Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/06/28
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Eric wrote, >you make unfounded statements like the >R8 is based on 15 year old technology. It's simply not true. I'm sure the >lack of AF might mean something, buy the microprocessor inside, and the >matrix metering is certainly not 15 year old tech Eric let me elaborate - the main 'innovations' of the R8 are (and please correct me if I am wrong) 1/ faster shutter with 1/8000 max and 1/250 flash sync (cf. Nikon FA, 1983 or the FM2 of 1982) 2/ 5-zone matrix meter (cf Nikon FA, 1983) 3/ single zone auto-balanced fill flash (Canon T90, mid 1980s or Nikon 8008) 4/ rewinding motor (Nikon F2, 1972) 5/ polycarbonate/composite construction of baseplate and back (late seventies, just about every Japanese manufacturer) 6/ electronic lens mount interface (Praktica, 1970s and Canon/Nikon mid 1980s) 7/ LED digital displays - (1970s, Canon A1) 8/ The flash metering function - is it not just about identical to the RTSIII's (1989) ? So on balance I think my assessment was fair - with the exception of the last point (seven years before R8 was introduced) the R8 is simply a repackaging of almost, or even greater than, 15 year-old technology with the three main camera functions - shutter, meter and film transport - being respectively bought in (from Japan), copied/reverse engineered, and botched. All this in a package which has grown about 20% in size and weight over its predecessors without any detectable increase in reliability: the opposite seems to be the case IME (even the first two demos I saw had serious faults). Still that is my impression, unscientific and biased against Leica in general and the R8 in particular since the dozen or so Ms and two dozen M lenses I have owned have skewed my reasoning <g>. Of course with the magnificant (but incomplete) lens line there is still life in the system but for how much longer can Leica survive in an increasingly high-tech driven field? Perhaps digital is the way out - I hope so but still believe it would be better for Leica to team up with a major digital player whilst they still have a good reputation (and are solvent) than to go it alone. By the way the word I have from dealers is that the R8 is a very slow seller these days and even the initial interest dropped pretty quickly after it came to market... Best regards, Adrian Adrian Bradshaw Photojournalist Shanghai, China