[Leica] Photokina Notes

[leicanikon at earthlink.net (Stephen Gandy)]

I went to Photokina to see Tom and Tuulikki Abrahamsson, and
Voigtlander's CEO Mr. Kobayashi.  After that, everything else was just
gravy.  Tom and Tuulikki took the time to show this Photokina newbie
around, and help keep me from taking the wrong train ride to Finland.
It was amazing to me how the Germans keep their trains moving within a
few minutes of schedule all day long, while in Los Angeles we are lucky
to see a bus arrive within plus or minus 20 minutes.  Bob Shell was
helped me arrange a Press Pass so I was able to file one story while
still at Photokina.

Cosina does not have a display booth open to the public.  Instead,
Cosina's CEO Mr. Kobayashi meets people by appointment behind the closed
doors of the blue Cosina wall.     the new generation of Voigtlander R2A
/ R3A / Epson RD-1 / Zeiss Ikon have improved RF/VF optics compared to
the older R/R2. The finders seem a bit brighter to me, with a noticeably
larger RF patch which makes for easier focusing.     I could easily see
the red LED shutter display at the bottom of the finder.  Each standard
shutter speed from 1 to 2000 is indicated.   Rounded off, the nearest
shutter chosen shutter speed is lit up on AE.   In metered manual, the
indicated shutter speed is brightest, while the other speeds are not as
bright.  the new electronic shutter going to 8 seconds on AE, or 1 to
1/2000 manually,  is quieter than the previous Bessa mechanical
shutters.  I estimate about 1/3 quieter, but I did not have both for a
side by side comparison.  only black bodies offered at this time.  I
really like the 1:1 finder in the R3A.  so far the R3A is the first life
size M mount film camera ever, but then M's have only been in production
for half a century now....   Why is that important?  Because you can
shoot with both eyes open without eye strain.  The mechanical Bessa
shutter is not discontinued, so perhaps Voigtlander will fill out the
product line later on.  Many ideas for new cameras and lenses were
discussed.  The question is which idea will end up at the end of a
Voigtlander production line.

the new Voigtlander VC Meter II for classic meterless cameras seems
smaller than it is, but measure about half the size of the old version.
black or chrome.

so far as I know, the new Cosina Voigtlander M mount 40/1.4 is the first
40/1.4  made for full frame 35mm photography.  There are two versions.
The standard version is multi-coated.  There is also a limited edition
of 500 single  coated  SC 40/1.4 lenses.  Why?  Some Japanese shooters
prefer single coated lenses for B/W due to better shadow detail.  The
vented Leica style bayonet hood is optional.  Filter size 43mm.   The
new 40/1.4 brings up the proper 40 brightline on Leica CL's or Minolta
CLEs.  It can be modified to bring up the 35 frameline on Leica M's.

An unexpected highlight of our meeting with Mr. Kobayashi  was a knock
on the door from Pop Photo's Herbert Keppler.  I have exchanged letters
with him and a few phone calls for years.  It was a great meeting Mr.
Keppler in person.  He is a delightful and perceptive man, the dean of
American photographic writers so far as I am concerned.

The biggest RF surprise of Photokina was the Zeiss entry into the Leica
M mount market, with its Cosina made "Zeiss Ikon" rangefinder.  It's odd
to see "Zeiss Ikon" used as a model name instead of a manuf name, oh
well.   Aimed at a target approximately 60% of the Leica equivalent,
this lineup looks inexpensive compared to Leica, but will cost about 3x
Cosina Voigtlander products.   Probably due to a translation problem, I
found the English Zeiss Ikon brochure funny by claiming they were aiming
for the ultimate M lenses!   only mockups of the bodies were on display
at Zeiss or Hassleblad, the distributor of the new Zeiss Ikon camera.
The new Zeiss Ikon "ZM" lenses are made by Cosina except the humongus
15/2.8 and average size 85/2.     In contrast to the body,  working ZM
lenses were shown: 15/2.8, 21/2.8, 25/2.8, 28/2.8, 35/2, 50/2, 85/2. All
magnificently finished in either black or chrome with bayonet on style
lens hoods. Behind the scenes was a beautiful black paint Zeiss Ikon
body.  I was told 25, 28, 35, and 50 should be available late Oct or
early Nov.   The 15, 21, 85 in Feb.   The body in April.   The Zeiss
Ikon is the first Cosina M mount body to 1) use Leica's automatic
brightline system 2) have a long 75mm RF base length.  The brochure
alludes to a future digital Zeiss Ikon M mount, but without any
specifics.  Say good-bye to the G series.

Epson's RD-1 uses the same shutter and similar finder to the other new
Cosina made rangefinders.   Using only 3 framelines, 28/35/50, the 28
will be unfortunately close to useless with eyeglass users.  Epson makes
a big deal of the RD-1 having being the first 1:1 finder.  True enough,
but Epson's inexperience in RF design shows in choosing the 1:1 finder
in a camera with 28/35/50 framelines that makes the 1/3 of the
framelines useless for eyeglass wearers.    the .7 finder would have
been a much wiser choice for this camera.   I don't like the complicated
and expensive Seiko inspired control center sitting where the shutter
speed dial usually is.  It seems the designer has a little too much
watch experience.   I found the half stroke advance a bit bothersome,
especially since a simple change of gearing would give a more
traditional 35 RF type advance.    It will shoot  either JPG or RAW
format, but starts choking on the 3rd RAW shot in quick succession.   I
was not able to use the camera other than a few shots at the exhibition
booth, but more than one user has commented on the low JPG noise --
which the Epson design team was striving for.    I do like the flip top
LCD panel, nicely done.  The "rewind knob" is a really nifty way to make
your way thru the menu system.

I suspect Epson priced the RD-1 at $3000 to make it look like a bargain
compared to the estimated $7,000  for a digital Leica M, not
understanding how much price resistance they would get for the RD-1 in
that rarefied price category.   At the moment the RD-1  is the world's
best digital M mount camera, but Zeiss Ikon and Leica have both
announced digital M cameras.  What happens when there are 3, or who
knows, more?  The basic problem of any digital camera is that has a
computer style shelf life, with most digital cams having a very low
computer like resale value only two years after their initial sale.  to
justify $3000, most buyers will either simply have bucks, or be able to
make the investment back before it becomes obsolete.

It's odd after so many years of stagnation to see so much happening in
the RF world.  sure, its a small niche market, but some people like it.

I like the new Nikon F6.  I personally love the return to a detachable
high speed motor, and even more, the ability to use up to 10 AIS  manual
focus lenses with Nikon's latest matrix metering system.  The flash
system has also been improved. For the first time, gone from the new F6
are the seldom bought bulk film back and interchangeable finders.

At the Leica booth I visited with Leica's personable and now departed
CEO Cohn.  I like Mr. Cohn, and I am sorry to see him leave Leica.
Cohn's tenure produced the first two new Leica M cameras since the M6 of
1984, the MP and the M7, no small accomplishment.

While Canon and Nikon users get  excited about 14MP 35mm style cameras,
Mamiya did one better by introducing a 22MP SLR styled similar to the
old  2 2/4 Norita, using Mamiya 645 lenses.  that will give a few Canon
and Nikon photogs a touch choice. Wouldn't be interesting if Mamiya put
that 22MP back on the Mamiya 7?

Stephen Gandy