Bill Pierce
Well-known
Digital Leicas continue to improve. Leaked info on the upcoming M with the CMOS sensor is positive, But digital M’s have two drawbacks. (1) They are for many folks prohibitively expensive, especially if you need multiple bodies for quick use with different focal length lenses or need multiple bodies for back up when you are traveling. (2) The tolerances for lens cams and cam feelers must be extremely high if a variety of large aperture lenses are to focus accurately on a several bodies. This has not always been the case. Thom Hogan, whose industry views I respect, has said, “I think we’ll see Leica move from manual, rangefinder focusing to something else. But not yet.”
We have an expensive, somewhat specialized and limited system with a great history. But, there is no question that over the last decades it has been marketed in part as a conspicuous consumption item. The Leica camera used to be in the hands of a lot of folks who used photography to preserve some important moments. I don’t see that very much anymore. And it saddens me. Any thoughts here on the Rangefinder Forum?
We have an expensive, somewhat specialized and limited system with a great history. But, there is no question that over the last decades it has been marketed in part as a conspicuous consumption item. The Leica camera used to be in the hands of a lot of folks who used photography to preserve some important moments. I don’t see that very much anymore. And it saddens me. Any thoughts here on the Rangefinder Forum?