Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/07/13

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Subject: [Leica] Why a digital M
From: dorysrus at mindspring.com (Don Dory)
Date: Tue Jul 13 07:21:27 2004

B.D.
I think you might be a mite too pessimistic about Leica's digital
efforts.  They are teamed up with Kodak and Imacon, two of the leaders
in digital R&D.

The Japanese, for all the technological prowess in country, are still
tied into their combines which inhibit innovations used.  The Foveon
sensor is one example of good technology ignored.

You will recall that I am no fan whatsoever of Kodak: I do however
highly respect the technology that Kodak has invented.  Kodak is
desperate to penetrate the digital market beyond the technologically
challenged with docking stations.  If Leica will serve as their test bed
for innovation and move a few tens of thousands of boxes then everybody
wins.  For perspective on numbers, I suspect that Canon is shipping
30,000 to 40,000 digital Rebels a month.

Leica, since the sixties has not been a company of "good enough".  Their
market consists in part of people who are willing to pay the premium for
the best possible.

You continue to complain about Leica pricing, but premium tools of any
kind are expensive.  You can by a 71/2inch "Skill" saw at Wal-Mart for
$29: you can also spend more than $500 for a real Skill worm drive
model.  I can tell you which one is best for cutting rafters by the
thousands, day after day.  Likewise, I am not sure even Nikon's F model
can hold up to professional use decade after decade as a properly
maintained M will.  Then there are lenses; the aluminum barreled lenses
that Nikon sold in the sixties are just plain loose and sloppy now.
Even my Summar from the 1930's is still useable today in the same
conditions it was good for in the thirties.

Price is something that every user of a tool has to determine for
themselves.  No one but the person(s) paying the bill can say what is
too much.

0.02

Don
dorysrus@mindspring.com

-----Original Message-----
From: lug-bounces+dorysrus=mindspring.com@leica-users.org
[mailto:lug-bounces+dorysrus=mindspring.com@leica-users.org] On Behalf
Of B. D. Colen
Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2004 8:48 AM
To: 'Leica Users Group'
Subject: RE: [Leica] Why a digital M

Reasonable? Switch sensors at "nominal cost?" Come on guys, get real. I
wouldn't expect any company to do that - upgrade the firmware for free?
Sure. But not the sensor.

Face it - what they give you is what you get. And what they're going to
give you is going to be VERY pricey and far from ideal. It may be 'good
enough' for what you want to do, and the price may not deter you. So buy
it and use it in good health. But don't expect anything at a give-away
price; don't expect any real innovation; and don't expect a camera that
is up to the top digital standards at the time of release. ;-)

B. D.

-----Original Message-----
From: lug-bounces+bdcolen=earthlink.net@leica-users.org
[mailto:lug-bounces+bdcolen=earthlink.net@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of
Leonard J Kapner
Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2004 12:40 AM
To: 'Leica Users Group'
Subject: RE: [Leica] Why a digital M


Bob,

This sounds like a reasonable if somewhat complicated approach, but it's
not a bad idea if Leica want to stem the tide of defection. But who
knows? It may already be too late, as B.D. has recently suggested...

Len

-- 

-----Original Message-----
From: lug-bounces+ljkapner=cox.net@leica-users.org
[mailto:lug-bounces+ljkapner=cox.net@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of
Afterswift@aol.com
Sent: Monday, July 12, 2004 9:29 PM
To: lug@leica-users.org
Subject: [Leica] Why a digital M


In a message dated 7/12/04 7:23:50 PM, lug-request@leica-users.org
writes:

<< to put it really bluntly, why would anyone in his or her right mind
pay 5500K - for example - for an "M" body when for the same amount of
money he or she could buy an 8 mpg Canon Eos MkII and an array of
Canon's best lenses? >>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
--
--------------
If Leica Solms wants to jump into the digital sea with an M, then let
its 
frames show the standard film lenses with the APS sensor subframes and
guarantee 
to buyers that Leica will update the sensor frame to full 35mm at
nominal cost 
when it becomes available. So the digital M would have modular
construction.


>From personal experience with the fast D70 and standard Nikkor film 
>lenses,
I 
found that the APS sized sensor can produce professional quality images.
The 
present full 35mm frame 13MP sensor used in the Kodak 14n leaves a lot
to be

desired from reports I've read. The Kodak 14n is rather ponderous. 

Bob     

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Leica Users Group.
See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information


_______________________________________________
Leica Users Group.
See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information

_______________________________________________
Leica Users Group.
See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information



Replies: Reply from george at imagist.com (George Lottermoser) ([Leica] Why a digital M)
In reply to: Message from bdcolen at earthlink.net (B. D. Colen) ([Leica] Why a digital M)