Leica to announce a new M-mount M6 film camera in Oct 2022

[Noserider]

That is likely where the cost saving is coming from, the electric shutter unit. Easier to make off-site, using quartz timing and shutter timing correction will support claims of Superior Precision while being much cheaper to make (mechanical shutter parts, assembly and 'tuning" eliminated or reduced".

Maybe they'll have a tiny speaker where they will play a 1957 MP shutter sound with every exposure.

 

[Retro-Grouch]

That hits me hard. Electronic shutter in a Leica. Bah!

Erik.

Originally posted by WJJ3 View Post
The electronically timed cloth shutter has a wonderful action and sound. My Minolta X-500 is so smooth and nice. I would like to try an M7 someday.
You are quite correct! The Minolta CLE has the quietest and smoothest focal plane shutter that I've ever experienced. Could Leica incorporate such a shutter in a new M camera? The technology has been around for 40 years, so it ain't rocket science. Unfortunately the Leica purists might not bite for any electronics beyond a meter.

 

[Pál_K]

Well, if one views a Leica M as a mechanical masterpiece, then any camera with electronics related to moving parts won’t generate the same appeal.

Same situation as mechanical watches.

I have a friend who once stated, “I like hobbies that don’t require batteries.”

 

[JeffS7444]

According to a similar thread on http://l-camera-forum.com this new film camera has been being tested for 9 months already. It seems that their consensus is M6 style with electronic shutter with a top speed of 1/4000th with a sprinkling of new a CM style camera. Not far from our guesses really.

"M6 style with a sprinking of CM" would be a new one to me. But would it be an M-camera, a premium compact, or something else?

 

[astrosecret]

so buy an MP. the new one sounds interesting but definitely too expensive for me.

 

[jsrockit]

"M6 style with a sprinking of CM" would be a new one to me. But would it be an M-camera, a premium compact, or something else?

No i meant two different cameras. Most thought new style m6, but some thought a new cm type of camera.

 

[Out to Lunch]

Anyone disappointed with the specs of the new rumored Leica, consider buying the Millennium M6. The last one sold on eBay went for US$ 14,999.90. 😎 Cheers, OtL

 

[Bille]

Whenever Leica announces something new.

 

[Erik van Straten]

I think that the good old MP is not so bad. Can it be improved? I like the name MP2.

Erik.

 

[Freakscene]

I think that the good old MP is not so bad. Can it be improved? I like the name MP2.

From a usability perspective, no. Everything is vital apart from the frameline preview lever. It does everything it needs to well, but nothing more. But maybe there are manufacturing changes that will provide the same user experience with more efficiency to Leica. And if the changes mean they will keep making film cameras, I say it’s a good thing. I already have an MP, so I doubt I would get the new camera, but I think it’s a good development.

Marty

 

[luuca]

From a usability perspective, no. Everything is vital apart from the frameline preview lever. It does everything it needs to well, but nothing more. But maybe there are manufacturing changes that will provide the same user experience with more efficiency to Leica. And if the changes mean they will keep making film cameras, I say it’s a good thing. I already have an MP, so I doubt I would get the new camera, but I think it’s a good development.

Marty

there's just one thing that I'd like to "improve" on my MP:

I really would love the frames around rangefinder and viewer with a bump like the ones on the M3.

everytime I use the M3 I realize that the rangefinder and viewer glasses stay way more cleaner and without fingerprints than when I use the MP

 

[Erik van Straten]

From a usability perspective, no. Everything is vital apart from the frameline preview lever. It does everything it needs to well, but nothing more.

If it does everything it needs to, it does not need to do more, but I do not like the glossy paint surface, I would prefer a dull paint surface that stays dull even after years of use.

Also the font used for the letters/numbers could be much nicer, I don't like that square font, a classic font would be better. And then the upholstery...

It would be great if the camera got an M3 viewfinder, but that certainly won't happen.

Erik.

 

[f.hayek]

It would be great if the camera got an M3 viewfinder, but that certainly won't happen.

Erik.

