"Mass Production" M60 style M coming on March 10th?

[Spanik]

A digital camera without screen is somewhat radical (for me it does not make sense at all but that's a different story). So why not taking the radical approach to the max and have a digital camera without any menu setting? You can set aperture, time and iso. What else does a purist need?
Auto-ISO, JPG Settings, Date/Time, Folder Settings....? If you get rid of this, you don't even need a menu button. It seems most people here are not really purists. 😀

If they did that I might actually buy my first Leica. I have been waiting for something like a digital Praktica for a long time.

And it isn't only the purists that need nothing more. Any photographers doesn't need anything more as there is nothing else that has to be controlled (apart from focus).

 

[jsrockit]

I'm excited to see what this will be... even if I won't be buying it.

 

[micromontenegro]

I have it on good authority that Leica is going to push the envelope on pure photography, removing not only the screen, but the sensor as well in the upcoming M-I.

The image goes directly to your brain via imagination, with absolutely no barriers whatosever between your Art and yourself.

LOL

 

[xixi_gelly]

You would have to buy digital Film.. Just a code you have to enter in order to be able to shoot at a certain ISO setting 36 Frames. An original Leica digifilm would cost 15 € 😀 a piece

Yes!! And Kodak can charge, say, $50 for a Kodachrome "roll" code. Have to shoot at either 64 or 200 and DNG files get perfect color and tonal rendition but then the code expires after 36 clicks.

Who would pay for that? 😀 😀

 

[duflul]

If they really want to make it cheaper the best option would not be to add bluetooth but instead have the settings be controlled via a text file on the memory card.
They could make a file generator app for your computer and/or smartphone.

That would also future proof the camera for many many years.

 

[Tijmendal]

Yes!! And Kodak can charge, say, $50 for a Kodachrome "roll" code. Have to shoot at either 64 or 200 and DNG files get perfect color and tonal rendition but then the code expires after 36 clicks.

Who would pay for that? 😀 😀

If it would cost less than the price of a roll of Kodachrome and developing, I would!

 

[jim0266]

If Leica wants to go old school with a 262 sans LCD screen, why not bring back the advance lever and manually recock the shutter? I'm half serious... How much more battery life would result and you'd feel like you're shooting film again.

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

If Leica wants to go old school with a 262 sans LCD screen, why not bring back the advance lever and manually recock the shutter? I'm half serious... How much more battery life would result and you'd feel like you're shooting film again.

My favorite thing about the R-D1!

 

[olakiril]

If Leica wants to go old school with a 262 sans LCD screen why not bring back the advance lever and manually recock the shutter? I'm half serious... How much more battery life would result and you'd feel like you're shooting film again.

The advance lever and the 1:1 viewfinder is what I miss most from R-D1.

 

[BillBingham2]

Yes!! And Kodak can charge, say, $50 for a Kodachrome "roll" code. Have to shoot at either 64 or 200 and DNG files get perfect color and tonal rendition but then the code expires after 36 clicks.

Who would pay for that? 😀 😀

If I could get a Tri-X code for 50 pictures for say $6.00 USD.

B2 (;->

 

[user237428934]

If I could get a Tri-X code for 50 pictures for say $6.00 USD.

B2 (;->

Now we are at the point where we need a screen again: for the film changing animation that is played when you "insert another film".

 

[Ronald_H]

All we need for years was aperture, shutter speed and recently ISO/ASA. Why not have just those controls on the body and then do everything else on a smartphone? Lower cost of buttons, reduces the number of hole to seal, reduces the cost of testing, overall it lowers to cost.

Where's the down side?

B2 (;->

Amen brother. That's exactly what I want... But preferably in a Nikon FM-esque digital camera. Or in a rangefinder that doesn't say 'Leica'.

 

[Ronald_H]

If Leica wants to go old school with a 262 sans LCD screen, why not bring back the advance lever and manually recock the shutter? I'm half serious... How much more battery life would result and you'd feel like you're shooting film again.

Yes, and that too.

 

[ian_watts]

If Leica wants to go old school with a 262 sans LCD screen, why not bring back the advance lever and manually recock the shutter? I'm half serious... How much more battery life would result and you'd feel like you're shooting film again.

Manual shutter recock would be nice but I'm not sure the shutter motor is a significant drain on the battery and it is incredibly unlikely that Leica will want to (or be able to) redesign the body to accommodate such a feature. Its worth remembering that the only reason it was on the RD-1 was that Epson chose to shoehorn the digital guts into an existing camera platform that already had a manual wind recock not because they thought it was a battery saver or that it looked cool.

 

[Lss]

Its worth remembering that the only reason it was on the RD-1 was that Epson chose to shoehorn the digital guts into an existing camera platform that already had a manual wind recock not because they thought it was a battery saver or that it looked cool.

Essentially we should assume this to be true. The analogue world aesthetic was however a big part of this camera concept. This is perhaps best seen in the brilliant Seiko dials. While the shutter recocking mechanism was not a product of the Seiko Epson Corporation, it sure fit the concept beautifully. Another nice, "useless" feature is the repurposed film rewind knob.

 

[olakiril]

So its seems it will be an M262 without the LCD:

http://leicarumors.com/2016/03/07/leica-m-d-typ-262-camera-model-registered-in-korea.aspx/

I just hope they price it the same too.

 

[pyeh]

My guess, because they are calling it the M-D Typ 262, is that it wont have an optical rangefinder either, but an EVF instead. If it does, then not only will it be live view but all the setting info can be done in the viewfinder. It would be the combination of the M6 and the Q!

 

[coelacanth]

My guess is

• M Type 262 size, VF/RF, overall aesthetics like stepped top plate.
• RAW only.
• Further simplified menu from regular Type 262.
• ISO dial on the back like M60.
• Thinner than 262 by the thickness of LCD unit (top and bottom plates identical).
• No red dot.

My guess on the price point:

From Leica's point of view,

cheaper BOM (no LCD related parts) + more expensive per unit total cost (smaller production quantity) x Leica Magic Powder = about the same MSRP as regular Type 262, or a bit higher.

 

[BillBingham2]

Now we are at the point where we need a screen again: for the film changing animation that is played when you "insert another film".

Nah, buy it through your SmartPhone. If you don't have a SmartPhone then you have to pay more for the Leica with the screen.....

B2 (;->

 

[jsrockit]

My guess is

• M Type 262 size, VF/RF, overall aesthetics like stepped top plate.
• RAW only.
• Further simplified menu from regular Type 262.
• ISO dial on the back like M60.
• Thinner than 262 by the thickness of LCD unit (top and bottom plates identical).
• No red dot.

My guess on the price point:

From Leica's point of view,

cheaper BOM (no LCD related parts) + more expensive per unit total cost (smaller production quantity) x Leica Magic Powder = about the same MSRP as regular Type 262, or a bit higher.

I'm with you, but how do you access the menu?