Rumor: "Voigtlander is considering to start a new line of digital cameras"

[ChrisPlatt]

Imagine someone offering a simple digital that works just like a classic film camera?
It's not likely any manufacturer will ever do it, but Cosina is the best candidate...

Chris

 

[uhoh7]

The market is wide open and Sony has dropped the ball for best performance with film glass.

As I've been crowing for three years: FF M compatible is a no brainer. 🙂

 

[Corran]

How has Sony dropped the ball in performance with glass they don't manufacture?!

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Imagine someone offering a simple digital that works just like a classic film camera?
It's not likely any manufacturer will ever do it, but Cosina is the best candidate...

Chris

They just have to repeat what they have done already with Epson. This time with better sensor and up to date processor, data bus etc.

 

[Rob-F]

A new SWC-like digital super wide CV camera.

Is that on your wish list, Raid? I could go for that. Let's add a digital XPAN while we are at it!

 

[uhoh7]

How has Sony dropped the ball in performance with glass they don't manufacture?!

Because they have used the concept of "open mount" since the introduction as cover for the lack of glass, and yet designed the camera the opposite.

That is just misleading, and was a stupid move, totally unnecessary and it's hamstrung the system terribly, though with all the hype you would never know it LOL

Below 25mm they are still well behind the D810 performance, and they have to make huge lenses for their thick cover glass to work right. They basically added a whole element on the top of the sensor.

This coming from someone who's shoots an A7 almost every day.

 

[gavinlg]

Yes Please. R-D2 or whatever. Just give me that 24mp song sensor, manual focus M mount, and a robust magnesium body with all manual controls. DONE.

 

[Archlich]

After being a monthly topic here on RFF for about a decade, it's finally reaching something concrete...which is absolutely welcomed.

As always, it has to be "reasonably priced" (according to the lengthy discussions we had here) to appeal!

 

[Jamie Pillers]

Yes Please. R-D2 or whatever. Just give me that 24mp song sensor, manual focus M mount, and a robust magnesium body with all manual controls. DONE.

Perfect. Cosina has the lens line, the body-building expertise, a good optical viewfinder system. They just need to team up with a sensor builder, and they'd be... well... building a pretty good rumor-mill. 🙂

 

[Jamie Pillers]

After being a monthly topic here on RFF for about a decade, it's finally reaching something concrete...which is absolutely welcomed.

As always, it has to be "reasonably priced" (according to the lengthy discussions we had here) to appeal!

Until now, Cosina has been great at creating gear that meets the "reasonably priced" criteria, so there's hope. 🙂

 

[Corran]

Because they have used the concept of "open mount" since the introduction as cover for the lack of glass, and yet designed the camera the opposite.

That is just misleading, and was a stupid move, totally unnecessary and it's hamstrung the system terribly, though with all the hype you would never know it LOL

Well, it is an open mount, and my personal feeling is that the statement was aimed at Nikon / Canon users, to get them potentially interested. The fact that it doesn't work perfectly with every lens ever is simply impossible.

I wonder what the ratio of users shooting Leica (or Voigtlander) glass to any of the typical SLR lenses out there is. I would guess 1:10 but who knows.

I'm not really "in" to Sony's cameras anyway, and furthermore on my M9 I am using mostly Nikkor and Voigtlander glass (only two Leitz lenses, a 50mm Elmar and a 50mm Summitar).

 

[uhoh7]

Well, it is an open mount, and my personal feeling is that the statement was aimed at Nikon / Canon users, to get them potentially interested. The fact that it doesn't work perfectly with every lens ever is simply impossible.

Nonsense, sorry. 🙂 Aside from AF performance the choice of a thin sensor cover like the M240, and the top of the line DSLRs have would have assured excellent performance with a very wide variety of glass.

Maybe I should thank them, because their cynical choices pushed me to get an M9 also 🙂

I had kolari strip my A7 sensor cover, and now the camera is an excellent second body to the M9 with capabilities the M9 lacks, like the use of very long lenses and macro. It shoots ZM18 SEM 21 etc very well now.

M9 is my favorite though 🙂

I hope Cosina delivers where sony could not be bothered.

 

[Corran]

Aside from AF performance

And there's the problem.

I would bet 90% of Sony A7(x) users would prefer that over better compatibility with rangefinder glass!

Sony doesn't cater to this [small] market.

 

[sevo]

Below 25mm they are still well behind the D810 performance,

All my SLR ultrawides are about as good (or bad) on a A7 as on a D810. Biogon style short rear exit point lenses have horribly degraded corners - but then, we can't even mount them to the D810, so they fail even worse there...

The Kolari mod shows that Sony could have done better, in optical terms. But as long as we don't have enough practical experience to know how Kolari modded cameras fare in cleaning and regarding sensor oxidation, we can't tell whether Sony would really have done themselves a service by putting on a ultra-thin cover glass. Leica have demonstrated on the M9 that you can run into trouble with RF lens friendly cover glass, and Sony may not be keen to replicate that.

 

[sevo]

I wonder what the ratio of users shooting Leica (or Voigtlander) glass to any of the typical SLR lenses out there is. I would guess 1:10 but who knows.

Going by the questions asked on dpreview, it appears that A7 owners are not that special any more, and are approaching average DSLR usage patterns. That is, the large majority ONLY shoot native zooms. Some shoot one or more extra native primes or fret over what adapter to use with which Canon AF glass. Even fewer use adapted manual focus lenses, and few among these use adapted RF lenses. Compared to the total A7 series ownership, we might be talking 1:100 or even 1:1000...

 

[Mr_Flibble]

As unlikely as it is, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for an R-D2 as well.

 

[maitani]

10 years after the rf renaissance, Fullframe bessa rangefinder and MF Bessa III digital? also a twin mF cam by fuji?

 

[Kate-the-Great]

R-D2 please! Obviously 135 or APS-H would be nice, but even APS-C with a modern sensor in a Bessa body would make a fantastic camera for this niche

 

[tbhv55]

Yes Please. R-D2 or whatever. Just give me that 24mp song sensor, manual focus M mount, and a robust magnesium body with all manual controls. DONE.

Yup - got it in one...🙂

 

[ferider]

Yes Please. R-D2 or whatever. Just give me that 24mp song sensor, manual focus M mount, and a robust magnesium body with all manual controls. DONE.

You mean an M240 but cheaper ? 🙂

It's just a couple of new E-mount lenses, and a 10mm in VM:

Roland.