Why not? Why not a very wide VF mechanism with 0.85 or higher magnification that encompasses lens focal lengths from 21-135mm? Perhaps the viewfinder field-of-view changed by a flick of a switch moving an internal shutter? If the MP is already 'mechanical perfection', think "out of the box" for its successor.

From a usability perspective, no. Everything is vital apart from the frameline preview lever. It does everything it needs to well, but nothing more. But maybe there are manufacturing changes that will provide the same user experience with more efficiency to Leica. And if the changes mean they will keep making film cameras, I say it’s a good thing. I already have an MP, so I doubt I would get the new camera, but I think it’s a good development.

Marty

Reminds me when the Glock 9mm was about to be introduced. Aside from the novel polymer parts to save weight, many, especially those with the elegant Beretta 9mm, pondered how or why this could be improved upon. Well, the revolutionary simple mechanism changed the way the device needed to be maintained and added to its reliability. The RF being the camera's least shock-resistent part that's easily thrown out of alignment, is one of the biggest gripes around here.

Just as an exercise in pure speculation, using titanium parts for a simpler mechanism inside and a completely re-imagined focusing mechanism would make for a much lighter, more compact & rugged successor to the iconic but dense and complex MP.

 

[jsrockit]

Just as an exercise in pure speculation, using titanium parts for a simpler mechanism inside and a completely re-imagined focusing mechanism would make for a much lighter, more compact & rugged successor to the iconic but dense and complex MP.

But I think the dense and complex aspects of the M are what sells in a film camera.

 

[Evergreen States]

Why not? Why not a very wide VF mechanism with 0.85 or higher magnification that encompasses lens focal lengths from 21-135mm? Perhaps the viewfinder field-of-view changed by a flick of a switch moving an internal shutter? If the MP is already 'mechanical perfection', think "out of the box" for its successor.

This is what Fujifilm did with their X-Pro1 and X-Pro2 optical viewfinders. I'd like to think Leica could execute it better by having a real rangefinder mechanism and a bigger and brighter finder than the X-Pros. It's pretty nifty on the X-Pro series, though I mostly shoot with the 23mm and 35mm lenses (35/50 equivalent) so am happy with the X-Pro3 finder, which dropped the variable magnification feature.

 

[pyeh]

I wonder if this is finally the time that Leica introduces an M-mount EVF camera. This will satisfy the "revolutionary" (hardly) and "lower cost" claims. Not that I particularity want an EVF camera for rangefinder lenses, unless it's much reduced in size from an M camera.
Or it's that camera that Leica mooted, maybe even patented some years back, which had two little sub-cameras or something that would converge their images as you focused.

 

[boojum]

I wonder if this is finally the time that Leica introduces an M-mount EVF camera. This will satisfy the "revolutionary" (hardly) and "lower cost" claims. Not that I particularity want an EVF camera for rangefinder lenses, unless it's much reduced in size from an M camera.
Or it's that camera that Leica mooted, maybe even patented some years back, which had two little sub-cameras or something that would converge their images as you focused.

I am not sure what you meant by "mooted." Can you explain?

 

[jsrockit]

I wonder if this is finally the time that Leica introduces an M-mount EVF camera. This will satisfy the "revolutionary" (hardly) and "lower cost" claims. Not that I particularity want an EVF camera for rangefinder lenses, unless it's much reduced in size from an M camera.
O

EVF film M? Leica has stated in a recent interview that the M series will continue to have a mechanical rangefinder because that is exactly what makes it an M.

 

[JeffS7444]

My prediction is that the new MP will be pretty much the same MP that you know and love, but with refreshed electronics, and maybe a ~6.5K USD price. Leica has claimed that M cameras are selling as fast as they can manufacture them, and that they cannot readily increase production. And if this is true, I think it would make more sense for Leica to increase the price, and to keep doing it over time until demand and supply are more or less equal.

 

[pyeh]

I am not sure what you meant by "mooted." Can you explain?

For the past maybe 3 years pundits have been wishing and fantasising about a an M-mount body with EVF instead of optical finder. when the digital CL came out many people were disappointed by it being APS-C.
Having said that, jsrockit is right to point our my brain fade. If this is a film camera, then of course it can't have an EVF. Silly.