Jeff Ascough under NDA for new Rangefinder

[dcsang]

Jeez.. you'd think the lot of you have never heard of . . . . . . . google.

Look up his name - first links do wonders 🙂
http://www.jeffascough.com/ (if you're flash averse then I suggest you bypass the site) 😀

You know who I'd like to hear from on this?
Riccis.

He's BOUND to know something 😀

Dave

 

[SolaresLarrave]

I wondered who he was and googled him.

He has astonishing stuff for wedding photography standards. I have seen some corny stuff, some decent artsy shots and others in documentary style that are quite touching, but his stuff is just consistently good. A pleasure... I'd get married just to have him photographing my wedding.

Now... Tom Abrammson was under a NDA himself before the Nokton 50mm f1.1 were launched. He had a copy and burned some film with it and posted it in Flickr but didn't let anyone in...

Hmmm... this is April's Fool to me.

 

[aizan]

the leica type rangefinder is showing its limits on digital, so i don't mind if it doesn't have a rangefinder patch. i still do mind lcds and evfs, though.

 

[froyd]

The blog is up but there's no content... I guess RFF members have generated enough "content" on their own in this thread!

http://jeffascough.typepad.com/af_rangefinder_blog/

 

[mrisney]

This is a fun thread, I admit it, something that should be able to be deduced, but I am struggling. Here is what we can start with.

OK, so what photography marketing dept. would contact a known wedding portraiture in the UK, and not London, to ask him to participate in field testing a FF rangefinder ? From what I can guess, Canon is pushing the 7D as a wedding camera solution, with it's autofocus and HD. As a 'Canon Ambassador' for the past 2 years, I can't imagine he would slip out something like that, without their approval.

A 35mm 1.2 is a fast lens, and a desired focal length amongst aficionado's of rangefinders. I think it's safe to say this is a new mount, and alluding to other lenses being introduced, it's not a fixed lens. Who is making such a lens or who has made lens like this in the past ?

Who would use magnesium alloy on a body - vs. a metal chassis with a High-impact plastic outer body ?

"Advanced AF", Hmmm, that should be a clue, especially since this is described as a RF.

There are probably more clues to go off. But for some reason, I think this is Fuji, they have been relatively quiet, they had little to announce at PMA.

Hassleblad and Fuji, working together in Europe, something more affordable than the Hasselblad H3D, something to compete against the M9 with. Maybe..

 

[xwhatsit]

the leica type rangefinder is showing its limits on digital

How so? That's not a challenge, by the way, I'm just a complete beginner who would like to understand a bit better 🙂

 

[Keith]

One thing that's very aparent by reading his blog is that he has a strong affiliation with Canon ... but I can't see them making anything that even vaguely fits the description he's given!

 

[splitimageview]

Some of you are close. Some are way off. Keep it going and we'll see soon who gets closest... 🙂

 

[Al Patterson]

Some of you are close. Some are way off. Keep it going and we'll see soon who gets closest... 🙂

So, a digiial Canon P?

A Hexar with a Sony sensor?

a Panasonic GF-2?

I'd like to see a digital CL/CLE, but he's not the source I'd expect for that news....

 

[photogdave]

I think it's Pentax!

 

[benmacphoto]

I'd like to see a digital CL/CLE, but he's not the source I'd expect for that news....

I'd like to see a digital CLE.

Or maybe a digital Contax G system.

 

[percepts]

It's a Bronica

 

[percepts]

No changed my mind it's a Zenit

 

[percepts]

No no no it's a digital Holga

 

[aizan]

How so? That's not a challenge, by the way, I'm just a complete beginner who would like to understand a bit better 🙂

1) digital sensors are completely flat, while film has a little thickness to it. it's harder to focus accurately when you have less wiggle room.

2) digital has more acutance than film, though the detail cuts off at a certain point. anyhow, the higher acutance makes small focusing errors more obvious.

leica type rangefinders can't compensate for focus shift, a particular problem of fast lenses (low light photography being the rangefinder camera's traditional strong point), so leica's most recent lenses minimize focus shift by incorporating floating elements. focusing with some older lenses will still be problematic, as well as long, fast lenses. the 1.4x magnifier is mandatory in the latter case. there's also the slight hassle of adjusting your lenses and bodies to get the most out of them.

 

[mgd711]

Some of you are close. Some are way off. Keep it going and we'll see soon who gets closest... 🙂

Its an April Fool...

 

[Jamie123]

Its an April Fool...

If it's an April Fool's joke then it's just lame. You make April Fool's jokes ON April 1st, not two days before.

 

[Krosya]

Its a digital Sony, based on Konica Hexar Technology. Will take Zeiss lenses.

Just my two cents, of course.

If its a Digital Hexar RF - it would be awsome!

Could be a digital camera based on Hexar AF?

 

[kbb]

I'm not sure you could make a high speed shutter out of magnesium alloy. Great for the framework of the camera, not so great for a shutter.

The Copal Square shutter of the nineteen-sixties was Aluminum alloy; Al is often alloyed with Mg among other metals/elements.
If the shutter was pure Mg, we could cll it "The Hindenburg Of Cameras!"
AF is a drag.

 

[ashwinrao1]

When the post was up, didn't he say, we'll find out in 2 days...

When the post was up, didn't he say, we'll find out in 2 days...

And 2 days is April 1st....

I am guessing it's an April fool. Gotcha!

If not, then at least something interesting. Smart move would be to support body sales and use Leica lenses...am I wrong about that? But I suspect Canonikon makes more $$$ of body sales than their high end glass. Make an affordable ff body with lenses and adaptability or Zeiss lens backing, and you have an affordable system...but darnit,

It's an April fool. Getting our hopes up....