The last rangefinder.

[Keith]

Zeiss have opted out, Cosina have cut back on a model recently and evil viewfinders are getting better with decent resolution, referesh rate and focus peaking. Leica have offered an electronic finder with the M240 along with the mechanical rangefinder that has been their system of focusing since the thirties.

If anyone is making a camera with a mechanical rangefinder in five or six years I'll be surprised but what will we have instead ... hybrid like the Fujis or will it just go all electronic?

 

[paulfish4570]

all electronic - except for leica ...

 

[thegman]

Digital will likely go all electronic I'd imagine, film cameras I imagine will go the other way, as designs will need to be simple to make in small numbers.

Say Fotoman, they make lovely cameras, and they are very simple, no company shipping in those small numbers will be able to design or build something like a Nikon F6 or anything near it in complexity.

That means film cameras will become increasingly simpler, and digital increasingly more complex (buttons and features sell stuff). That's what I think anyway.

I think Leica will still be making mechanical range finders in 5 years though, 10 or 15, probably not.

 

[Paddy C]

The way the world is going I would be hesitant to make any 5/6 year predictions.

If I was forced, I would agree with you Keith that there won't be any mechanical rangefinders. I think it will be all EVFs.

 

[back alley]

we all die!


.

 

[Keith]

all electronic - except for leica ...

I can see Leica digging their heels in with the system but I can't see that attitude being permanent or even extending past the successor to the M240.

I could be wrong of course! 😀

 

[Wulfthari]

As I was trying to explain in another thread, today the rangefinder market is ininfluent so everybody will soon go electronic.

 

[thegman]

I can see Leica digging their heels in with the system.

I hope they do, the world gets a bit boring when everybody does the same thing.

 

[ChrisN]

I think that the M9-P will probably be the last of the true rangefinders. I'm lucky to have an M4 (the finest of the film rangefinders, IMHO) and the M9-P (the last true rangefinder) in my kit.

There are plenty of excellent cameras using the best and latest technology to make excellent images, but to me there's still great appeal in an optical viewfinder and manual rangefinder focusing. The simplicity helps me.

 

[Tom A]

Well, Cosina Voigtlander still makes flm based rangefinder cameras. They cut out the A version (AE system) but still make R4m/R3M and R2M cameras. I just hope that someone smart comes up with a Full Frame camera, similar to the Fuji X100S with a mechanical viewfinder and minimum buttons and wheels on the back - and full compatibility with M-mount lenses.

 

[mretina]

Nothing indicates that Leica are planning Leica M Auto Focus lenses or R mount, even. Therefore I do not see them doing without optical rangefinder unless they really moved into AF.

Well possible however that they will have a EVF only M cameras if they really want to take Fuji, Sony & Co on price and that their mechanical rangefinder will be even more niche than today.

 

[cosmonaut]

I feel eventually there will be no more optical finders period. I think there will come a point when a EVF is cheaper to make than an optical one if not now. Then no more adjustments as a EVF will never get out of alignment.
Nikon, Leica and Canon have to cater to the old school photographers and walk a thin line with new features. If Nikon had put an EVF in the D800 there would have been a lot of upset photographers.
I am sure there are some serious Leica users that would appreciate a good EVF. I have found my self very fond of using one. I can still see the scene in extreme low light where an optical finder would be much harder to use. I had the a77 and hated the EVF. It blacked out and was slow to refresh. The a99 is 100% better. A huge improvement in only one upgrade.

 

[Pioneer]

My educated guess is that Leica will continue to build a rangefinder camera with a mechanical rangefinder. It is a major feature, along with their lenses, that really differentiates their product. If they try to compete strictly on the EVF front is not smart for them and if they do go in that direction they will cease to be a camera company. It makes no sense for them to abandon something they arguably do better then anyone else, in favor of something that others are doing far better then they. However, I do believe they will continue to provide digital features in their cameras and the EVF will continue, but not without the optical view/rangefinder. The optical rangefinder is expensive to build but I don't see Leica trying to move away from their luxury market position.

 

[rluka]

all electronic - except for leica ...

If they go all electronic (as in no mechanical rangefinder), what differentiation factor would they have left to justify their price ?
Build quality and everlastingness ? Which is doubtful for digital camera.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Leica and Cosina makes new. Hundreds of thousands used ones.
As long as film is here who cares about electronics.

 

[boomguy57]

Quite frankly, whether or not Leica makes a rangefinder is irrelevant. I can't afford one anyway, so I could give a rip if they make a "true RF" or not. Judging by the issues peopel have with digital rangefinders--RF adjustment, software to fix issues with RF lenses and sensors, etc--they can't be long for this world. I can't believe they still make the M7 and MP, unless it's just so they can say that they do.

EVFs are getting bigger, and allow cameras to be smaller and more accurate in terms of focus, and showing more information than an OVF can.

 

[Pioneer]

Hey, lets be nice now. My M7 is the only Leica I own that hasn't broken down on me. 🙂

 

[charjohncarter]

Luckily, Leicas will last and last, all I ask is another 12years out of my Olympus 35RC.

 

[35mmdelux]

I've got my M7 and M9 (for now), handful of lenses. I'm good to go. Someday I'll get another MP. The future generation will have to work out their preferred tools. I'm glad I was able to get in on the analogue generation and have enough coin to work with this incredible gear.

 

[Scrambler]

I suspect that Leica will look at a hybrid viewfinder - after all it's the same basic tech as the framelines with a screen instead. I suspect that the rangefinder window will be replaced with a second sensor and the image projected through the hybrid VF screen, and therefore able to be switched off if using some other focussing technique (e.g. focus peaking in hybrid VF).