Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/02/05
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Doug Most, if not all, camera manufacturers saw the digital future coming. But it's definitely not Leica who are the leaders of this rallye. I agree Leica planned a long time ago that the R8, later R9, will be able to carry a digital back once in the future (what happened now), but I'm not shure if they knew anything about which sensor and which crop factor there will be in 6 or 8 years. The DMR makes sense, if you already have a R8/9 and several bags full of R lenses; but it is not reason to switch to Leica. The R line was, IMHO, always behind the Nikon/Canon SLR's (flame on me), and now it's even worst with the DSLR's. The benchmark now is set by a Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II or a Nikon D2X, even a EOS20D or a D70 can easily outperform the DMR (now I'm ready for the funeral pile :-) Maybe my attitude is a bit too pessimist concerning Leica's future, but I'm open to be surprised positively! Didier > > Considering the escapist mentality and the very long planning delays of > > Solms on one side, and the quick-stepping digital market on the other > > side, > >Don't be too sure of that. The R8 was designed for a digital back and that >was what, 6 years ago? More like 8 years ago if you count the planning, >design and tooling for the R8. 8 years ago the output of high-end digital >cameras was nowhere near the quality of 35mm film, yet Leica saw the future >and started planning for it. >Doug Herr