Incredible dig Leica nears completion

[Azinko]

On the 'photo.net' site a man is re-engineering his Leica with a full frame 14 megpix sensor........

I've been watching with increasing interest for a few days now......this morning the latest 'installment' covered the initial testing of the sensor with his self-designed cirduit board and to quote; "It lives"

It's time for people to go and have a look......First images are expected in a few weeks time.

The project is called 'M2aD'

 

[Ken Ford]

Huw is amazing, isn't he?

 

[Azinko]

Not just "amazing" ken,.....there's some serious implications for quite a lot of people I'd say...

 

[einolu]

Can you post a link?

 

[rover]

And to think that Leica has been working on this for how many years?

 

[Ken Ford]

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00FPuU

There are also several earlier threads by Huw...

 

[RML]

Huw's projects are always extraordinary but this one takes first place.

 

[peter_n]

Yes indeed this one is worth watching. Huw is a pretty amazing guy. I love Roger Michel's comment "if a regular guy can build a digital M with junk lying around his kitchen, why can't leica do the same over a long weekend?" and despite all the naysayers Huw is ploughing ahead. That oscilloscope looks like it could have been built from a Tektronix kit. Makes me want to go and get their current catalog!

 

[ch1]

Yes, but Leica has been very busy with other projects, such as suing some of their vendors for using the Leica logo. Seriously. 😎

Or, perhaps because Leica, as is the case with any manufacturer, has to come up with a way to make more than ONE!

 

[matt fury]

I'm sure it's not quite so easy for Leica to start churning them out, but I'm positive they could've done it quicker and more efficiently than they have/are.

 

[dgray]

Making a camera and making money off of a camera are two vastly different things. Businesses do not exist to make us happy, they exist for profit. Sometimes there is overlap between the two, but if not then profit margins drive the decisions. I'm also quite confident that Huw is going to produce a camera that makes very nice images, but it will be interesting to see the pictures, get a final description of the interface and features of the camera, and then ask "How much would I be willing to pay for this camera?" compared to how much it cost Huw himself to make it.

 

[gustav[] pEña]

Do you imagen the idea of having the chance to convert all old cameras into digital?

thits is what Ive been waiting for! Actually Ive been waiting for something more easy like THE DIGITAL NEGATIVE but it seems its not gonna happen.


gustav[]

 

[Ben Z]

I won't even click on photo.net but has anyone seen any actual images from this DIY digital Leica? It seems like that would be worth waiting for before making rash statements like ""if a regular guy can build a digital M with junk lying around his kitchen, why can't leica do the same over a long weekend?". But then again that forum is mostly about bitterness and venting than insight and contemplation.

 

[jlw]

BFD. Look at the size of that circuit board. I can't see how he's going to get the sensor to sit at the film plane without taking a jeweler's saw to his M2. How many of you are going to want to do that?

Even once he gets the board seated, he's going to need to hang on a lot of stuff to handle the interface and storage. It's not going to look or handle like a Leica anymore. And then how will it perform? Those of us who work with digital cameras know that different manufacturers get very results from the exact same sensor, depending on the programming choices that go into the image processing.

I still say that this is a cool DIY project, but that's all. It's no indictment of Leica that he can bodge up a breadboarded vaguely operational thing faster than they can engineer a usable, salable product.

 

[ywenz]

This camera is far from finished.. I do applaud him for trying though. I hope he can build a succesful camera and show those fancy German engineers off!

From the looks of things, he has not even approached the most difficult aspect of the project yet...

 

[leafy]

Or, perhaps because Leica, as is the case with any manufacturer, has to come up with a way to make more than ONE!

But since Leica made cameras by hand, wouldn't be the same if they make one or many? There is little automation involved.

 

[Ken Ford]

BFD. Look at the size of that circuit board. I can't see how he's going to get the sensor to sit at the film plane without taking a jeweler's saw to his M2...

I respectfully suggest you check out Huw's various past threads on this project - he *has* been hacking away at the donor M2 with a jeweler's saw, which has been making the fondlers apoplexic.

I think he has a very good chance of making this work, precisely due to his limited goals:

• B&W only

• Onboard storage only

• AAA batteries only

• No preview/playback screen

Huw isn't an ordinary tinkerer - I suspect he's well used to prototyping projects like this. Also, he's not developing it for sale - the challenge seems to be a form of recreation for him! (Poor, sick man.)

 

[Azinko]

If he gets even half decent images from the finished camera,...and his track record appears to be 'tasty', then there will be big repercussions, the least of which will be the vast number of people offering him money to repeat the method on their Leica.

 

[Azinko]

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00Eq5R&tag

more info on the design 'spec' and thinking behind this project....

 

[jlw]

If he gets even half decent images from the finished camera,...and his track record appears to be 'tasty', then there will be big repercussions, the least of which will be the vast number of people offering him money to repeat the method on their Leica.

Define "vast"...