DougFord
on the good foot
[FONT="]The next camera Leica should design is a small, light weight interchangeable lens camera for PJ/documentary work.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Digital FF, 20mp +[/FONT]
[FONT="]Auto focus lenses with manual focus capability[/FONT]
[FONT="]LCD, live view [/FONT][FONT="]with vari-angle[/FONT][FONT="] capability, fold-able and locked against the body if unused.[/FONT]
[FONT="]EVF
new lens mount design
[/FONT] [FONT="]Body shape somewhat like the sigma DP1 with a molded grip. The size of the camera should be kept as small as possible, hopefully not too much bigger than the DP1.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Sub frame made of light weight alloy with some sort of polymer body, perhaps a form of zytel. The entire camera would be unfinished, weather proof, flat black textured polymer.[/FONT]
[FONT="]With the lens and battery removed the camera would be unbelievably light in weight and mass. Sans battery and lens with body cap installed, when thrown as far and high as humanly possible and allowed to land on the hard ground would still be fully intact, ready to load with both battery and lens.[/FONT]
[FONT="]To start with, three new special built auto focus prime lenses, 28mm, 35mm and 65mm. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Digital FF, 20mp +[/FONT]
[FONT="]Auto focus lenses with manual focus capability[/FONT]
[FONT="]LCD, live view [/FONT][FONT="]with vari-angle[/FONT][FONT="] capability, fold-able and locked against the body if unused.[/FONT]
[FONT="]EVF
new lens mount design
[/FONT] [FONT="]Body shape somewhat like the sigma DP1 with a molded grip. The size of the camera should be kept as small as possible, hopefully not too much bigger than the DP1.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Sub frame made of light weight alloy with some sort of polymer body, perhaps a form of zytel. The entire camera would be unfinished, weather proof, flat black textured polymer.[/FONT]
[FONT="]With the lens and battery removed the camera would be unbelievably light in weight and mass. Sans battery and lens with body cap installed, when thrown as far and high as humanly possible and allowed to land on the hard ground would still be fully intact, ready to load with both battery and lens.[/FONT]
[FONT="]To start with, three new special built auto focus prime lenses, 28mm, 35mm and 65mm. [/FONT]
amateriat
We're all light!
Damn...I knew I was forgetting something. That drives me a bit nuts when shooting digital as well. Thanks for this!
Mike, Mike, Mike...I can't take you anywhere, can I?I didn't know Konica made a rangefinder. Is it as durable as a Leica?
()
- Barrett
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dfoo
Well-known
I don't know about the D700, but the 5d jog wheel is "clicky". Therefore with a wheel it would be the same thing... count the clicks. The advantage of a wheel over buttons is clear. Harder to accidently push, one control instead of two, easier to operate blind.
Harry Lime
Practitioner
I was a Canon shooter for several years (1-V) and had a 5D, before I sold it and went Nikon (D700), because I really disliked the EOS ergonomics.
One particular problem was that the dials would move quite easily, if brushed up against. The large dial on the back of my 1-v/EOS controlled shutter speed or AF points and every time you let the camera rest against your body, it would move change your settings. You could lock it, but that was a PIA in practice.
You're right that you can count the clicks on a dial wheel, but it's much harder to do, especially when you are moving or in the of the middle action. Just imagine yourself trying to delicately spin that dial one click, 2mm, while you are being pushed by a crowd at a demonstration and trying to keep track of the action. I've done it and it stinks. Pressing a button is faster and more intuitive.
It is surprisingly difficult to accidentally press one of the these button. I know that from shooting with both EOS bodies and the D700. Both the AE-L and EV buttons would have a rim that surrounds them, making it difficult to activate them, unless you deliberately intend to. The current buttons on the M8 need this rim, because they are very easily depressed by your palm when the camera is gripped.
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victoriapio
Well-known
M9 specs
M9 specs
I like ALMOST every suggestion, but would vote against the additional space required by "super battery" array. Keep the body small, small.
Great ideas and a very interesting thread.
O.C.
M9 specs
I like ALMOST every suggestion, but would vote against the additional space required by "super battery" array. Keep the body small, small.
Great ideas and a very interesting thread.
O.C.
Harry Lime
Practitioner
If it's autofocus, it's no longer a rangefinder but a Contax G2/G2...
Do you mean AF in addition to the optomechanical rangefinder?
I don't think you can fit a full frame or APS-H size chip in a camera that small. The DP1 is almost too small, to hold with some authority. At some point the size becomes 'fiddly'. It has to have a certain amount of heft.
