Leica T "accidentally revealed"...

Keith said:
I think the thing's ugly personally ... which is pretty big coming from someone who really likes the styling of the Sigma DPMs! :p
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Ha...

The Quattro I am going to pre-order when they finally make available looks weirder to me :p.

I kind of like it...but not enough to put up the cash for one right now and definitely not a color like yellow for me :).

Gary
 
Completely irrelevant but so funny...
My buddy and I went to lunch today and we discussed the "T" - I told him the price ($1850) and I explained the 45min video, the 1.2kg block of aluminum and the 45 min of hand polishing.

He noted "You know how much a CNC machine costs? The costs to design it? And you know that dude who's polishing that thing is getting $40/hour... I never should say this but $1850 is cheap. Leica will make their money.. this is like giving away a free printer... they'll get you on the lenses" :D

Cheers,
Dave
 
GaryLH said:
http://blog.mingthein.com/2014/04/24/2014-leica-t-typ-701-review/#more-8513

Hmmmm.. Ming reported shutter shock but he is also saying that he has the beta sw. So hopefully fw fix.

...
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Michael Reichmann reported the shutter vibration... but at one speed only. This might mot be present in production cameras.

Please note that the ISO 800 shot above is slightly blurred. Since all shots were taken at the same time and in the same manner (tripod / self timer), I explored the problem and discovered that there appears to be some shutter vibration at around 1/3rd of a second.Two test runs showed the same results. A bit faster or a bit slower a shutter speed and no vibration was detected. It is not clear to me if this an anomaly or not.
 
more choice is good, and being milled from a solid block reeks of high quality, but I am more than happy with fuji so I will stick with them, anyway imagine what the wife would say if I bought one
 
Hmmm I read this thread to try find out more useful information about the camera and its just turned out to be one huge Leica slate fest! Im surprised at people in this forum, the core of this site revolves around Leica and cameras that use its mount and with that comes an understanding what Leica is and what it costs. This isnt Photonet where Canon and Nikon Digital user like to have their Leica digs claiming what plastic fantastic they can get for a fraction of the cost. When the X Vario came out people went off because it wasnt with interchangeable lenses. Now they have come up with one people are still on the attack? When was the last time you saw a Leica interchangeable lens body for well under 2 grand? Its been a decade or two I think I cant even remember that far back! Its not a rebadge, its a hand crafted German Made product, that adds a premium cost to it alone. Without doubt it wont have a full feature set but Leica has never matched the Japanese for tech, their route has always been high quality simplicity. Its pretty insulting to label people as rich socialites who just want camera jewellery before we can even get our hands on the thing. I spent over a decade to save and research and acquire my range of Leica M lenses, which has proven a viable investment unlike most other lenses that depreciate. Having gotten to know quite a few of you I have rarely met anyone that has the big bucks to slam down on any Leica product for show its generally through careful research and bartering and trading their kit while convincing spouses that their purchase really is worth while. Hardly the purchasing habits of the mega rich. Nor is Leica the "label" brand people try to make it out to be. Most I have ever spoken too these days havent even heard of Leica, Canon, Nikon, Sony, yes but Leica? Who? I will take close look at this camera as I do any that take M lenses, maybe see if Fuji do bring out a full frame X as rumours are saying. Im not sure, either way I think a sub 2k interchangeable lens camera, made in Germany from Leica can only be a positive thing for choice so lets not mock the people who may choose it.
 
Palaeoboy said:
Im not sure, either way I think a sub 2k interchangeable lens camera, made in Germany from Leica can only be a positive thing for choice so lets not mock the people who may choose it.
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The T body + the 23/2 + the "Visoflex" will cost over 4k.

Then keep calm and look at what a Fuji XE-2 body + 23/1.4 costs.

Ah and I don't have a spouse whom to obey. :D
 
Thanks for this ...

kbg32 said:
For those that read Sean Reid's reviews -

"Hello,

This morning I published three articles, each of them detailed and extensive,
that are based on about two months of testing the new Leica T camera and lenses
in the field and studio. They are:

1. A report on the Leica T running beta firmware. Many aspects are covered
including side by side studio tests of file quality (at various ISO levels) from
the T and the Pentax K3.

2. A report on the T Summicron 23/2.0 ASPH, running beta firmware, based on
field testing and on my usual full set of studio tests.

3. A report that looks at the performance of two compact 21 mm rangefinder
lenses on the Leica T as compared to the (reference standard) Ricoh GXR
Mount-A12. This includes field examples as well as the expected side by side
studio tests of resolution, luminance vignetting and color drift.

Enjoy!


Cheers,
Sean Reid
Publisher"
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Paleoboy - I'm with you all the way.

Many of us use aps-c "mirrorless" cameras with Leica-mount lenses. Leica are selling an M adapter for this and clearly think it's compatible. The recent popular examples (A7 twins) have been around this price point. Yes I know they are FF, but they are also not Leica and don't "do" wides for the most part, negating the FF advantage. The only other "new" M-mount digital cams are the Ricoh GXR, which seems to be around $5-600 second hand at present, or the just-remaindered Epson R-D1 which is about $1700.

Many people have compared this to a Sony NEX 7, which is around the $1000 mark.

I think it's realistically priced for what it is, which is a small-run premium product.

