Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/06/13
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]All of what you've written, Gary, depends upon your definition of "competitive." The average digital camera buyer - for that matter most serious Ams - -is/are NOT going to buy a $7K, $5K, or even $3K digital SLR - he or she is going to buy a p&s to capture 4x6s of the kids. So that means we're talking about the pro market. For the needs of most newspaper/magazine shooters a full-frame digital isn't necessary. In fact, the whole full-frame discussion is a bit silly: What is "full frame?" Full-frame compared to what? A 4x5 is not full-frame compared to an 8x10; a 2 1/4 is not full-frame compared to a 4x5; a 645 is not full-frame compared to a 2 1/4; and, of course, a 35 mm is not full-frame compared to a 2 1/4. The important element, in terms of the image, is not the size of the sensor, but the quality of the output the particular sensor makes possible - and the quality needs of the shooter. As to pro quality needs - that depends upon who or what the pro is shooting for. As many members of this list have said, they are getting excellent quality - for enlargement at least up to 11x14, from the current crop of less than full-frame DSLRs and even high-end P&S. One can argue about the quality, but what matters is not what you, the observer think, but what the user - and if the user is a pro, the user's customer - thinks. The Canon D100 does not have a full-frame sensor, yet it produces really stunning results. (And the results of the other $1500-$2200 pro and prosumer cameras are pretty damn good.) "As good as film?" No, not for examination under a loupe. But then who walks around with a loupe dangling from their neck. Look at a print; look at an image in a newspaper, magazine, or book - that's how we see photographs, what ever they've been captured with. Do Nikon, Olympus, or does Leica, for that matter, need to have full full-frame sensors to compete and survive with Canon and it's Eos1Ds? No. What they need to have are digital cameras which produce results that meet the expectation of their prospective buyers. Frankly, that probably means that Leica will never produce a digital that meets the expectations of its buyers - because its buyers expectations, honed by the results obtained with iso 25 film and aspherical lenses, are so damn high. ;-) (But then what percentage of the camera market is occupied by Hermes - ooops, Leica. :-) ) B. D. - -----Original Message----- From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us [mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us] On Behalf Of Gary Williams Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2003 11:54 PM To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us Subject: Nikon....was Re: [Leica] New Nikon Lens Mount Olympus 4/3 System D SLR > Subject: Re: Re: [Leica] New Nikon Lens Mount > > Why would Nikon, a company that is ailing financially and said to be > for sale at a fire-sale price with no takers invest in a new lens > mount particularly when the have not yet finished taking a beating on > the investment into APS cameras... > Perhaps there will be a modification to the existing mount like AI to > AIs or "D" or some other added feature... > > a whole new mount makes very little economic sense... > > A new non F mount would be the straw that broke Nikon's back the final > push to the EOS camp... I am no fan of Nikon never having owned or used any of it (Leica and Contax only), but the only thing Nikon can do to try to be competitive is to release a full frame based digital SLR. Apparently, utilizing the existing mount will not work. Contrary to other postings, I believe that the new mount is the only thing that makes sense if Nikon wishes to survive. In an time of unprecedented upheaval in the photo game, only Canon seems to have positioned itself reasonably well for digital SLR. All the others are scrambling to keep up, including the former leader of the pack, Nikon. As someone who has been shooting and following the business for 25 years, it's almost unbelievable to see Nikon getting creamed like this. Gary - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html