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Harry Lime
Practitioner
Thanks.
The external battery pack would be optional for heavy duty or prolonged use. Wedding shooters and journalists would probably want it. It should be no bigger than a Leicavit or Rapidwinder.
Without the optional battery pack the camera would be the same size as an M8.
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Harry Lime
Practitioner
Add a molded grip on the front and have a thumb-rest on the back, leaves room for the buttons.
How about a palm rest like the R6.2 uses? I have an R6.2 and the palm grip makes it very comfortable to hold. That way nothing would interfere with the AE-L and EV buttons.
Attachments
victoriapio
Well-known
Being a photographer, it would help if I read the first post as the "optional" battery array is plainly stated.
nbphoto
Member
LCD's drain the battery, as does cocking the shutter etc. I would like to see a digital M9 with an advance lever for cocking the shutter, no display, simple spot metering etc. Have an iso selector similar to the m6, and nikon like ae lock just under the advance lever. Should display shutter speed and f number in the viewfinder. Shots left, and battery condition could be displayed in the view finder for minimal additional buttons. it should be full frame, 12+ mp, cloth shutter, only shoot in raw, and take compact flash.
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aizan
Veteran
i love it when people photoshop cameras.
- instead of the removable base plate, use normal hinged doors for the battery and memory compartments.
- get rid of the usb socket and blue dot (the brightness sensor)
- built-in image stabilization
- instead of the removable base plate, use normal hinged doors for the battery and memory compartments.
- get rid of the usb socket and blue dot (the brightness sensor)
- built-in image stabilization
philipp.leser
Established
Bluetooth is very slow (at the most 2 MBit/s, i.e. 256 KByte/s). It would take 20 seconds to transfer a single 5 MByte RAW file.
Wifi would work, but the drain on the battery would be substantial.
Regards,
Philipp
user237428934
User deletion pending
This is a really fruitful discussion except the posting of such running gags like "no lcd".
No one will ever produce such a camera for max. 50 customers who don't want an lcd.
I like the layout of the buttons for ae-lock and compensation.
Someone called for an APS-C size sensor. Why making the sensor smaller as todays size of the M8?
I don't want a cloth shutter. I want a fast shutter - at least 1/4000
No one will ever produce such a camera for max. 50 customers who don't want an lcd.
I like the layout of the buttons for ae-lock and compensation.
Someone called for an APS-C size sensor. Why making the sensor smaller as todays size of the M8?
I don't want a cloth shutter. I want a fast shutter - at least 1/4000
Gabriel M.A.
My Red Dot Glows For You
Silly, silly silly...don't you know that Nikon has already made the greatest digital rangefinder the world has ever known?
Why waste your time on concrete, tangible ideas, when we already have the bestest theoretical Uberkamera of all time?
Articulating LCD, flip it closed if you don't want to use it
antiquark
Derek Ross
Bluetooth, image stabilization, matrix metering, autofocus, X-frames per second, LCD live-view, flip-out LCD, 1/4000 shutter...
That type of "everything including the kitchen sink" design simply isn't part of the Leica tradition. But then again, maybe Leica has to forget their history if they want to survive these days.
That type of "everything including the kitchen sink" design simply isn't part of the Leica tradition. But then again, maybe Leica has to forget their history if they want to survive these days.
user237428934
User deletion pending
That's it. Today you can't run an enterprise only with traditional products / concepts / technologies.
Harry Lime
Practitioner
True, but products that try to be all things to all people, instead of doing a limited set if things better than anyone else, tend to fail in the marketplace.
It is a silly idea to try to turn a rangefinder in to a pseudo SLR. That's like trying to use a fork to eat soup and a spork is stupid, unless you have nothing else.
There is a place for a digital rangefinder in the market, but Leica has to build a product that is mature in terms of design and performance. If they then market and price it properly, it will sell.
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user237428934
User deletion pending
You are right. That's why I like your first specification. Not too many gimmicks inside.
Harry Lime
Practitioner
Yeah, the more I look at the two, the more I like the traditional model.
The M8x already does most things I want, with the exception of a few small, but serious design flaws that are easy to correct. And to be honest none of the additions, like the two buttons, are radical departure from where we already are. Weather sealing and a more advanced metering system are invisible to the user, except that your camera won't short out in the rain and your exposures are more accurate. Making the indents on the power switch stiffer is something Leica should have done years ago.