And having just read the reviews, I wish them well. This is a camera not in any way targeted at the RFF crowd.

I see this as a camera for my brother. He's not a photographer: his iphone does what he wants. He buys brand name everything. This camera is a stretch if you don't have that mentality, it's a no-brainer if you do: works like a iphone, has top-shelf IQ, is a LEICA.

And Leica have left themselves options for future FF. And surely the next M will have compatible EVF hardware.
 
I liked Huff's comment, "If Apple made a camera, this would be it."
I found it very appealing and a very clean design.
Many of the comments remind me of the ones the M8 got when it came out, or the Monochrom.
 
Horrifically ugly and pointless for a brand with such legacy. Its akin to asking Mercedes to mass produce overpriced kick scooters.
 
chikne said:
http://vimeo.com/92073118

lololololololololol
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I had myself duct taped to a chair with my eye lids pried open but could only make it to the 3:04 mark. lol

Actually I think this camera will sell extremely well to the targeted audience. I'd kill the vario x, or whatever they call it, from the product line.
I think this product hits the bull's eye for Leica . It's a recognizable, non-threatening, modern form factor alternative for their exclusive clientele.
 
Palaeoboy said:
Im surprised at people in this forum, the core of this site revolves around Leica and cameras that use its mount and with that comes an understanding what Leica is and what it costs.
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Well, there's a grand issue right there. What Leica "is" is a matter of debate, as the company and its priorities seemed to have changed quite a bit with the digital transition, and i'd wager a lot of us here are remnants of the film era. Back then, yes, the money i paid for M7s was quite high, but it was still less than a 5D, and an M7 is never going to be made obsolete. Even the lenses were spendy, but not at the levels they now reach. There was no questioning that, when Leica released an MP after an M7, it was addressing needs/wants of its customer base, and it wasn't straying from tradition. But, tradition is gone.....

Now, they're putting out disposable product with lifetime prices. And, never on top of the tech development curve. That's fine if that's all they're capable of, but then the go toward insult by marketing that stuff to 'the wrong kinds of people.' On a rumor forum, the M's firmware update was illustrated by an M camera in two white-gloved hands. The Precious M. Then, the T is described lustily as requiring 50 hours to construct each body, and that it takes one craftsman 45 minutes to polish the hull. Whoopdi-damn-doo. Seriously? Is that what they're about these days? Has anyone ever said what they really need to better photography is an aluminum, handcrafted hull?

I'm always sorta wondering if they do what they do in order to keep the price up toward exclusion. Surely, it's a niche, and companies and marketers are always keen on identifying and satisfying a niche, but christ on a bike — they don't seem to be able to do it without leaning toward insult.

I'm certainly not anti-luxury goods. I covet quite often. But, that, again, is the issue — the 'switch.' Leica used to be one thing. And, now, they're like an extremist perversion of that one thing.

"...what Leica is and what it costs" is now obscene.

Back to this particular camera....
It's, what, $2850 for just a body? And, the lenses are $1500+ each. That's a lot for APS-C, but i suppose, in Leica world, it's a 'bargain' compared to the M8's starting point. But, again, we're dealing with last year's tech. It uses the same sensor as the X-Vario? No viewfinder... again, not terribly in touch with the 'leica audience' — at least, not with the core audience. The people who built and sustained the legacy. This is just another camera, and even if it outperforms a Fuji, it can't do it by any significant margin, and there is no advantage it could have that will actually improve a photograph.

I do applaud the user interface, from what i've seen in stills. The graphical+touch approach is probably a winner.

Yeah. But, no. No thanks to the entire deal. I have zero interest in any format smaller than 'full frame,' and for this money, i'd rather have a Sony. In fact, if i had a billion dollars, i'd rather have a Sony. At some point, it's not even really about the money. It's about the sense or lack thereof.
 
rlim1987 said:
Horrifically ugly and pointless for a brand with such legacy. Its akin to asking Mercedes to mass produce overpriced kick scooters.
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Really?

I think it's akin to an A-Class. No-one would mistake it for an S-Class, the basic function is performed equally well by any number of Asian rivals, but it's a premium product that will sell like hotcakes.

This is a camera for the iphone generation. It will not lose Leica even 1 M-camera sale: it's another thing entirely. BUT...

It can take M lenses... there's an upgrade path for the ambitious to move up to an M.

BTW - wouldn't the kick scooter of cameras be a null-series Leica? I wonder if anyone has produced one of those recently...
 
DougFord said:
I had myself duct taped to a chair with my eye lids pried open but could only make it to the 3:04 mark. lol

Actually I think this camera will sell extremely well to the targeted audience. I'd kill the vario x, or whatever they call it, from the product line.
I think this product hits the bull's eye for Leica . It's a recognizable, non-threatening, modern form factor alternative for their exclusive clientele.
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Never made it past the 2:30 mark... Knock $500 off and just give me the machine buff version :p cost reduced version... Then I can think about it as a potential Ricoh gxr a12 module replacement.

Gary
 
I think that this shows us where the digital 'M' might go. The next generation can be both a manual focus rangefinder and an autofocus with the rangefinder viewfinder used per the Fuji 'X' series, or via EVF. They might even go with a touch screen UI. Of course they would use the 'T' mount/ adapter..
 
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