I Want Nothing More in a Digital Camera

[sunil mehta]

Those technologies can and will most likely originate from other form factors of digital camera. Once it matures there, Leica can adapt it for its digital RF, but that would mean Leica is again behind the curve in the digital world.. It's a vicious cycle.. Leica will probably no longer be around in 20 years <- that's not to say digital RF will be extinct by then though.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I welcome the day when Leica gets bought by a larger, more sustainable giant like Canon or Nikon.. At least they can afford the continuation of the niche brand.

My guess is Leica is more like Porsche. In the early 90s Porsche was having financial dificulties and there were rumors of VW or Toyota getting ready to snap up Porsche. Their technology and products were outdated and revered by a small group of believers. However, they have come back real strong with all their new models including a move away from air cooled engines to traditional water cooled engines that everyone else was using. Just like Leica finally moving to digital. Porsche now is more successful than ever and in fact own 30% of VW. Don't be surprised if in 10 years Leica end up owning a good chunk of Canon or Nikon as opposed to the reverse. You'd never have thought this possible of Porsche in 1990 but look at where they are now.

 

[ywenz]

My guess is Leica is more like Porsche. In the early 90s Porsche was having financial dificulties and there were rumors of VW or Toyota getting ready to snap up Porsche. Their technology and products were outdated and revered by a small group of believers. However, they have come back real strong with all their new models including a move away from air cooled engines to traditional water cooled engines that everyone else was using. Just like Leica finally moving to digital. Porsche now is more successful than ever and in fact own 30% of VW. Don't be surprised if in 10 years Leica end up owning a good chunk of Canon or Nikon as opposed to the reverse. You'd never have thought this possible of Porsche in 1990 but look at where they are now.

Yeah but Porsche's product offering is high performance cars. Little boys and grown men alike dream of fast sports cars. This brand is a niche by its price alone and it has much more universal appeal than the RF way of photography.

No one asks "Why is Porsche so expensive?". However, we constantly need to explain to other non-RF shooters of why a Leica commands such a high premium for such a low tech camera.

 

[sherm]

Yeah but Porsche's product offering is high performance cars. Little boys and grown men alike dream of fast sports cars. This brand is a niche by its price alone and it has much more universal appeal than the RF way of photography.

No one asks "Why is Porsche so expensive?". However, we constantly need to explain to other non-RF shooters of why a Leica commands such a high premium for such a low tech camera.

ywenz,

Once again you should stick to rap. Take a look at what Ford did since the begining of the year. They sold the Aston Martin brand off to a niche builder and the Jaguar brand is for sale right now. By your definition Aston Martin is a niche that couldn't support itself, now I know it's not a Bentley like all your rapper homies drive but a Niche nonetheless. And as far as explaining to other people about Leica, why do you need to do this? Are these people that you're talking about paying for your hobby?? Do you really need to justify it to them?? Who gives a rats a** what other people think as long as you're happy shooting with your M6 every six months or so..................

 

[RayPA]

ywenz,

Once again you should stick to rap....

What am I missing here? This is the second time you time you've said this. Is ywenz a rapper, or is there something else going on?

.

 

[ywenz]

What am I missing here? This is the second time you time you've said this. Is ywenz a rapper, or is there something else going on?

.

No idea either. I assume not everything is straight over there and I just let him be.

 

[bmattock]

I can bust a mad rhyme. True, that. Word.

Hehehehehe.

 

[RayPA]

No idea either. I assume not everything is straight over there and I just let him be.

aah...OK.... I know you're a photographer, but wasn't sure about the "rap" thing. I've been fairly active here, but I was hoping that I might have missed something.

I can bust a mad rhyme. True, that. Word.

Hehehehehe.

a tad long, but yeah you can bust 'em out on occassion.


.

 

[RML]

Bill, I'm with you on this.

There's no way I could be satisfied with my R-D1 in 20 years time. That, however, doesn't mean it won't be a nice camera to use (if it still works at that time). The same with my M2 and my Eos 300D.

