Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/04/23
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]i know most leica users are as committed to the brand and as traditional/conservative as leica engineers themselves (no insult intended), however, even if it difficult to add/improve on a Leica M one can hardly give Leica credit for having tried. The amount of time it took for Leica to add trivial technology like TTL, or improve on the VF to the current M7/MP class is hardly worth praise. And I find it hard to believe that one couldn't add some minor features like spot meter, loaded film viewing window etc. if they wanted. The simple answer is that they don't want to. I too use Leica M because of it's basic design concept and manual control, but that doesn't mean that there are no areas for improvement. p. --- Scott McLoughlin <scott@adrenaline.com> wrote: > Mark, > > I dream of a camera like this. Smaller, lighter, still tough enough. > Takes nice M primes, meter, hot shoe, self-timer. RF focusing and > as good a finder as can be crammed into the available form factor. > Maybe put the winder on the bottom to make for the longest possible > RF base length on a smaller camera, or hell, just use electric auto > film wind (fits into the tiny Oly, so might well save space vs. manual > film wind). Being a Leica, it could have leader out auto film rewind :-) > > Manual focus control with optional AE. Standard compensation tweaks. > Love to have mutliple metering modes (Leica semi-spot, center weighted, > matrix, spot). It's all just cheap electronics (witness the N80's meter). > > And yes, a digital twin with a decent APS sensor with good high ISO > support, and a new ultra wide "tri-elmar W" to help with the wider focal > length issues. > > Man, why won't some company build this camera so I can go buy > one or two of them :-) > > Scott > > Mark Rabiner wrote: > > >On 4/22/05 9:22 PM, "Richard" <richard-lists@imagecraft.com> typed: > > > > > > > >>Combined VF/RF? :-) > >> > >>At 08:50 PM 4/22/2005, you wrote: > >> > >> > >> > >>>Right on. With today's manufacturing and what not, what's > >>>feasible to "pack" into a small M mount camera? What would > >>>one have to "give up" vs. an M3-7 body? What could feasibly > >>>be added? > >>> > >>>Scott > >>> > >>> > >>// richard (This email is for mailing lists. To reach me directly, please > >>use richard at imagecraft.com) > >> > >> > >> > >It seems to me that from the engineering and design standpoints > >compactness > >issues have come a long way since the mid 50s. > > > >I think a Leica M with LTM proportions could easily be made. > >And most certainly have a meter. > >It could lean on electronics a bit to keep the price down; And the size > >down. > >That would not kill me. > >And it could use less brass than the LTM's had but more lighter materials. > >Titanium. And various high tech plastics. > >Like with Basalt fibers from the center of the earth or some absurd thing > >like that. > > > >I keep harping about what happened when the OM1 came out. > >And forced them all to take a long hard look at their fat camera designs. > >And that was when Leica came out with the CL non coincidently enough. > > > >Time to tighten the belt again. > >Shed some excess vowels. > > > >I can live with electronics and plastics. CPUs and CCD's. > > > >Oh yes of course when they come out with this camer it comes out in two > >verious. Both twins other wise. > >One for film one for digital. > > > >And if I was running the thing I'd have the film camera be half frame. > >24x18mm > >Which is close enough to the size of the 1.5 crop most of us have been > >working with for these last couple of years. > >23.7 x 15.6mm > > > > > > > > > > > > > >Mark Rabiner > >Photography > >Portland Oregon > >http://rabinergroup.com/ > > > > > > > > > > > >_______________________________________________ > >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 >