digital Ikon

[dougiec29]

I thought that I had read Zeiss comments that their final goal of the Ikon revival was a digital Ikon. So I sent them an email encouraging them to pursue a full-frame sensor digital Ikon. Here's what I got back:

Dear Mr. C...,

thanks for your request and your interest in our products.
Within the next time, it seems not to be possible to offer a high class digital rangefinder camera that fulfills all requirements regarding sensor size, image quality and price.

Best Regards

Bertram Hönlinger

I guess since Leica has developed lenses almost exclusively for the M8 (Wide TE, 21mm 2.8) the crop factor isn't a huge deal, but the crop also expands the depth of field and puts 50mm lenses at a weird focal length.

Although I'm still undecided as to whether the crop factor kills it for me, it seems that we won't have any Zeiss alternative for a while.

Doug

 

[Nachkebia]

It is an old debated news....... it would be great if bunch of geeks wont start swearing how amazing M8 is 😀

 

[Trius]

Vlad ... you mean it (M8) maybe isnt? Damn, they had me convinced. 😀

BTW, your latest shots in Paris are KILLER.

 

[blw]

Ha....I saw this & went...oh another thread on this topic!

Hats off to you dougiec29 for even asking them. I think the best way to look at this subject is...if you have to have it & it has to be RF....you have 2 choices....if you can compromise on RF, you have many choices.

Meanwhile, I will gladly wait for a full frame digital RF- as I prefer wide angle stuff- and there is plenty of film to tide me over until that day comes.

If digital is the only way, I already have that with the DSC V3- which is, ironically, the first time I ever saw the term "rangefinder"(it was described somewhere as "rangefinder-like").

 

[rxmd]

Unlike Leica Camera AG, Zeiss' survival doesn't depend on getting a digital rangefinder to the market as quick as possible, so let's just wait five years and see what happens.

 

[jaapv]

Zeiss use sensors made in Asia almost exclusively in their professional imagining equipment....

 

[Mazurka]

Zeiss will either produce their own sensors for the sake of quality or just do nothing - at least not shop for sensors in Far East.

Why is that? Zeiss doesn't seem to mind mating their optics with Japanese sensors on the Sony SLR, digicams and camcorders, or even on Nokia phones.

 

[varjag]

Zeiss is not in electronics buisness, and a high resolution CCD isn't something you can produce on a workbench with file and screwdriver. The cost of setting up a modern waffer plant would be in the billions. I don't see why they would do that.

 

[Mazurka]

How many companies in the pro-sumer camera market are making sensors, besides Sony, Canon and Fuji? And if Sony sensors are so unreliable, why do so many Japanese makes use them? Keep in mind that Sony also supplies Nikon, Canon's closest rival in the market. Even Canon digicams use Sony sensors exclusively.

I agree with Eugene. Zeiss simply cannot achieve anything close to economy of scale if they make their own sensors. "Zeiss is not a mass market product. The company does not need the photographic products to survive, it's a very healthy business." All the less reason for them to make sensors.

BTW, the M8's problem is caused by an overly-thin hot mirror and not the sensor itself.

 

[jarski]

When Canon builds its own fab to produce sensors because the Sony sensors proved to be highly unreliable,...

how Sony sensors have proven to be highly unreliable ?

 

[rfrangefinder]

July 28th, 2007 will be the 75th anniversary of the Contax brand name. The licence contract with Kyocera expired some time ago.

Dear toyotadesigner, I had no idea that the Contax licence between CZ and Kyocera lapsed. I thought it had some time to go. Where did you get that info from? I realise this is a bit off topic, but FWIW, I have a pile of Contax N mount stuff (inc the FF ND) waiting for CZ to reassign the licence and resurrect the N mount. Of course, the chances of all those things happening is so slight, I have actually given up and plan to convert the lenses to EOS mount.

 

[Mazurka]

Toyota recalled more than 750,000 vehicles from the U.S. market in May 2005 alone. I guess they too are unreliable. 🙄

With 20+ years of making AF SLRs, even Canon is having AF problems with the 1D Mark III, their flagship no less. Does that mean Canon cameras are unreliable?

The fact is, when production volume is high year in and year out, there's gonna be recalls sooner or later. Without the actual percentage figures, it's not possible to say whether overall reliability is lacking.