I would love to see the technical developments taking place in my time, and become affordable to me. I'd love to use them too. Then again, there'll be times, places and circumstances I'd want something else. Maybe an M2, or that (then) clunky Eos 300D, or a Holga.

BTW, did you hear they stuck a flash on a Holga?! Things are getting weirder by the minute.

 

[rvaubel]

No one asks "Why is Porsche so expensive?". However, we constantly need to explain to other non-RF shooters of why a Leica commands such a high premium for such a low tech camera.

Well, maybe the analogy with expensive sports cars is a little weak. I think that the Leica M8 is more analogous to a Patek Philippe mechanical watch. Superb quality in a traditional package while being highly functional to boot. Leica doesn't need (nor can) keep up with the latest technology as long as the image is superb and arguably as good or better than anything else. Because of the excellent optics, a simplier, less processed RAW image can be offered to the photographer. The whole idea is simple elegance in machinery and image. As a big side benefit, it doesn't break your back to carry it around. And of course, fondle value is high in importance. Not to mention snob appeal.

Lets face it, if you have the money, it's worth it. Actually, even if you don't have the money, it's worth it. Just don't let the wife find out how much you have spent or your life won't be worth it.

Rex

 

[Chris101]

... BTW, did you hear they stuck a flash on a Holga?! Things are getting weirder by the minute.

But in the Holga Way I had to put tape on part of the hot shoe in order for it to work.

 

[jaapv]

What am I missing here? This is the second time you time you've said this. Is ywenz a rapper, or is there something else going on?

.

Maybe because of his previous avatar?

 

[ywenz]

Well, maybe the analogy with expensive sports cars is a little weak. I think that the Leica M8 is more analogous to a Patek Philippe mechanical watch. Superb quality in a traditional package while being highly functional to boot. Leica doesn't need (nor can) keep up with the latest technology as long as the image is superb and arguably as good or better than anything else. Because of the excellent optics, a simplier, less processed RAW image can be offered to the photographer. The whole idea is simple elegance in machinery and image. As a big side benefit, it doesn't break your back to carry it around. And of course, fondle value is high in importance. Not to mention snob appeal.

Lets face it, if you have the money, it's worth it. Actually, even if you don't have the money, it's worth it. Just don't let the wife find out how much you have spent or your life won't be worth it.

Rex

Agreed! I know a good argument when I see one.

 

[sherm]

No idea either. I assume not everything is straight over there and I just let him be.

Yang,

Everything is fine over here, but I do appreciate your concern Young Master Wen fancies himself a rapper/gangster in so many of his photos and he does some work for a get this, Hindi Rapper called "Kid Skilly" this is why I make reference to the rap genre when I reply to yenz, yang, wen or whatever...........

I've attached a photo of our budding rapper below for your review. I'm sure ywenz isn't confused just being coy

Sherm

 

[dovi]

Go! Go! Go! El Guapo!

Go! Go! Go! El Guapo!

I can bust a mad rhyme. True, that. Word.

Hehehehehe.

Go! Go! Go! El Guapo !

I knew there was somethin special goin on!

 

[ywenz]

wow sherm, quite the research there. I don't know whether to be flattered or creeped. Looks like I was correct in my previous assessment.

 

[bmattock]

wow sherm, quite the research there. I don't know whether to be flattered or creeped. Looks like I was correct in my previous assessment.

Aw, you've got a stalker! Is this your first? The first stalker is always special.

 

[bmattock]

Fo chizzel my nizzel.....

I said that to my neice and she punched me on the arm and said to stop embarrassing her. So I said "Wassup wit dat, homes? Where you at?"

Then she ran away screaming.

I guess she be hatin' on an OG.

 

[sherm]

Aw, you've got a stalker! Is this your first? The first stalker is always special.

Ywenz,

You shouldn't be creeped at all, just wanted to explain how I got the rap comparison.


Sherm

 

[MartinL]

Old thinking, clean out your brains! . . . .
.

