[Leica] A few thoughts

[leicanikon at earthlink.net (Stephen Gandy)]

Well thought out!

yes, let the chips fall where they will.

on your 4/3 question, there is a rumor Leica will have a digital 4/3
camera, a version of the yet to be announced Panasonic 4/3.  Time will
tell.

Due to the narrow body, 4/3 cameras allow the use of more lenses from
other SLR manufacturers via lens adapters than any other digital SLR -- so
far anyway.  Nikon, Leica R, Contax/Yashica, Pentax K, Pentax 42, Olympus
OM, Minolta MD, Exakta, and Visoflex by combining Viso to Nikon with Nikon
to 4/3.

Stephen

feli wrote:

> I was looking at some test frames from the new full frame Canon 5D
> and it's
> performance is quite extraordinary. Almost no noise all the way
> through 1600
> asa and 3200asa looks better than 400 asa film. People, who have had
> a chance
> to shoot the camera, say that it appears that Canon may have backed
> off a bit on
> the aggressiveness of the AA filter, resulting in crisper images,
> with a less plastic look.
>
> As I was reading this, several things were going through my head.
>
> I marveled at the massive resources Canon has at it's disposal to
> develop such chips.
> They are a multibillion dollar company, heavily invested in chip
> manufacturing etc.
>
> Then I thought about Nikon, who does some in house design work, but
> is mostly
> dependent on companies like SONY to develop chips for them. Obviously
> this requires
> huge sums of money. Luckily for Nikon they are a large and relatively
> wealthy company and Sony is probably also looking at the economies of
> scale, with hundreds of thousands or millions of units in sales.
>
> Then I thought about the rest of the business and in particular Leica.
>
> Minolta and Pentax use Sony chips, but they are always one generation
> behind Nikon, because they can't get their hands on the newest chips,
> like what's in the D2x.
>
> Olympus off in 4/3 land, which puts them in a whole different
> category. Is anyone else besides Kodak making those chips?
>
> Now Leica obviously doesn't have the money to start manufacturing
> their own chips.
> They also do not have the cash to go to someone like Sony and
> contract them to design a cutting edge chip for their cameras. So,
> where does that leave them?
>
> They are basically dependent on buying commodity chips from companies
> like Kodak etc. and I highly doubt that they will be able to purchase
> something as cutting edge as what's in the new 5D and certainly not
> at the prices that Canon is 'paying'.
>
> The chip in the DMR is a good example of this. From what I understand
> it is a variant of what is commonly used in several medium format
> backs. And this is reflected in the DMR's performance profile. Up
> until 400 asa it looks really good and then the noise suddenly jumps
> sharply. Ever notice how none of the MF backs are rated above 400 asa?
>
> I suppose what I am getting at is this. Is there really any company
> outside of Nikon and Sony that will be able to compete will Canon,
> simply because no one else has the money or resources to develop a
> competitive high performance imaging chip?
>
> Designing a body isn't a problem. Leica certainly can figure that one
> out.
>
> Writing software isn't a problem. The financial terms of putting
> together a good team are not beyond the reach of a company like Leica.
>
> Developing high end lenses certainly isn't the problem. In Leica's
> case this is a no brainer.
>
> At the end of the day it's all about having a cutting edge imaging
> sensor and unfortunately it is a problem that really only can be
> solved in two ways.
>
> Either you develop the chip inhouse, which would cost more than
> Leica's total worth and
> require lost of specialized talent.
>
> Or you write a nice fat check to a specialist like Sony and they
> design whatever you want.
>
> Either solution is not an option for Leica.
>
> Someday down the road, chips with the level of performance that we
> are seeing in the Canon cameras will become commodity items, but
> unfortunately that moment is a few years away
>
> So, here are my predictions.
>
> When the Leica M-D does eventually surface it will offer very good
> performance up to 800asa, but will be no match at 1600 and 3200 asa
> for what Canon offers. Nikon is currently struggling to deliver
> matching results above 800 asa, but then again they are squeezing
> 12.7 MP in to an APS size chip.
>
> M-D performance up to 400 asa could potentially be exceptional if
> Leica continues with the 16 bit route.
>
> It will probably not be full frame, but miracles do happen.
>
> So, we will probably end up with a camera that produces excellent
> results up to 400-800 asa.
>
> Now how big of a problem will this really be?
>
> Personally it wouldn't be the end of the world for me. Over the
> years, as I have gained more shooting experience, I have relied less
> and less on high speed films like Delta3200(@1600) and more and more
> on high speed glass and skill. I rarely shoot anything faster than
> 400asa and can't remember the last time I pushed Tri-X to 800.
>
> As an example this was shot on Tri-X @ 400:
>
> http://www.elanphotos.com/ElanFotos/current_img/081705.0004.jpg
>
> The scene was lit by a streetlight and candles. I relied on the
> 1.4/35 Summilux ASPH and a steady hand. If I remember correctly the
> exposure was f1.4 and 1/90th with the M7.
>
> I have Ted's book on Woman in Medicine and if I remember correctly he
> shot most of it at 800 asa with his Noct and Lux. Looks pretty damn
> good to me.
>
> I look at the masters and what they managed to do with equipment that
> almost everyone today would reject as 'unusable', yet they produced
> something like this:
>
> http://tinyurl.com/9gnax
>
> Here is Capa shooting in a dim hall with what may have been a 3.5/50
> Elmar, on an early LTM Leica. Maybe he already has his Contax at this
> point, so he would have had a 1.5/50. But regardless of the camera
> used, his film was probably around 50-100 asa and pushed to maybe 400?
>
> So, I do not expect a miracle in the technology department from
> Leica, or anyone else outside of Canon and Nikon. If they can deliver
> a camera that produces excellent results up to 800asa, they should
> have a workable solution at hand, because unfortunately the most
> important variable in the equation is outside of their control.
>
> feli
>
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