Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/04/26

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Subject: [Leica] Re:OT Nikons new cameras
From: FELIXMATURANA at telefonica.net (Félix López de Maturana)
Date: Tue Apr 26 03:33:43 2005
References: <200504252256.j3PMq587098669@server1.waverley.reid.org>

>Felix tell us what this full frame digital capability has opened up for you
>possibility wise and how often you really use it!?
>Do you have a stack of 13x19s or 17x22's sitting there and the old ones in
>the stack shot with the cropped sensors are an embarrassment?



Hi Mark,

I think that this has been discussed "ad nauseam" in the endless quarrel 
between N and C owners! This also concerns to the future Leica sensors. 
The size of course does not matter if the final quality is up to the 
necessities you have. I do not print giant pictures so a so called APS 
had to be enough for me. But not speaking about noise issues with a 
minor sensor, my problem and BTW the problem of all users with some 
experience and, mainly, with a considerable amount of previous gear is 
that *all* your lenses became different. In my case I've got in the last 
36 years exactly 34 different Nikkor lenses that suddenly in the digital 
aspect  acquire a new nature.  So a extreme wide is not more a extreme 
wide but merely a wide. Of course the tele will become a "extended" tele 
by cropping the image.

New lenses for this new "format" are supposed to be smaller -most 
aren't- cheaper -again they aren't- and mainly they suppose on the wide 
side a redundancy as you need  -let's say- a standard 28-70 for film and 
a 18-50, or anything like that, for digital. Besides there are lenses 
with no equivalence in the digital arena. There are not outstanding 
primes or they, as the big teles, change nature mainly DOF. I have no 
14mm f2.8 for digital or a extreme wide zoom  as the 17(16)-35 f2.8. I 
know these lenses are far from perfect but I like them very much. Canon 
with the full format sensor digital cameras left to users the 
possibility of using all my lenses in their exact nature. Apart from 
this the Canon FF digital cameras are the moire near to perfection 
cameras I know. I should be still using my Nikkor lenses if the Nikon 
D2X had full format sensor because the excellent 17-35 f2.8 will be 
exactly this not a cropped  25-43 zoom and I like a lot the camera.

And Leica? Of course a FF sensor will be feasible. But at a astronomical 
price and therefore putting seriously in danger -more?- the future 
existence of the firm. So it's necessary to remark that every Leica -R 
and M- user with a big investment in lenses will have *different* lenses 
for digital pictures. If they shoot mostly tele -I'll think of Doug- 
they may be happy. If not they will feel not so well. And R backs will 
suppose that when switching from film to digital the lens instantly 
vary. I wish not this, so it's very easy I'll follow using film Leicas 
and Canon FF DSLR -by now two of them -the 1Ds and 1Ds MkII and with 
Canon lenses just because I'm very lazy and I trust the auto everything 
that so flawlessly works.

Best regards

Felix



Replies: Reply from mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner) ([Leica] Re:OT Nikons new cameras)