kbg32
neo-romanticist
Bike Tourist
Well-known
This is sure to cause much interest, speculation, praise and damnation. Can't wait!
jtullar
Established
Cant wait either! Sounds like they are trying to go the x100 route but with interchangeable lenses... exciting!
kbg32
neo-romanticist
Who knows what this can/will lead to.
back alley
IMAGES
probably another rebadged panasonic product, no?
johannielscom
Snorting silver salts
Sounds like a healthy company.
Field
Well-known
Leica has lower MP censors that still take better pictures than many of the higher MP sensors. The Leica glass helps but you can not overcome a sensor with glass. When you pixel peep it is impressive what they are doing with such "low-res" sensors. Anything they do that is new is going to be good.
Moving in a direction to enhance picture taking is always good... but as we all know at some point you have to be mindful about defeating the purpose of a rangefinder... It does however make sense that the evolution of cameras would eliminate the SLR aspect. The majority of people own cameras that only work off of LCD's, no viewfinder. The idea of an analog viewfinder is nice but at the same time there is nothing but simulacra just as the digital viewer is, of what a photo will actually be. There is more clarity in a digital viewfinder than in my Barnack...
That said their biggest, stupidest, idiotic weakness has been trying to replace high ISO's with a $10,000.00 lens. Perhaps they will fix this, in this new product that hopefully will have a price point that makes more sense. If you consider the utter lack of moving parts inside of a Leica M8/9, and then potentially remove all inside moving parts by having an electronic finder, the price should drop many thousands. There just is nothing left inside that is precision. The price difference in quality components vs. average is pitiful once you get past selling anything for more than a few hundred dollars.
Just to say, with a manually lens operated camera and electronic everything else you can still run a smaller battery pack, reduce size, and maintain quality. I like the idea very much of auto-focus being done with a moving sensor. It makes so much wicked sense... What would control it? Good question. The bigger point being the enormous reduction in weight by having something that weights a 1/50th of what glass weighs moving. The only thing they need to think about is having the data cord to it being replaceable (a plug one, not hard-soldered). The depth of the device should remain about the same as they are now, but the lens mount may be up to a half-inch forward from the body I imagine. This would bring the price up again though...
Well whatever, not like I am going to own one.
Moving in a direction to enhance picture taking is always good... but as we all know at some point you have to be mindful about defeating the purpose of a rangefinder... It does however make sense that the evolution of cameras would eliminate the SLR aspect. The majority of people own cameras that only work off of LCD's, no viewfinder. The idea of an analog viewfinder is nice but at the same time there is nothing but simulacra just as the digital viewer is, of what a photo will actually be. There is more clarity in a digital viewfinder than in my Barnack...
That said their biggest, stupidest, idiotic weakness has been trying to replace high ISO's with a $10,000.00 lens. Perhaps they will fix this, in this new product that hopefully will have a price point that makes more sense. If you consider the utter lack of moving parts inside of a Leica M8/9, and then potentially remove all inside moving parts by having an electronic finder, the price should drop many thousands. There just is nothing left inside that is precision. The price difference in quality components vs. average is pitiful once you get past selling anything for more than a few hundred dollars.
Just to say, with a manually lens operated camera and electronic everything else you can still run a smaller battery pack, reduce size, and maintain quality. I like the idea very much of auto-focus being done with a moving sensor. It makes so much wicked sense... What would control it? Good question. The bigger point being the enormous reduction in weight by having something that weights a 1/50th of what glass weighs moving. The only thing they need to think about is having the data cord to it being replaceable (a plug one, not hard-soldered). The depth of the device should remain about the same as they are now, but the lens mount may be up to a half-inch forward from the body I imagine. This would bring the price up again though...
Well whatever, not like I am going to own one.
venchka
Veteran
An interchangeable lens Red Dot Fuji X100????????????? Only $2,500??????????
PatrickONeill
Well-known
this explains the underwhelming announcement of the M9-P, all of their engineers are working on the new compact system, leaving none to refresh and update the digital M system.
kdemas
Enjoy Life.
I commend Dr. Kaufmann for really getting Leica on the right track towards stability. The company had been on a rocky road for so long that to see success now, during a devastating recession in some of their key markets, is pretty darn astounding.
It will be neat to see what this product ends up being, it certainly is another welcome step in my view. Time will tell of course!
It will be neat to see what this product ends up being, it certainly is another welcome step in my view. Time will tell of course!
Why would it be $2500 when the X1 is $2000?
They could do that before Sept 2012 though...
RayPA
Ignore It (It'll go away)
Leica said:
Lets be sure to thank those who made the sacrifices that make this new system possible.
/