
> lenses on a digicam anyway, apart from sheer curiosity. These 
> magnificent lenses have been developed over decades to work with film, 
> for God's sake. I'm no technician, but even I can see the difference!
>
> P.
>
> *******
> Paul Hardy Carter
> www.paulhardycarter.com
> *******
>
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