A nice piece. Humbling. It won't influence my decision making one bit, but it will certainly temper my rationalizing. Interesting, how my Nikon Coolpix 990 broke major ground a zillion years ago. It's still a very serviceable p&s. My Canon 1D Mk II was likewise a leap . . . . and the Mk III. Leaps coming at us from all directions. I'm on my way to a M8. Looking forward to being around when it's out of date even more than it already is.

(last time I cleaned out my brain, it was immediately occupied by squatters from Saturn).

 

[etrigan63]

Old thinking, clean out your brains!

There will be more, much more, to digital cameras than just more. More megapixels, more storage, longer lenses, faster recording, and etc. Those are just improvements on what we already have - which is great, but it is just saying "Cameras will get better and faster and perhaps cheaper" like computers have.

But we are on the cusp of something wonderful. Cameras are about to start doing things that could not be done with any kind of camera in the past. Photography will be stood on its head. This will be revolutionary, not just evolutionary.

A bunch of things in the pipeline, hope they come to fruition:

* Liquid lens. Imagine a lens that is deformed into various shapes by an electrical charge. It changes to whatever shape is required for the optical characteristics you want. Want a pre-war 'cron? There's a button to emulate that optical formula. How about a post-war 'Lux? Same thing. Zoom? How about from ultra-wide to ultra-long, and all at the same aperture? How about nearly instantly, without any motors whirring or mechanical things moving about? What about a 'cron with some of the characteristics of a lens baby as well? Just for fun, how about some of the optical experiments in camera lenses that never got built because human mechanical engineering couldn't build them to those tolerances? Differential focus that leaves large format movements in the dust?

Now, for the sensor. Not just high ISO or low ISO, but a single sensor that can move smoothly between say 50 ISO and 10K ISO, bringing with it things you never saw before, like available light photos with real depth of field, because you can shoot in near darkness at f/16. But that's just evolutionary technology. For revolutionary, how about a single sensor that can have different sensitivities on the same surface for the same photo? HDR like you never saw it. Multiple exposures from the same photo capture, not just PS manipulation after the fact. Real-time IR, UV, and visible light captures, all at once, from the same shutter press, and without special lens filters?

How about some older technology that never worked that well dredged up and fixed? Like Canon's eye motion technology, the camera focusses where we move our eye in the frame. Shutter actuation upon sensing the muscle firing for the trigger finger.

How about an LCD screen that can display a histogram in real time prior to making the shot, and an LCD that can be removed and worn on various parts of the body, connected wirelessly but still live and in realtime? A flip-down widget over the eye that allows you to see what the camera sees for over-the-head shots so you can take photos in crowds.

Intelligent color recognition that allows you to do B&W conversion and group colors as you wish them to be represented in gray tones, not just according to their luminance, no need for conversion or color filters.

Portraits that recognize what should be sharp and what should not be sharp on human skin, make allowances (intelligently and with input from the photographer) for variations in skin town, blemishes, and so on.

Photos that are automatically tagged with geo tags and time/date stamps that will allow (if you permit it) future historians to know with certainty what happened and when at different points in history.

Cameras that cooperate with news services (under the control of the photographer) to feed still and video directly into news services to cover news events as they happen - full credit and payment given of course. If you happen to be at an event, and you take photos and you have elected to be part of the group that can feed data into the news net stream, an editor can select one or more of your photos as they come streaming in, use them as if you were a photojournalist, give you credit/copyright, and issue micropayments into your paypal account on the spot - in real time. Go to a lot of parades - make a couple of bucks. Happen to be where there is a bad wreck? Get a byline and a buck or two performing a public service. Another Rodney King? With dozens of citizen journalists covering from every available angle, the truth will soon be known - could be bad cops, could be bad guy - but more cameras are better, right?

I'm telling you, digital cameras are about to go off in directions we never thought of, because there was no way to do it with film. NOT KNOCKING FILM.

But no, the M8 would not satisfy me. I want it all.

Bring on the eschaton, baby.

You forgot to mention plenoptic cameras that can adjust the focus after the shot has been recorded....